Fury (Blu-ray) (2014) |
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Fury (Blu-ray) (2014) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | War |
Deleted Scenes-16 Deleted and Extended Scenes (56:13) Featurette-Making Of-Blood Brothers (11:08) Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Director’s Combat Journal (17:32) Featurette-Armored Warriors: the real men inside the Shermans (12:11) Featurette-Taming the Beasts (12:48) Gallery-Photo Trailer-Previews of other films More…-Code for an ultraviolet download. |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2014 | ||
| Running Time | 134:38 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | David Ayer |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Sony Pictures Home Entertain |
Starring |
Brad Pitt Logan Lerman Shia La Beouf Michael Pena Jon Bernthal |
| Case | Standard Blu-ray | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Steven Price |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 French DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.40:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English English for the Hearing Impaired French Spanish |
Smoking | Yes, constantly |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
In April 1945 as the Allied armies push deep into Nazi Germany facing fanatical resistance, new recruit Norman (Logan Lerman) joins the crew of the Sherman tank named “Fury” replacing a man who had been killed in combat. Fury is commanded by “Wardaddy” (Brad Pitt), and he and the rest of the tank crew, “Gordo” (Michael Pena), “Bible” (Shia La Beouf) and “Coon-Ass” (Jon Bernthal), are not welcoming of the new recruit. They have been fighting, and killing Germans, together for over two years and have become desensitised to violence. Norman, on the other hand, is fresh and naïve, still retaining a sense of humanity, which the rest of the tank crew think could get them killed. For, although the end of the war in Europe is near, there is still a lot of killing to be done before it is over.
Fury is written and directed by David Ayer who after initially having writing credits (including U-571 (2000) and Training Day (2001)) wrote and directed the excellent End of Watch (2012). End of Watch, which also starred Michael Pena, had a realistic, documentary feel which is repeated in Fury. As is required after Saving Private Ryan (1998) raised the bar, Fury includes chaotic and intense action sequences filmed hand-held and shot both in the claustrophobic interior of a tank and in the mud, explosions, machine gun and tracer fire of the chaos outside the tank. The action indeed looks fabulous, aided by Ayes’ decision to shot Fury the old fashioned way using film, rather than digital, and to use real WW2 tanks wherever possible with CG being utilised mainly for tracer and shell hits. This gives the film an incredibly real look, and the tank against tank sequence, for example, featuring real Sherman tanks and the one functioning Tiger I tank still in existence, is something I certainly have not seen done before and I think is as close as one can get to a tank battle, without being shot at!!
But Fury is more than great action sequences. The film is built around a standard plot of a new recruit joining an experienced but damaged group of combat soldiers who only want to survive and is a character study of the dehumanisation inherent in men in war. As Wardaddy, Brad Pitt is excellent as a man very much on the edge, although retaining some humanity, while Shia La Beouf and Logan Lerman are also very good. Yet despite the deadly brutality of the combat and acts such as the shooting of prisoners in the film, Fury is not an anti-war film as the climax, just like the last combat in Saving Private Ryan, is a battle featuring heroism and sacrifice in the face of heavy odds. So just like the old fashioned use of film stock, Fury is an old fashioned film at heart. And it certainly is none the worse for that.
Fury is presented in the aspect ratio of 2.40:1, close to the original 2.35:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.
Fury is a dark film, with sequences inside the tank and at night. Even the daytime sequences are drab, filmed under heavy cloud. The colour palate is muted, with most colours being washed out, leaving dull greys and browns to dominate with dirty uniforms, the mud on the ground and the metal of the tanks prominent. Indeed, the only flashes of colour are the reds and yellows of explosions and fires. While close-ups are sharp, the use of film stock results in some film grain and softer backgrounds, which present a pleasing appearance. Blacks are solid, but shadow detail inside the tank and at night can be indistinct, which is likely to be deliberate. Contrast and brightness is consistent.
I did not notice any marks or artefacts.
Subtitles are available in English, English for the Hearing Impaired, French and Spanish.
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The main audio is English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and there is a French DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 dub plus an English audio description track.
Some of the dialogue, especially from Jon Bernthal, was difficult to hear clearly, but the rest of the audio is fabulously enveloping. The surrounds and rears are never silent, and even in the quieter moments there is distant artillery, engines or wind and thunder. The action sequences are loud and intense; cannons and machine guns fire, rounds ricochet and explode, engines roar. When inside the tank, bullet strikes clang on the armour and explosions fill the ears. Directional and panning effects occur frequently, with aircraft flyovers, shells and tracers filling the sound stage. The sub-woofer is aggressive but not overdone. From the start it added depth and boom to explosions, engines, artillery strikes, cannon fire, the music and general rumbles.
Lip synchronisation was fine.
The original score by Steven Price (who won an Oscar for Gravity (2013)) is impressive. It is epic and intense, supporting both the quieter moments and the action very well.
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The Blu-ray comes with a code for an ultraviolet download.
On start-up we get an ad for Ultraviolet downloads (0:32) plus trailers for The Equalizer (2:38), Whiplash (2:16), Foxcatcher (2:26), a Playstation Game “Powers” (1:32) and Predestination (1:32). These can also be selected from the menu
Almost an hour of deleted / extended scenes can be selected individually or by using a “Play all” option. They were obviously cut late, as the video and audio are good. Some are lengthy, and most are character pieces, not action scenes. The scenes are:
Pretty much an EPK “making of” about how the cast bonded, including talking to veterans of the 2nd Armored Division and the actors’ boot camp. Includes WW2 archival footage, film stills and film footage plus interviews with writer / director David Ayes, the military advisors, the veterans and all the main cast members.
A “behind the scenes” featurette showing how some of the combat sequences were filmed. Includes on-set, archival and film footage plus interviews with David Ayes, the producers, DP Roman Vasyanov and the main cast members. Quite interesting.
A look at the “real men inside the Shermans”; four veterans from the 2nd Armored talk about some of their experiences during and after the war.
Sub-headed “How to Drive, Fire and Shoot Inside a 30 Ton Tank” this looks at the sourcing and use in the film of real WW2 tanks with the cooperation of The Tank Museum, Bovington, UK. The featurette includes behind the scenes footage of the tanks, film footage plus interviews with the cast, production designer, tank supervisor and the curator of the museum.
Around 100 stills divided up into “Cast and Crew”, “Veterans” and “Tanks”. Silent, use the coloured buttons on the remote to access sections and start the slideshow option.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region A US release of Fury is identical to our release.
Fury has some of the most intense, chaotic and realistic action sequences put on film, yet it is also a character driven film, with excellent performances from Brad Pitt, Shia La Beouf and Logan Lerman. While the film is a study of the dehumanisation of men in combat, it is not an anti-war film as heroism and sacrifice come to the fore in the explosive climax.
The video is dark but fine, the audio superb; the extras are worthwhile and the same as in other regions resulting is a good Blu-ray package.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |