Blu-Ray Review:
Gran Torino
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Current Rottentomatoes.com score 80% Fresh: 159 Rotten: 41
A grizzled Korean War vet's reluctant friendship with a Hmong teenage boy and his immigrant family. Set in contemporary Detroit, GRAN TORINO tackles the shifting cultural and economic landscape of not only the Motor City, but America as well. Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, an unabashed bigot who never heard a racial insult he didn't love. Bitter, haunted, and full of pride, Walt refuses to abandon the neighborhood he's lived in for decades despite its changing demographics as he clings desperately to a mindset long since out of step with the times. When his Hmong neighbor Thao tries to steal his prized muscle car as part of a gang initiation, Walt is forced to grapple with the world around him.
I remember seeing trailers for this movie and thought it looked good. But for some reason I never got out to see it. Funny thing is my wife did, and she said it was good. So I was looking forward to the time when it came out on Blu-ray. Luckily that time is now! I have very high praise for this film. I started watching this film at 10:00pm and normally starting a movie at this time for me is not a good idea, because I will usually fall asleep. I am getting older what can I say! But with this film I was awake from the second it started all the way until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and if that isn't high praise I don't know what it is. The movie has humour, sorrow, action, emotion and a great actor in Clint Eastwood. He does a great job of playing the grumpy old man. There isn't much I can say without giving too much away, but for me this is a movie about change. It shows that even someone like Walt Kowalski can change. For me one of the best films I have seen this year.
9 out of 10
Video
Presented in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio Warner has given us a sharp looking transfer. Set in the motor city colours are often muted, with lots of greys and browns. There is some colour in that most of the houses have red bricks and green plants around them, but like I said it's mostly a dull looking picture, but this is not a problem with the transfer, it's just the tone the film makers were going for. Detail is quite sharp showing how old and withered Clint Eastwood is looking these days. I also think depth is well represented here, everything looks realistic and spacious. Black levels are good as well. Flesh tones appear natural, given the muted colours of the film. Warner has done a good job faithfully representing what the film makers set out to achieve. Overall a job well done.
8.5 out of 10
Audio
Gran Torino is certainly not going to win any awards for sound design, it just is not that active. Dialogue was difficult to hear at some times, requiring me to turn my system up. I also noticed a few scenes where the dialogue felt a little flat, almost like they were talking into the wrong end of a telephone. Ambiance from the rear speakers is there in outdoor scenes, such as a dog barking, leaves rustling, a police siren etc. There are a few scenes with gunshots and these for the most part sound realistic, but could use a little more low end. Overall the sound design was pretty dull. This is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and what is there sounds decent, but I have to think this was done on purpose and not a problem with the audio track itself.
6.5 out of 10
Extras
Here is what is available for extras:
The Eastwood Way
Manning the Wheel
Gran Torino: More than a car
BD-Live
Digital Copy of the film
There is not really much here in the way of substance. "The Eastwood Way" is the best feature available but that is not saying much. This is mostly cast and crew interviews talking about the movie discussing casting, getting the culture of the Hmong people correctly represented on screen and the challenges of playing these roles. "Manning the Wheel" talks about man's obsession with cars and the role that it plays in the film, but it is quite short clocking in under 10 mins. Overall there is not much to see here, which is too bad since I thought the film was so well done. Maybe a special edition will appear in the future.
4 out of 10
Overall
This is a great movie and I highly recommend it based on this. The video transfer is adequate, and the audio is OK, and the extras are not very good. So I have a hard time recommending the disc as a whole. If you really liked the movie when it was in theaters you will probably be picking this up. For the rest of you maybe a rental then a purchase would be the way to go.
8 out of 10