NewTechReview: Home
| Deals | Articles | Downloads
(Free Software) | Videos | Newsletter (FREE) | Issues
| News | Reviews | Recommend
| Contest | 
RSS
Feed
 |
| Manufacturer:
Fox Home Entertainment Disclaimer: The manufacturer provided NewTechReview with a unit of this product for review. Reviewed by Scott R. Garrigus | ||
|
||
|
"After a blow to the head during his attempted robbery of a $27 million Goya painting, Simon (James McAvoy), a fine-art auctioneer, awakens to find that the painting -- and his memory -- are missing. Forced by his ruthless crime partner Franck (Vincent Cassel) to undergo hypnosis, Simon enters into a deadly love triangle with his seductive hypnotist (Rosario Dawson). As the plot twists, the line between reality and dream becomes blurred in this fast-paced, unpredictable thriller." Such is the plot for director Danny Boyle's TRANCE, now out on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. After listening to comments from viewers who've seen the film, I've come to the conclusion that you'll either love it or hate it. The "love it" crowd is fascinated by the thrill-ride that Boyle takes the viewer on with a seemingly endless supply of twists and turns, each character having their own story and agenda. The "hate it" crowd doesn't enjoy the wild ride, especially since some of the plot twists may not seem plausible. They also don't like the fact that the film keeps you guessing the entire time and takes a while to get to where it's going. I personally enjoyed the film. You really just need to accept the film for what it is and enjoy the ride. TRANCE is cut of a similar cloth to films such as Donnie Darko and Inception. As for the technical specs, you'll get the usual 1080p in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio with a very crisp, clear picture. Boyle uses the Blu-ray resolution to great affect with stylistic scenes that reinforce the story very nicely. For audio, you get English DTS-HD MA 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, and French Dolby Digital 5.1. The voice work is excellent with the entire film's dialogue being clear and understandable, so much so that you'll come to be hypnotized by Rosario Dawson's soothing suggestions. Both the music soundtrack and Foley are excellent, supporting the mood of the film to fully. Surprisely, TRANCE comes with some nice extras. Many times, films such as this include some deleted scenes and some trailers, but here we're providing with some interesting featurettes. In addition, all the extras are in HD. * Deleted Scenes (17 min.) – Seven deleted scenes are provided, but they don't really add much to the story, which is probably why they were deleted. * The Power of Suggestion – Making Trance (34 min.) – This is a four-part featurette that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the film. You also get some interesting discussions about the film from the cast and crew. * Danny Boyle Restrospective (15 min.) – Fans of Danny Boyle will enjoy this featurette as he discusses many of his past films with interesting tidbits about making the films and what he learned along the way. Also provided are clips of the films being discussed. * Short Film: Eugene by Spencer Susser (13 min.) – Unrelated to the film, but still interesting to watch, this short film was one of the winning scripts in the Intel and W Hotel "Four Stories" competition. * Theatrical Trailer (1 min.) – Presented in HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Whether you love it or hate it, you can't deny the fact that Danny Boyle presents a very interesting, thrilling, and hypnotic film. Well, I guess if you hate it, you can deny it. But seriously, if you accept that TRANCE isn't your run-of-the-mill thriller and let yourself get swept away by the suggestive voice of Rosario Dawson, you'll enjoy watching this film. For more information, see Trance |
| [Back to the Reviews Index] |
