- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Region: A (B? C?)
- Rating: R
- Discs: 1
- Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 29, 2011
- List Price: $19.99
BestBuy.com:
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
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)
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The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
This splendidly directed (Sydney Pollack; Tootsie; Out of Africa; The Interpreter) legal melodrama from the always reliable John Grisham novel stars a young Tom Cruise, long before his off-screen antics overshadowed his on-screen performances. It’s a gripping and suspenseful account of intrigue, murder, and corruption at the highest levels of the legal system with hints of organized crime peppered in as well.
Cruise plays Mitch McDeere, a young Harvard law student graduating in the top of his class, being courted by all the top law firms in the country, and about to sit his Bar exams. When Mitch is courted by a small firm from Memphis, he is enticed by the money and gifts they throw his way, given his past growing up in poverty and the secret he keeps of having a brother in prison. So Mitch moves he and his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn; TV’s Big Love) from Boston to Memphis to start at “The Firm”, but soon things begin to seem a bit askew. Colleagues die mysteriously, and then Mitch is approached by the FBI. The firm may be entangled with organized crime and Mitch can either help the FBI bring them down or stay and go down with them. Either way, he and his wife are in danger, because no one leaves the firm alive. Mitch has other plans, he’s going to go it his own way, but at what cost?
The Firm features a star-studded cast that includes Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, Gene Hackman, Gary Busey, and David Strathairn. No suspense thrillers on the big screen are other than Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series reach the quality of a well done Grisham and The Firm is one of the the best.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The Firm shows up on Blu-ray in a sparkling remaster from Paramount that looks splendid for a film that is now quickly approaching twenty-years-old. The AVC encodement has a relatively clean source that only shows the rare speck of dust. Detail is incredibly strong and sharp, flesh tones are spot on, colors are richly saturated and blacks are inky with good shadow delineation. There’s a fine grain structure that adds a wonderfully organic film-like nuance to the presentation as well. This is one of the strongest catalogue releases I’ve seen from a major studio in a long while.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is pleasant, though it is a bit underwhelming. The front-heavy mix makes little use of the surround channels, but the wide stereo imaging, good dynamics and ambient sound of the front channels more than compensate for this on their own.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
This may be an “exclusive” release, but don’t pick it up expecting anything special on the disc. The only thing offered are two trailers in 1080p:
- Theatrical Teaser Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
- Theatrical Trailer (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
A nearly perfect bit of suspense and legal drama, The Firm is well acted and powerfully directed by Pollack. This Blu-ray edition from Paramount is one of the strongest catalogue releases on the format; a true reference. Highly recommend.
Additional Screen Captures
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BestBuy.com:
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
