- Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: PG-13
- Run Time: 104 Mins.
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: November 8th, 2011
- List Price: $29.99
[amazon-product]B005FXXTBO[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase The River Why 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:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
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)
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The Film
[Rating:4/5]
The River Why tells the story of Gus (Zach Gilford) and his father H20 (William Hurt), who is known for his famous fly-fishing skills. Gus shares this love with his father, but wants to make something of himself. With that sense in his mind, Gus leaves home and runs into the woods making a new life in a secluded cabin. It’s here that he meets Eddy (Amber Heard), who has a similar affection for fishing. Together the two embark on a relationship of love and friendship, all of which is captured with a true sense of beauty in the Oregon wilderness.
Upon first glance at the back cover, I figured I wouldn’t find much to enjoy with The River Why. After all, tell me the story of a son and father sharing a similar interest only for the son to ‘leave’ in order to discover himself, hasn’t been done a million times over. Yet, despite the similar stories being done before, I still found myself interested. The film is beautifully shot and well acted, in particular with Gilford (of the Friday Night Lights fame) delivering a fine performance. Subtle in tone, yet endearing chemistry is created between Gilford and Heard. I was pleased to see that the film was actually shot on location in varying Oregon woods and, most importantly, was done with a sense of protecting the environment. This, in all reality, added to the true impact the film had on me. Seeing nature in its true essence, in its true beauty, makes this the type of film I really feel anyone can enjoy.
Video Quality
[Rating:5/5]
The film’s 2:35:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer is excellent. Filmed using the infamous RED ONE camera, this is the kind of transfer that takes the viewer by surprise. Detail is impressive, whether interior, exterior or facial closeups. Even darker moments showcase fine detail. Speaking of color, the film’s palette initially has a somewhat subdued feel and look to it. Grays and blacks dominate the opening moments, but once we move to the river sequences, everything opens. Sky blues, forest greens and the silver of the rocks all looked great. Wide shots as well as water ripples look truly fantastic. I was completely blown away by this transfer, truly a fine effort from Image Entertainment.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Focusing on more of a front-heavy mix only occasionally creeping to the surrounds during some of the key river moments where water rushes by, the film’s provided DTD-HD Master Audio 5.1 track suits the film fairly well. Dialogue is well reproduced via the center channel. As mentioned, atmosphere outside of certain sequences is mostly subdued. When these parts do occur though, the atmosphere is solid. A sense of water splashing envelopes the room briefly putting us right in the middle of the wilderness. Minus this, everything else is quite basic. LFE is mostly subtle. All in all, this is the kind of track that you enjoy while watching the movie but not one you really think of outside of the moment.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
The provided supplements are shown in full HD:
- Interviews with Cast and Crew – This runs right around 39 minutes and features mostly edited together bits from the cast and crew.
- Trailer
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
The River Why is a beautifully shot film, which excels on Blu-ray with a perfect transfer and accompanying audio. If the subject interests you or if you have an open mind to independent films, be sure to give this your time.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B005FXXTBO[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase The River Why 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:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
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