GRAVITY (2013)
Ultimate Edition 2-Disc Blu-ray
Label: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 90 Minutes 58 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Stone George Clooney, Matt Kowalski
Stunning space-adventure Gravity (2013), directed by Oscar nominee Alfonso Cuaron, starts of with astronauts on a mission, we have the Space Shuttle Explorer, commanded by veteran astronaut Matthew "Matt" Kowalski (George Clooney, From Dusk Till Dawn) in Earth orbit servicing the Hubble Space Telescope Also on the space walk is Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock, Birdbox), a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission. Suddenly the get word from NASA Mission Control in Houston, Texas, via the voice of Ed Harris, to abort the mission immediately, it seems the Russians have shot down one of their own defunct spy satellites causing a chain reaction of space debris orbiting the Earth and taking out additional satellites, the expansive debris field is hurtling towards them at 20,000 miles per hour. The shuttle is catastrophically hit by debris with only Kowalski and Stone surviving, but now they are left stranded in the cold emptiness of space, tethered together but unable to communicate with NASA as their communications satellites have been destroyed. Now, that's just a thrilling premise on its face, and with their oxygen reserves running low they have to scramble, relying their training, ingenuity and tenacity to come up with a plan to survive.
The film is a just a stunner of a film, it's action-packed and has some seriously fantastic moments of suspense that had me biting my nails, as Clooney's Kowalski, who at least has a Manned Maneuvering Unit to propel them through the space in their attempt to get to International Space Station which is orbiting the Earth 100 miles away, and using one of the Soyuz spacecraft to return to Earth, witht he clock ticking as the space debris is expected to make it's return orbit within 90 minutes.
Again, a brilliant concept, stunningly executed space adventure with fantastic visuals, I love the warm glow of Earth below, the cold darkness of space on all other sides, the threat of imminent death everywhere, and a eerie and propulsive score from Steven Price (Attack the Block). This is top-notch entertainment, a thrill ride of a very high-caliber, and it comes in at under 85 minutes munis the credits, so it flies by quite fast.
Audio/Video: Gravity (2013) gets re-released on Blu-ray from WBDHE in what appears to be a standard keepcase edition re-release of the now OOP Diamond Luxe Edition, and like that previous release the PQ is phenomenal, the visuals are crisply rendered, contrast is terrific, and black levels still look wonderful. Close-ups offer very pleasing textures and details, skin tones look natural, and depth and clarity are premium for the format. Through no fault of the stellar transfer I did find that watching it now with eyes that have viewed over ten years of advancement in digital effects, not all the digital shots look as stunning as they once did at the cinema, but for it;s time this was a massive technical achievement, and it holds up well enough.
Audio comes by way of a bombastic Dolby Atmos (True HD 7.1) track with optional English subtitles, that impresses on every level, we also get the option to view the film with Gravity: Silent Space version with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 that offers the opportunity to view the film without any music, replicating the silence of space. This option is not my preferred version but is an interesting version to take in after you've seen the flick a few times.
Onto the massive extras, the only extras on the Blu-ray is the option to view the film with Gravity: Silent Space Version, all of the other extras are housed on the accompanying Blu-ray disc dedicated to special features, saving precious digital bits for the feature film. The bonus disc features nearly four hours of featurettes and docs exploring the realism of the space adventure, the VFX, the story, and much more.
The 2-disc Blu-ray release arrives in a standard dual-hibbed keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the same keyart as the OOP Diamond Luxe Edition Blu-ray. This is the edition to own, at least until we get a 4K UHD at some point, which as of now has not yet been announced.
Special Features:
Disc 1:
- Gravity: Silent Space Version
Disc 2:
- Looking to the Stars: The Evolution of Space Films (42 min)
- Gravity: The Human Experience (11 min)
- Sandra's Birthday Wish (3 min)
- Gravity: Mission Control (107 minutes)
- It Began with a Story (16 min)
- Initial Challenges: Long Shots and Zero G (10 min)
- Previsualizing Gravity (12 min)
- The Hues of Space (11 min)
- Physical Weightlessness (8 min)
- Space Tech (13 min)
- Sandra and George: A Pair in Space (10 min)
- Final Animation (15 min)
- Complete Silence (12 min)
- Shot Breakdowns (37 min)
- Behind the Visor (6:50)
- Fire in the International Space Station (5:42)
- Dr. Stone's Rebirth (7:54)
- The Sound of Action in Space (7:55)
- Splashdown (8:24)
- Aningaaq: A Short Film by Jonás Cuarón (10 min)
- Collision Point: The Race to Clean Up Space (22 min)
Screenshots from the WBDHE Blu-ray:
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