Book of Eli, The (Blu-ray) (2010) |
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Book of Eli, The (Blu-ray) (2010) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action Adventure |
Audio-Visual Commentary-Survival Guide Mode: Picture-in-picture commentary Featurette-Making Of-Eli's Journey More…-The Lost Tales - Billy Featurette-Starting Over Featurette-The Book of Eli Soundtrack Deleted Scenes Trailer-Trailers for other Sony releases More…-BD-live |
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| Year Of Production | 2010 | ||
| Running Time | 117:36 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Albert Hughes Allen Hughes |
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Studio
Distributor |
Alcon Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertain |
Starring |
Denzel Washington Gary Oldman Mila Kunis Ray Stevenson Jennifer Beals Evan Jones Joe Pingue Frances De La Tour |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $49.95 | Music |
Atticus Ross Leopold Ross Claudia Sarne |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Unknown |
English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Spanish DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Catalan 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 Spanish Danish Finnish Norwegian Portuguese Swedish |
Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Eli: “There’s always a choice”
In The Book of Eli The Hughes Brothers tackle a post-apocalyptic world in which Eli (Denzel Washington), following instructions from within his head, has walked westwards for 30 years protecting his book from hijackers and other scavengers. He is a self sufficient man, proficient in a wide range of survival skills, weaponry and martial arts, convinced that his destiny is to deliver the book to someone in the west who will be able to use it for good. In a ramshackle town in the middle of a desolated landscape, Carnegie (Gary Oldman) sends motorcycle gangs out onto the roads to kill and rob wayfarers in search of a special book, a book he knows is ”a weapon aimed at the heart of the weak and desperate”. With the words in the book Carnegie believes he can control the minds of the helpless and expand his operations. These conflicting aspirations come to a head when Eli, with the book, walks into Carnegie’s town.
Within the town are Claudia (Jennifer Beals) and her daughter Solara (Mila Kunis). Both are basically enslaved to Carnegie and his chief enforcer Redridge (Ray Stevenson), who desires Solara for himself. When Carnegie discovers Eli has “the” book, his attempts to tempt Eli to join him, and then to use force when Eli refuses, result in Eli and Solara fleeing across the desert with Carnegie’s gang in pursuit. In a deserted landscape, devoid of colour and trees, the main participants clash in an attempt to gain what each most desires.
The Book of Eli is set in a bleak post-apocalyptic world without humanity or colour. The landscape is one of total desolation; destroyed freeways, roads stretching to the horizon fringed with the blackened carcasses of motor vehicles. There is no green, no trees; all the ground is black and there is no sun or blue sky. It is a bleak, dark future. In the extras it is revealed that the intention was to make the sky a character; it is grey and dark, with only rare patches of blue. The colour palate is also desaturated; 70% of the colour has been removed leaving a muted palate. Everything is brown, yellow or grey and there are no bright colours, only a lightening of the darkness and less desaturation as Eli nears his destination in the west.
The Book of Eli paints a depressing future for humanity, but there is hope; the key to survival is faith and belief, and while in the extras it is suggested that any book of faith could be used, it is clearly The Bible that is the catalyst for humanity’s survival, as long as it is in the right hands. In this scenario, Eli can be seen as a prophet, carrying “the word” alone into the wilderness; and Denzel Washington is excellent as a man forced into violence who may just find his redemption through helping others. Washington’s martial arts skills are not too bad either. Gary Oldman has a record of playing over the top villains (Leon or The Fifth Element for example) and here he is mostly more restrained; mostly anyway. Mila Kunis is OK, but in a lesser part Jennifer Beals is excellent. However, it is the visual look of the film that is most impressive.
The Book of Eli is a worthy addition to the spate of post-apocalyptic films that have been released recently. It looks great, builds tension well, features an excellent Denzel Washington and good action sequences. It is well worth a look.
The Book of Eli is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. The original ratio was 2.35:1.
As noted, the colour palate is totally desaturated so that browns are dominant. There are many matte paintings and green screen work and everything has been treated in post production to effect the final look of the film. The print is also very dark, and in some scenes it is difficult to see faces or detail. This is intentional – when light is projected onto faces the detail is extraordinary; every whisker, dirt mark, sweat bead or chafed lip is clear to see. Blacks are solid and shadow detail, within the choices outlined, is fine. Brightness and contrast are also great. I did not notice any film or film to video artefacts.
English and English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available as well as subtitles in a variety of European languages.
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Audio is a choice of English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA or Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1. The English DTS is seriously impressive. The dialogue is always clear, even when lines are mumbled, while the front and surround speakers provide an enveloping experience. Vehicles, gunfire and effects are sharp and sometimes crack out in a startling fashion; the subwoofer is used constantly to support the action.
Lip synchronisation was fine.
The original score by Atticus Ross, Claudia Sarne and Leopold Ross is supported by other music such as Al Green’s How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and Ennio Morricone’s Once Upon a Time in America. The music is used sparsely and is a very effective support for the themes and tone of the film.
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Comments by many of the cast and crew, storyboards, behind the scenes, concept art and focus points totalling approximately 80 minutes accessed through “picture-in-picture” while the film is playing provide a genuine and comprehensive look at the production of The Book of Eli. Interviewees include Albert & Allen Hughes (directors), Jon Farhat (visual effects supervisor), Tommy Lee Edwards & Chris Weston (concept artists), Joel Silver, Andrew A. Kosove & Broderick Johnson (producers), Gary Whitta (screenwriter), Jeff Imada (stunt coordinator) and actors Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman & Mila Kunis. The individual “focus points” (totalling 35:23) can also be selected through the features menu where they can be played individually or via a “play all” function. Focus point sections are: :
Basically a “making of” with interviews and behind the scenes footage covering the look of the film, Eli as hero, the role of faith and knowledge. Much of the interview footage is also included in the p-i-p “Survival Guide”.
Director Allen Hughes introduces a graphic novel of the back story of Carnegie. Includes music, dialogue and effects.
If an apocalyptic event occurred, how would the survivors go about rebuilding the world? Opinions aplenty here from five academics, the two Hughes brothers, two producers of the film, the screenwriter and the stars, including Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis and Jennifer Beals. Given the number of talking heads in the 13 minute running time one should not expect anything too profound. In essence, apparently faith, belief and the Bible will provide the key.
Allen Hughes (Director) and Atticus Ross (Composer) discuss their joint background and the music of the film.
Four short deleted / extended scenes. None of any importance, they are entitled: :
Included is Blu-ray trailer (2:05), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2:05), The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2:01), Armored (2:37), Legion (2:04), and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (1:50).
Access trivia, chat to others, etc., if your Blu-ray is connected to the internet.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region A US and Region B UK Blu-ray editions are identical to our Region B except for minor matters such as different trailers and language options. The Region A does include a digital copy of the film but really there is little reason to go beyond the local product.
In The Book of Eli The Hughes Brothers present their take of a post-apocalyptic world. It looks great, builds tension well, features an excellent Denzel Washington and good action sequences. Video and audio are excellent, extras are extensive and mostly worthwhile. Recommended.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S350, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 42inch Hi-Def 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 |