Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The (Blu-ray) (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Fantasy Thriller	Main Menu Audio Deleted Scenes Featurette-Making Of-Into the Shadows Featurette-Making Of-Descendants Of The Cup Music Video-Almost Is Never Enough
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	129:58
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Harald Zwart
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Lily Collins Jamie Campbell Bower Robert Sheehan Lena Headey Jonathan Rhys Meyers Kevin Zegers Jemima West
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Atli Örvarsson

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is the first in a projected series of films based on the novels of  Cassandra Clare. The second, City of Ashes is in production currently. A little while ago, my site colleague MikeB reviewed the DVD version. This review is of the Blu-ray version.

    I am very much in agreement with Mike about the film. It is confusing for those who have not read the novel, goes on too long but has some entertainment value. The production and acting are both of good quality without setting the world on fire and some more judicious editing of the screenplay may have resulted in a more compelling film. Mike's review gives a rundown on the plot and is certainly worth reading if you are not a fan of the books.

    Fans will probably be pleased that the books are being made into films but this first entry is mediocre as cinema.

Video

    The feature is presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080p HD encoded using the AVC codec.

    The detail and clarity is excellent throughout.

    The colour is also excellent rendering the various streetscapes, creatures, nightclubs and more in a vivid way.

    There were no noticeable artefacts.

    There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is quite good without being the best of Blu-ray, although this is more due to the mix that the technical transfer.

    This disc contains an English soundtrack in DTS HD-MA 5.1 and an Audio Descriptive track in Dolby Digital.

    Dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout.

    The music was appropriate without setting the world on fire or particularly catching the viewers attention.

    The surround speakers are  used for atmosphere and music but similar to what Mike found in the DVD review they are not as active as you would expect in an action/sci fi context.

    The subwoofer provided support to the music and the action scenes.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu includes music.

Deleted Scenes (4:38)

    A collection of extra scenes which were rightly cut.

Into the Shadows : From Book to Screen (8:36) - BD exclusive

    A featurette focused on the book adaptation including interviews with the cast and author. They discuss the story and characters and how they are portrayed in the film.

Bringing them to Life (6:39)

     This featurette focuses on the characters and the actors playing them.

Music Video: "Almost Is Never Enough" (3:36)

     Official soundtrack music video with Ariana Grande and featuring Nathan Sykes.

    The Region A release includes some more featurettes and an interactive extra about the lineage of the characters, making it the best available.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is lacking in its surround presence

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall