- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Video Codec: MVC (3D); AVC/MPEG-4 (2D)
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Dolby 2.0, English Descriptive Video Service 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1 (3D), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (3D), French DTS-HD High Resolution 7.1 (2D), Spanish DTS-HD High Resolution 7.1 (2D)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: PG-13
- Discs: 5 (1 x Blu-ray 3D + 2 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD + Digital Copy)
- Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: October 4, 2011
- List Price: $49.99
[amazon-product align=”right”]B0053Y7T1G[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com
Purchase Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Video Quality
2D HD: [Rating:4.5/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4.5/5]
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:2.5/5]
Have they really done a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film? Question two: why? This franchise should have ended after the first film, assuming you believe they ever should have made a film based on a Disney amusement park ride in the first place. If not, then it should have been aborted in the boardroom. But, hey, spilt milk. The Curse of the Black Pearl wasn’t that bad for what it was, but after the first time around, it gets old rather quickly. Now we have a fourth film where two of the major actors, Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom aren’t involved and Johnny Depp’s (The Tourist) swaggering Keith Richards imitation as Captain Jack Sparrow is very long in the tooth. In fact, except for the 3D and the mermaid sequence in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, even the special effects in this film don’t seem quite up to snuff.
This time out Captain Jack is kidnapped by his ex-girlfriend Angelica Teach (Penélope Cruz) and taken aboard the evil pirate Blackbeard’s (Ian McShane; TV’s Deadwood) ship to help lead them to the fabled Fountain of Youth. But Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush; Brand New Day; The King’s Speech) is in hot pursuit, leading King George’s navy, all while the Spanish are after both the Fountain and the crews of both ships to stop them.
While I cannot deny that Penélope Cruz is nice to look at, there’s something off about the chemistry between her and Depp and the film on the whole lacks energy – and any sort of sense. This is simply rehash with a few mildly amusing in-jokes thrown in here and there.
Video Quality
2D HD: [Rating:4.5/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:4/5]
The On Stranger Tides was originally filmed in 3D, and as such it is one of the better looking 3D titles to come to Blu-ray Disc. It has a natural looking depth and little in the way of artifacts, although there is some ghosting here and there. They do not make too much use of gimmicky pop-out visuals, though there are a couple of instances where some things leap out a way from the screen. There is good detail and nuance in the 3D image as well.
The 2D HD image is rather strong as well, if not perfect. Both the 2D and 3D were captured digitally on RED cameras, so there is no grain, but just a slight bit of video noise that looks more organic and film-like than noisy. Contrast is good and blacks rather deep, but flesh tones, as is the wont for this franchise, tend to show just a bit of red push.
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
On Stranger Tides has been given a spectacular lossless 7.1 mix in DTS-HD Master Audio. It is big, spacious, and dynamic, with hefty low frequencies. The back channels aren’t constantly barraging you with sound, but they are sometimes filled with some discrete information, a flapping sail, the raging mermaids, etc. The 2D Blu-ray also has French and Spanish DTS-HD High Resolution 7.1 audio tracks.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4.5/5]
The 3D disc in the set has a mere two previews, both in 3D, as its only extras. One is for John Carter and the other for Cars 2. The rest of the supplements reside on the two Blu-ray 2D discs in the five-disc set. The disc that holds the main feature is Disney Second Screen compliant so it can take advantage of Disney’s iPad/iPhone Mac/PC app that allows viewers to synch with the movie and access further interactive features while viewing. Additionally it contains an audio commentary and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. There is also a second Blu-ray disc with only bonus features, all production featurettes that are pretty self-explanatory.
The supplements:
- Disney Second Screen
- Bloopers of the Caribbean (2.35:1; 1080p/24; 00:03:29)
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (1.78:1; 1080p/24):
- Captain Jack’s Brick Tales: First Impressions
- Captain Jack’s Brick Tales: To Catch a Mermaid
- Captain Jack’s Brick Tales: Escape By His Wits
- Captain Jack’s Brick Tales: The Fountain of Youth
- Captain Jack’s Brick Tales: Jack Saves the Day
- Audio Commentary by director Rob Marshall and Executive Producer John Deluca
- Legends of On Stranger Tides (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:36:16)
- In Search of the Fountain (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:10:59)
- Last Sail, First Voyage (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:08:20)
- Under the Scene: Bringing Mermaids to Life (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:09:20)
- Deleted & Extended Scenes with introductions by Director Rob Marshall (1080p/24):
- Old Bill
- Smart, Now!
- Tonight
- Extended Scene – Tango
- Extended Scene – Voodoo Doll
- Johnny Vs. Geoffrey (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:02:41)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
Skip it and watch the first Pirates film if you must. This one is less than average, it’s absolutely boring and not even a good special effects spectacle. Despite all of that, it still puts on a fantastic home theatre performance, as usual.
Additional Screen Captures
–
[amazon-product align=”right”]B0053Y7T1G[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com
Purchase Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:2.5/5]
Video Quality
2D HD: [Rating:4.5/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4.5/5]
–
