- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 1
- Studio: Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: April 12, 2011
- List Price: $29.97
[amazon-product align=”right”]B004HY3BVK[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Highwater on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Having just reviewed the 1966 surfing film classic The Endless Summer by Bruce Brown I was pleasantly surprised to find when I finally tore into this Image Entertainment package I’d had sitting around for a little while to see that it contained this film, Highwater, from Bruce Brown’s son Dana. The Step into Liquid director goes back to his roots in this new action-packed and beautifully captured surfing film.
Starting off with a camera on a surfboard shot that is an obvious nod to his dad’s famous film, Highwater is a documentary that captures the action surrounding professional surfing’s Triple Crown, the final three competitions that take place on Oahu, Hawaii’s North Shore over the span of two months at the end of the year.
With awesome high speed photography, Brown captures the greats of the sport like Kelly Slater, right down in the surf, putting viewers in the action. But more than that, Highwater tells the story of the changing culture of surfing over the decades through interviews with surfing legends young and old, professional and amateur, and following the hustle, bustle, triumphs and tragedies around the Triple Crown.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Highwater‘s 1080i AVC transfer has vibrant colors that really pop and natural looking flesh tones, but there is a lot of video noise and softness in the overall image that hinders the presentation.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is good, but not as engulfing as you might expect from a film such as this. There are a small amount foley effects that put the surround channel to use and the LFE kicks in quite often to boost the sound of the rushing waves, but overall the mix sounds a bit disconnected.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
The supplements consist mostly of bonus footage, all in standard definition.
- Extended Interviews (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:48.09)
- Bonus Surf Features (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:36.48)
- Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
Dana Brown’s Highwater may not have the easy going, laid back comical spirit of his father’s The Endless Summer, but for surfers, surfing fans, or anyone who just likes to watch films about surfing, it’s a colorful and insightful journey through the culture.
Additional Screen Captures
–
[amazon-product align=”right”]B004HY3BVK[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Highwater on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
