The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a good but not stellar presentation.
Sharpness turned into the most questionable element, as more than a few shots seemed softer than I expected. While most of the film exhibited appealing delineation, it lacked the consistent accuracy I anticipated.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.
Dawn 1 opted for a palette heavy on amber/golden overtones. These seemed well-reproduced within the stylistic choices.
Blacks seemed fairly dense and deep, while shadows appeared smooth and clear – well, outside of some thick “day for night” shots. Despite some sharpness issues, this became a generally positive image.
I also found the movie’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack to feel more than acceptable but not remarkable. For most of the film’s first half, we found little more than music and general ambience.
Matters improved during the second hour, as that segment provided virtually all of the flick’s “action beats”. This meant the soundscape opened up in a fairly involving manner, one that provided a good sense of place and conflicts.
Audio quality seemed positive, with speech that came across as tight and concise. Music showed appealing rage and clarity.
Effects offered good bite, with elements that came across as accurate and full. The soundtrack lacked the consistent ambition to become great, but it seemed strong enough for a “B”.
As we shift to extras, we get an audio commentary from director Bill Condon. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, continuing the franchise, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, photography, effects, and related domains.
After a slow start, Condon builds a decent head of steam. He covers a good array of topics and makes this a worthwhile chat.
Love, Birth, Death brings a six-part documentary. It fills a total of one hour, 26 minutes, 43 seconds and involves Condon, producer Wyck Godfrey, author Stephenie Meyer, co-producer Bill Bannerman, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, production designer Richard Sherman, costume designer Michael Wilkinson, set decorator Jan Blackie-Goodine, director of photography Guillermo Navarro, wedding dress designer Carolina Herrera, property master Michael Sabo, 1st AD Justin Muller, 2nd unit visual effects supervisor Terry Windell, VFX producer Ken Kokka, senior VFX supervisor Phil Tippett, VFX supervisors Edson Williams, John Bruno and Eric Leven, VFX editor Mike Cavanaugh, storyboard artist William Groebe, 2nd unit director EJ Foerster, animatronic and prosthetic makeup effects supervisor John Rosengrant, and actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Jackosn, Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Mia Maestro, Christian Camargo, Michael Welch, Nikki Reed, Billy Burke, Kellan Lutz, Tyson Houseman, Booboo Stewart, Kiowa Gordon, Julia Jones, Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, and Elizabeth Reaser.
“Love” examines Condon’s arrival on the project, the source and its adaptation, shooting two films at the same time, sets and locations, production and costume design, cast and performances, photography, various effects, stunts and action.
Inevitably, we get a fair amount of happy talk across this piece. However, we also find lots of good content and shots from the production. Those balance the fluff to turn this into a pretty solid documentary.
Jacob’s Destiny goes for seven minutes, 18 seconds. It offers info from Lautner, Condon, Rosenberg, Godfrey, Bannerman, Meyer, Stewart, and Pattinson.
“Destiny” offers a quick overview of Jacob’s path across the movies. This feels more like a plot synopsis than anything insightful.
Next comes Bella and Edward’s Personal Wedding Video. This one fills eight minutes, 33 seconds and approximates a piece that guests would’ve provided to Bella and Edward. It does little for me.
The disc opens with ads for Breaking Dawn – Part 2, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Hunger Games and Now You See me. No trailer for Dawn 1 appears here.
As the opening half of a franchise-concluding tale, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 becomes a sluggish drag. It lacks anywhere close to enough actual content to fill two hours and just churns in place too much of the time. The Blu-ray comes with generally good picture and audio as well as a nice array of bonus materials. Maybe the Dawn 2 will offer perspective to make me appreciate this dud, but I doubt it.
To rate this film visit the Extended Edition of BREAKING DAWN - PART 1