BLU-RAY
REVIEW:
SNOW WHITE & THE
HUNTSMAN
9/09/12
OVERVIEW: Venture into a land of action fantasy, heroic battle
scenes and visual wonder in Snow White and the Huntsman Extended Edition, coming
to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD, On Demand and Digital Download on September 11, 2012,
from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Packed with pulse-pounding battles,
unmatched visual imagination and compelling characters, Snow White and the Huntsman
is a wholly original adventure story told on an epic scale. From the splendor of the wicked
Queen’s enchanted palace to the menace of the Dark Forest, a breathtaking combination of
harrowing beauty, epic battle scenes, visual wonder and jaw-dropping special effects make
this film singularly suited for the incomparable high-definition picture and perfect hi-def 5.1
surround sound of Blu-ray™.
The Combo Pack includes an Extended version of the film not shown in theaters, as well as
a Digital Copy of the film, compatible with iPhone®, iTunes®, iPad®, iPod®, iPod® touch,
Android™ or online retail partners, and also includes UltraViolet™, the revolutionary new
way for consumers to collect movies and TV shows in the cloud to instantly stream and
download to TV’s, computers, tablets and smart phones. Consumers can now truly enjoy
their movies anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice.
SYNOPSIS:
In this spectacular action-adventure, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) is Snow White, the only
woman in the land fairer than the evil queen Ravenna (Oscar® winner Charlize
Theron). Ravenna wants nothing more than to destroy her young rival, but she doesn’t know that
Show White has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) the
queen dispatched to kill her. Together with a handsome prince (Sam Claflin) enchanted by
Snow White’s beauty and power, they assemble an armed force to recapture the kingdom.
This breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in
Wonderland and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders
is, in the words of Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV, “A film that soars with creativity, stylistic
genius and amazing battle scenes.”
REVIEW: Talking about beauty and brawn… Snow White and the Huntsman take alternative storytelling to the next level. Remove any preconceived notions of what you remember of the virtuousness of Disney’s beloved Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and say hello to a modern-take on the ageless German fairytale story. Kristen Stewart brings, to life, the characteristics and beauty of Snow White with the added physicality’s and attitude of Xena the Warrior Princess. Stewart is sexy with purity and innocence, but with a sense of conviction and battle-ready drive. She exudes the part seamlessly and convincingly. Meanwhile Charlize
Theron, no less the eye-candy when playing the younger version of her character, screams her part as the evil Queen. Director Rupert Sanders brings this dark and gritty, esthetically pleasing, semi-romantic action-adventure epic to the big screen, with a number of twists that play off of what one would never expect of a film based on Snow White. The film seems very deliberate in it’s deviation from the Brother’s Grimm original portrayal of Little Snow-White while sticking with its original premise of fantasy, drama and romance.
To put things in to perspective, I truly enjoyed the visual affects of most of the movie, though some parts seem a little over-the-top at times. The acting was very ‘Shakespearian’ mainly, and amounted to being a little over-done throughout. The character of The Huntsman, played by Chris
Hemsworth, was pivotal to making this modern version interesting and appealing to a certain demographic; However, it was very unfortunate that his dialog seemed marred with some kinda’ Gaelic derivative dialect that was annoyingly incomprehensible throughout the movie. As a matter of fact, many other characters suffered the same flaw and made for strenuous exhausting efforts to follow the flow of the characters as they conversed. Meanwhile, on a brighter note, the seven dwarves, led by "Deadwood's" Ian
McShane, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones and sneakily, the one and only Mr. Bob Hoskins, provided the right amount of wittiness and slapstick humor, while not ruining the overall tone of the multi-genre flick.
Overall, if one can accept the idea of a tougher “Snow White” as an action figure, wearing medieval armor and swinging a big sword, while caught up in a love triangle that produced no sexual tension between Stewart and
Hemsworth, THEN one might find this a worthwhile date-night movie…bearing in mind that the romantic tone is flimsy at best. Nevertheless, I think the movie deserves a whopping three and a half stars.
Review
By Movie-Man Stan
BLU-RAY:
The film is
presented in 1080P widescreen in a 2.35:1 aspect ration
preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just
flawless. Not only the picture looks great in
this release, also the sound it is good, a 7.1 DTS-HD Master
Audio (48kHz/24bit) in English that provides a
good complement to the picture. It also includes English,
French and Spanish subtitles.
VIDEO:
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen 1080P
AUDIO:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/DVS Dolby Digital
2.0, French DTS-HD Master
Audio 5.1 (Canadian) and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles - English SDH, French, Spanish
SPECIAL FEATURES:
A New Legend Is Born
Feature Commentary with director Rupert Sanders, visual effects supervisor
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and co-editor Neil Smith
Reinventing the Fairy Tale
Citizens of the Kingdom
The Magic Of “Snow White and the Huntsman”
Around the Kingdom: 360° Set Tour
Universal’s Second Screen:
An innovative viewing experience that allows viewers to
control, interact with and explore Snow White and the Huntsman with
groundbreaking features on a networked tablet or computer, in synch with the movie
on the television screen! As the movie plays, experience features such as:
Flick View: Move content from the tablet to the TV screen, and compare
storyboards, animatics, and other exciting bonus material with a “flick” of
the fingers.
Behind the Scenes (Picture in Picture)
Around the Kingdom: 360° Set Tour
Virtual Flip books
Cast of Characters
Digital Copy: Viewers can redeem a digital version of the full-length movie from a choice of retail partners to watch on an array of electronic and portable devices.
UltraViolet™: The revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and TV shows, put them in the cloud and stream instantly to computers, tablets and smart phones, currently available in the United States only.
BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to watch the latest trailers and more!
pocket BLU™ app: The groundbreaking pocket BLU™ app uses iPad®, iPhone®, iPod® touch, Android™, PC and Mac® to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray™ player. Plus iPad® and Android™ tablet owners can enjoy a new, enhanced edition of pocket BLU™ made especially to take advantage of the tablets’ larger screen and high resolution display. Consumers will be able to browse through a library of Blu-ray™ content and watch entertaining extras on-the-go in a way that’s bigger and better than ever before. pocket BLU™ offers advanced features such as:
ADVANCED REMOTE CONTROL: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.
VIDEO TIMELINE: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.
MOBILE-TO-GO: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
BROWSE TITLES: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray™ Hi-Def. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
KEYBOARD: Entering data is fast and easy with your device’s intuitive keyboard.
Submit Your Movie Review
MORE MOVIE REVIEWS
>>>
