Bent appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was an appealing presentation.
Sharpness worked well, as only a sliver of softness crept into the occasional wide shot. Overall definition remained positive, though, without real intrusions into that area.
I saw no evidence of jagged edges or moiré effects, and the image lacked edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to appear.
Colors tended toward a teal bent much of the time, and the Blu-ray depicted the hues well. The palette didn’t sizzle, but the tones seemed well-rendered within the design choices.
Blacks appeared dark and tight, while low-light shots demonstrated nice clarity and delineation. I felt pleased with this high-quality presentation.
In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack worked fine, as the mix brought the variety of natural settings to life. Various environmental bits filled the spectrum nicely, and various action beats used the five speakers in a dynamic way.
Audio quality appeared positive as well, with natural, concise speech. Music showed nice range and vivacity.
Effects came across as clean and accurate, with very good bass response. The soundtrack added to the movie’s impact.
A few extras appear, and we open with Behind the Scenes of Bent. It goes for 10 minutes, 35 seconds and includes comments from writer/director Bobby Moresco and actors Karl Urban, Sofia Vergara and Andy Garcia.
“Scenes” covers the source novel and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, and Moresco’s impact on the shoot. This turns into a pretty generic puff piece.
Under Cast and Crew Interviews, we five reels. These feature Moresco (5:50), Garcia (6:01), Vergara (3:21), Urban (4:44) and director of photography Gianfilippo Corticelli (4:26).
Across these, we hear about the same subjects from “Scenes” along with sets/locations and cinematography. The “Interviews” come from the same sessions used in “Scenes” – and often provide the same soundbites.
This means you can skip “Scenes” and go with the “Interviews” instead. The comments don’t provide a ton of substance, but they bring out a decent array of thoughts about the film.
The disc opens with ads for Acts of Violence, The Show, First Kill, Unlocked and Cops and Robbers. We also get a trailer for Bent.
A fairly perfunctory crime thriller, Bent doesn’t flop, but it fails to become anything memorable. While professional and watchable, it seems lackluster for the most part. The Blu-ray offers pretty good picture and audio with minor supplements. This feels like lazy day cable fare.