8.8 C
New York
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Advertisement

The Terminal Blu-ray Review

terminal-bluray-coverU.S. Release

– –

The Film

[Rating:3.5/5]

 The-Terminal-BD_01

There are two remarkable things about Steven Spielberg’s 2004 romantic comedy The Terminal, and those are the fact that it was filmed almost entirely on a recreation of a working airport terminal and the charismatic performance by lead actor Tom Hanks.

The Terminal is a quirky romantic comedy about an Eastern European man named Viktor (Tom Hanks) who plans a trip to New York City to fulfill a promise to his deceased father, but ends up in a strange legal limbo, unable to leave the JFK terminal when a military coup in his home country leaves the passport he was issued – and his native country – officially unrecognized by the United States. Viktor must find a way to survive in the shopping mall-like JFK terminal, all while the head customs officer, Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) is out to get him. But, he does manage to get by, finding himself gainful employment, a group of friends amongst the airport employees, and even romance with a flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who frequently passes through JFK.

A typically fanciful story that Spielberg has made his living at over the course of his illustrious career, perhaps the finest undercurrent of The Terminal is its highlighting of modern consumerism, the brightly lit Sbarro’s, Burger King, et. al. displays are like some eye candy that light up the productions sets.

Of course, also in typical Spielberg fashion, the director doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone, constantly driving The Terminal into greater emotional and sentimental heights toward a hokey and saccharine outcome that could have been predicted from the opening moments of the film.

That said, it is Tom Hanks’ splendid performance as Viktor, donning a faux Slavic accent and some sort of broken English that slowly improves as the film progresses that is the driving force of the film. There are quite a few comedic moments that are golden for sure, despite the many where the film drags too much. Hanks delivers the goods, however, and makes this a more than respectable and charming effort, if far from Spielberg’s best work.

Video Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

The-Terminal-BD_02

Coming to Blu-ray in an AVC 1080p encodement, The Terminal, originally shot on 35mm Eastman EXR 200T 5293 film stock has a fantastically filmic appearance in this new release. Natural and textured with a good layer of grain, the colors really pop off the screen and there are no issues of noise or excessive grain reduction.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

The-Terminal-BD_03

While The Terminal is mostly a dialogue-driven film, the lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack has lots of atmospherics that surround us in the sounds of the airport. Dialogue is clear and there’s a natural sense of dynamics.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:2.5/5]

The-Terminal-BD_04

There are no new HD extras (outside of the HD trailers) with this release. Everything is a standard definition port-over and they all consist of the typical behind-the-scenes featurettes with interviews and production footage.

The supplements:

  • Booking the Flight: The Script, The Story (1.78:1; SD; 00:08:06)
  • Waiting for the Flight: Building The Terminal (1.78:1; SD; 00;12:19)
  • Boarding; The People of The Terminal (1.78;1; SD; 00:31:48):
    • Tom Hanks is “Viktor”
    • Catherine Zeta-Jones is “Amelia”
    • Viktor’s World
  • Take Off: Making The Terminal (1.78:1; SD; 00:17:13)
  • In Flight Service: The Music of The Terminal (1.78:1; SD; 00:05:53)
  • Landing: Airport Stories (1.78:1; SD; 00:05:41)
  • Photo Gallery (1080p/24)
  • Theatrical Trailer 1 (1.85:1; 1080p/24; Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Theatrical Trailer 2 (1.85:1; 1080p/24; Dolby Digital 5.1)

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

The-Terminal-BD_05

Tom Hanks puts on a splendid performance in what is one of Spielberg’s minor classics, but one that is still an enjoyable afternoon time passer.. Paramount’s Blu-ray transfer of The Terminal is well worth owning as well.

Additional Screen Captures

[amazon-product]B00I0VTRFA[/amazon-product]

The-Terminal-BD_06

The-Terminal-BD_07

The-Terminal-BD_08

The-Terminal-BD_09

The-Terminal-BD_10

The-Terminal-BD_11

The-Terminal-BD_12

The-Terminal-BD_13

The-Terminal-BD_14

The-Terminal-BD_15

The-Terminal-BD_16

The-Terminal-BD_17

The-Terminal-BD_18

The-Terminal-BD_19

The-Terminal-BD_20

[amazon-product]B00I0VTRFA[/amazon-product]

Advertisement

Related Articles

Join the Discussion on TheaterByte!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Connected

301FansLike
0FollowersFollow
184FollowersFollow
1,710FollowersFollow
- Advertisement -

Notice of Compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR part 255 guidelines, this website hereby states that it receives free discs and other theatrical or home entertainment "screeners" and access to screening links from studios and/or PR firms, and is provided with consumer electronics devices on loan from hardware manufacturers and/or PR firms respectively for the purposes of evaluating the products and its content for editorial reviews. We receive no compensation from these companies for our opinions or for the writing of reviews or editorials.
Permission is sometimes granted to companies to quote our work and editorial reviews free of charge. Our website may contain affiliate marketing links, which means we may get paid commission on sales of those products or the services we write about. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Latest Articles