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DVD Review:

Braveheart Special Collector's Edition

        
     
           

Movie

I have always been a fan of Braveheart. This was the movie that made me love the epic battle! There are so many quotes in this movie that I could recount right now. This movie was directed and acted in by Mel Gibson, and at the time he was never more popular. This movie has everything, great dialogue, amazing battles, tons of gory deaths, and beautiful scottish landscapes. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I am sure my view of the movie is a little biased. If you don't like violence you probably won't like this film. But they are depicting medieval warfare, and it's brutal by nature. If you haven't seen this film you must go out and buy it right now. If you like movies like Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven, you will love this film.


9 out of 10
     
 

Video


If you own the original disc, the question probably on your mind is whether you should upgrade. Well this is a new digital transfer of the film. It's definitely a lot cleaner, more lush and colourful than the original disc. I remember watching the first disc and seeing lots of flecks and grain, but in this new transfer it's greatly reduced. It's a definite upgrade to the original disc.


8.5 out of 10


Audio

As far as I can tell this is the same audio track that was in the original disc. But there is nothing wrong with that because the original audio was great. The audio puts you in the middle of the battles and also lets you experience the quiet moments as well. I really like the soundtrack. There is a lot of music with bagpipes which really fits with the source material. It's a great surround sound track and one that is fitting of a great movie.


8.5 out of 10
   

Extras

Here is what you get in the way of extras:

  • Commentary by Director Mel Gibson
  • A Writer's Journey
  • Alba gu Brath! The Making of Braveheart
  • Tales of William Wallace
  • Archival Interviews with the Cast of Braveheart
  • Photo Montage
This is a 2-disc edition, so I was hoping for a lot of quality extras. My favorite extra has to be "Alba gu Brath" the making of Braveheart. This is a pretty in depth documentary on the making of Braveheart, including interviews with Mel Gibson. Another feature I liked a lot was "A Writer's Journal" which gives the writer Randall Wallace a chance to talk about where he was coming from when writing the screenplay. I also really enjoyed "Tales of William Wallace". If you wanted to know more historical facts about William Wallace, this is a good historical documentary to watch. I should mention that Mel Gibson, in his commentary, talks about some of the liberties that had to be taken with historical facts. So if that interests you take a listen to his commentary.

8 out of 10
 
             

Overall

I would definitely recommend purchasing this special edition, even if you already own the original disc. They have done a good job of including some decent extras as well as upgrading the transfer. Plus it's selling for a reasonable price, checking on Amazon.com right now you can pick it up for $14.99US which is a bargain. I couldn't go through this whole review without leaving you with a quote from the film. William Wallace: Every man dies, not every man really lives.

Highly Recommended.