Black Butterfly appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a largely positive presentation.
Sharpness was almost always strong, as only a sliver of softness ever crept into the presentation. Still, most of the movie showed appropriate delineation.
I noticed no jaggies or moiré effects, and edge enhancement never manifested itself. In addition, the film failed to display any print defects.
Like most modern action flicks, this one opted for stylized hues, so teal and amber dominated. Within those constraints, the colors seemed fine, as they showed appropriate range.
Blacks were dark and full, and shadows came across with reasonable clarity. All this added up to a mostly good image.
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Butterfly worked well. Various action elements offered the most active use of the spectrum. These scenes didn’t emerge on a frequent basis, but when they appeared, they utilized the soundscape in an engrossing manner, and music made active use of the different channels.
Audio quality pleased. Speech was concise and natural, without edginess or other issues. Music showed good range and vivacity, while effects worked nicely. Those elements came across as accurate and full, with solid low-end response and positive definition. This left us with a “B” soundtrack.
In terms of extras, we find an audio commentary from director Brian Goodman and co-writer Marc Frydman. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at the source and its adaptation, cast and performances, sets and locations, story/characters, music, and related elements.
Though not totally devoid of useful content, the commentary lacks much merit. We get a fair amount of dead air, and even when we hear remarks, the material tends to be bland and forgettable. This becomes a sub-mediocre track.
Backstage runs nine minutes, 11 seconds and offers info from Goodman, director of photography Jose David Montero, VFX supervisor Peter Nalli, and actors Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Piper Perabo. They discuss story/characters, Goodman’s impact on the production, cinematography and effects. Expect a few nuggets of information along with a lot of fluff in this largely superficial piece.
The disc opens with ads for Aftermath, Extortion, Isolation, Arsenal and Solace. We also get the trailer for Butterfly.
Despite superficial similarities with Misery, Black Butterfly forges its own identity. The film gives us a fairly clever tale with enough twists and curves to keep us involved. The Blu-ray provides pretty positive picture and audio along with less than informative supplements. I felt pleased with the tense thriller we get here.