- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Surround 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono,
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: PG
- Discs: 1
- Studio: MGM
- Blu-ray Release Date: February 15, 2011
- List Price: $19.99
[amazon-product align=”right”]B004GGQN0U[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Moonstruck on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Cher won the Academy Award (1988) for Best Actress, Olympia Dukakis for Best Supporting Actress, and John Shanley for Best Original Screenplay for this 1987 romance/comedy/drama Moonstruck, arguably one of the best romantic films to come out of the 80’s, along with When Harry Met Sally and Say Anything. As a native New Yorker, I have to express an inherent preference for Moonstruck. Shanley’s screenplay captures the essence of New York in the cadence of its dialogue and the colorfulness of its characters.
Love, romance and infidelities are in the air in this romantic comedy drama that is also a portrait of Italian-Americans set against the backdrop of New York City. Loretta (Cher) is a widow and bookkeeper living with her parents who is now ready to marry again so she accepts a proposal from her boyfriend Johnny (Danny Aiello). Soon, however, she finds herself involved in a romance with Johnny’s younger brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) when she drops by Ronny’s bakery to try top patch things up between the two brothers. With feelings for the younger, wilder brother, Loretta must choose between the two. Meanwhile, Loretta’s father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) is having his own affair while her mother (Olympia Dukakis) has found herself a kindred spirit in an unlikely place.
The performance are great all around, even from Nicolas Cage, who has gone on to a string of not-so-great films of late.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Moonstruck’s twenty-four-year-old image looks remarkably good in this AVC transfer from MGM. It’s film-like with strong color reproduction, deep blacks, and natural flesh tones. There is a bit of wavering to the level of grain, detail is sometimes on the softer side, and slight source damage can be seen occasionally, but it is still a rather pleasing image overall.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The 5.1 soundtrack may be a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio encodement but it basically sounds like a reprocessed stereo mix. The surround channels contain only some ambience that expands the soundstage slightly. The dialogue is intelligible, but there are signs of clipping.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Outside of the interesting audio commentary with the writer, director and Cher, there are a series of great featurettes delving into the making of the film as well as Italian-American culture.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Audio commentary featuring Cher, director Norman Jewison, and writer John Patrick Shanley
- Moonstruck: At the Heart of an Italian Family (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:25.30)
- Pastas to Pastries: The Art of Fine Italian Food (1.78:1; 480i/60) – Visit some of the great Italian eateries in New York’s Little Italy.
- Music of Moonstruck (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:06.24) – The filmmakers and composer Dick Hyman discuss creating the score for Moonstruck from the music of Puccini.
- Theatrical Trailer (1.85:1; 1080p/24)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Moonstruck is a classic big screen romance that deservedly earned three Oscars. It’s funny, real, and heartwarming. The Blu-ray transfer looks solid for a release from the 80’s and would really make a great date night movie.
Additional Screen Captures
–
[amazon-product align=”right”]B004GGQN0U[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Moonstruck on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
