- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), French & Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: R
- Run Time: 107 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Walt Disney Video
- Blu-ray Release Date: August 7, 2012
- List Price: $20.00
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]*
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:4/5]
In Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) John Cusack (Serendipity; Being John Malkovich; Say Anything…) plays Martin Blank, a former CIA operative turned professional hitman who must return to his hometown to carry out an assignment and, while he is there, attend his 10-year high school reunion. The return home simultaneously brings with it the danger of people trying to kill him for a botched job and the opportunity to reconnect with his high school sweetheart, Debi (Minnie Driver; TV’s Web Therapy; Conviction; Good Will Hunting) The latter offers Martin the opportunity to reconsider his direction in life and possibly change direction for the better — if he can manage to stay alive and do the right thing.
Cutting, and irony-filled comedy with a lot of heart and soul raises Grosse Pointe Blank above the fray of many other films in the crime-comedy genre. The film is particularly boosted by a rock solid performance from Alan Arkin as Martin’s stressed and fearful psychiatrist and an over the top performance from Dan Akroyd as Martin’s hitman rival. Unfortunately, two throwaway characters, NSA agents on Martin’s trail (Hank Azaria; K. Todd Freeman) interupt the story and its pacing, doing nothing more than adding unnecessary holes to what would have been an otherwise perfect dark comedy.
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Grosse Pointe Blank comes to Blu-ray in a “15th Anniversary Edition” that has a relatively acceptable AVC 1080p transfer from Disney, even if it is a bit uneven, with some rough patches here and there, a little bit of video noise, and looking a bit soft in a lot of its distance shots.
*(Editor’s Note: This article was mistakenly published with the incorrect “Video Quality” rating
of [Rating:3.5/5] which has now been corrected downward. We apologize for any inconvenience.)
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack offers a superior experience, conveying the incredibly cool soundtrack with flawless musicality and during the climactic gun battle, really coming alive with hyperactive surround channels that let the bullets fly. I did notice some clipping in dialogue throughout the film, however.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
A 15th anniversary edition, and all they can muster up for the disc is the original theatrical trailer, I n standard definition no less.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
One of John Cusack’s best comedic performances outside of Being John Malkovich, Grosse Pointe Blank is devilishly funny at times, yet it always maintains an amount of humanity, cleverness and wit that keeps it from devolving into total farce. Recommended.
Additional Screen Captures
[amazon-product]B0080BFVPU[/amazon-product]
Purchase Grosse Pointe Blank: 15th anniversary Edition on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B0080BFVPU[/amazon-product]
Purchase Grosse Pointe Blank: 15th anniversary Edition on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
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