- 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)
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Subtitles Color: White
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: PG
- Run Time: 106 Mins.
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD + Digital Copy)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: June 26, 2012
- List Price: $39.99
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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
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:3.5/5]
The Grimm Brothers’ classic fairytale Snow White has been reworked and updated in this live-action film from director Tarsem Singh (Immortals; The Fall) starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins. Tarsem brings the spectacular visual style we’ve seen from his previous films to this modern retelling, and it helps bolster the fairytale in many ways.
The story stays somewhat close to the one we all know and love with a few modern twists. In a magical land, the king (Sean Bean) mysteriously disappears and his wicked queen (Roberts) takes over the land. She locks her young stepdaughter Snow White (Collins) away in her room, fearing that her beauty will one day blossom and outshine hers. But on Snow’s 18th birthday, she sneaks out from her room during a ball where she meets the handsome prince Alcott of Valencia (Armie Hammer). Angered, the Queen banishes Snow White – in actuality, sentencing her to death at the hands of a forest beast. Snow escapes and finds refuge among a band of dwarves who make their living as thieves. There, she learns how to fight and returns to make her stands against the wicked queen who is ruining her father’s kingdom.
The screenplay adds in a contemporary feel to the old tale that doesn’t always work, but is obviously intended to appeal to younger generations who won’t be familiar with the staid tone of the older tellings of Snow White. While the cast all work together well, especially Collins as Snow, it is Roberts here who, playing somewhat against type, steals every moment of Mirror Mirror, even as her “villainous” portrayal is more tongue-in-cheek than it is downright scary.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Mirror Mirror was captured in high definition on the Sony CineAlta F35 cinematographic HD camera. The combination of live action, lavish sets, and brilliant CG effects looks magnificent in this AVC/MPEG-4 1080p rendering to Blu-ray from Fox. There are strong amounts of textural details in the foreground and backgrounds, vibrant colors with strong contrast, and little in the way of video noise.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
There’s a wonderful DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack provided for Mirror Mirror on Blu-ray. It is just as lively, dynamic, and well balanced as one would expect a soundtrack for a film of this nature to be. Even so, it is never excessively aggressive, offering just the right amount of discrete information in the surround channels and directional panning across the front. Low frequencies are rather deep and dialogue is clean.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
There’s a solid set of high definition production featurettes included in this set, although nothing provides any particularly in depth information and is along the lines of light, promotional material.
The supplements:
- Deleted Scenes (1080p/24):
- Alternate Opening (00:01:54)
- So You Are From Valencia? (00:02:08)
- I Need Meat (00:00:48)
- Snow White is Dead (00:00:35)
- Thank You For Coming (00:01:07)
- Looking Through the Mirror (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:12:58) – A look at director Tarsem and the production of Mirror Mirror.
- I Believe I Can Dance (1.78:1; 00:11:01) – The choreographer Paul Becker teaches the dance moves from the film’s big closing number.
- Mirror Mirror Storybook
- Prince and Puppies (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:01:59) – A lighthearted look at Armie Hammer’s training for his role in Mirror Mirror.
- Theatrical Trailer (1.85:1; 1080p/24; Dolby Digital 5.1)
- DVD
- Digital Copy – iTunes and Android Market Digital Copy.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
Mirror Mirror is not perfect as a live-action re-imagination of a classic fairytale by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still full of charming performances and magical visual effects. The Blu-ray edition from Fox offers up a spectacular piece of reference home entertainment, in keeping with Fox’s reputation for new release BD’s.
Additional Screen Captures
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Purchase Mirror Mirror on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B005LAII0S[/amazon-product]
Purchase Mirror Mirror on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]
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