Three Kings appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. This was a largely positive presentation.
At the start of the old DVD, a disclaimer read: "The makers of Three Kings used visual distortion and unusual colors in some scenes of this film. They intentionally used these unconventional techniques to enhanced the emotional intensity of the story line."
Take those words to heart, for while Kings may not look as bizarre as the statement leads one to believe, it indeed offers a highly stylized visual experience.
Sharpness seemed positive. The stylistic choices occasionally led to a little softness, but those instances remained minor.
The majority of the movie presented clear, concise visuals. No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I noticed no edge haloes.
Digital noise reduction certainly wasn’t an issue, as the Blu-ray depicted all of the movie’s copious grain. That was appropriate and not a problem, while print flaws stayed away in other ways.
Colors tended to be desaturated due to the washed-out appearance given to the film. The bleached atmosphere of the desert cane through well, and as a result, we didn't see many other colors. Nonetheless, the hues looked fine within this framework.
Black levels appeared deep, and shadow detail was generally solid. The visual style occasionally made those sequences a bit tough to discern, but they were usually positive. Overall, this was a satisfying reproduction of a challenging source.
The film's DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack provided less equivocal pleasures. The soundfield seemed wide and deep as well; the front speakers often spread audio across their range, and the rear channels added a lot of spatiality to the image.
The surrounds weren't universally active, but they did contribute a good amount of kick to the mix. This wasn’t an action spectacular, so the track didn’t get tons of opportunities to shine.
Nonetheless, it came with plenty of battle moments that opened up the soundscape, and it displayed those well.
Quality seemed excellent throughout the movie. Dialogue was always clear and crisp with no intelligibility problem.
Music sounded warm, rich and effectively smooth, while effects were deep and realistic, with no signs of distortion. All in all, it's a very fine soundtrack.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the original DVD? The lossless audio offered more range and punch, whereas the visuals seemed substantially tighter and more vivid. This turned into a considerable step up in quality over the dated DVD, particular in terms of picture.
The Blu-ray duplicates most of the DVD’s extras, and that means we find two separate audio commentaries. The first comes from director/screenwriter David O. Russell, as he offers a running, screen-specific piece that looks at what attracted him to the project, script and story, cast, characters and performances, locations and cinematography, research and realism, music, audio, set design, stunts, effects and action, working with the studio, and other aspects of the flick.
Russell seems like a refreshingly frank filmmaker and his commentary adds lots of interesting and provocative information about the actual creation of the film. He's even willing to criticize his work at times, something that's pretty much absent from most commentaries. I really enjoyed Russell's track.
Next we hear from producers Charles Roven and Ed McDonnell. They sit together for their own running, screen-specific take on the film’s origins and development, bringing Russell on board, casting and performances, sets and locations, financial issues, and a variety of other production topics.
Roven and McDonnell are also chatty and engaging. Their track occasionally repeats notes from Russell’s, but not too much redundancy occurs. It's a useful commentary; my only criticism would be that Roven dominates and doesn't seem to give McDonnell much of a chance to speak.
Next comes a featurette called Under the Bunker: On the Set of Three Kings. This piece runs 21 minutes, 36 seconds and offers notes from Russell, Roven, McDonnell, producer Paul Junger Witt, military technical advisors Sgt. Mjr. Jim Parker and Lt. John Rottger, director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel, production designer Catherine Hardwicke,
and actors George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Said Taghmaoui, Spike Jonze, Jabir and Ghanem Algarawi, Nora Dunn and Cliff Curtis.
“Bunker” examines Russell’s approach to the material, story and characters, training and realism, sets and locations, photography,
A Tour of the Iraqi Village Set runs for 10 minutes, 18 seconds as Hardwicke shows us the sets and discusses why she did what she did. Hardwicke proves chatty and informative so this program offers a nice look at a sometimes-neglected area of filmmaking.
Shot mainly by Russell, the Director's Video Journal fills 13 minutes, 40 seconds and serves as a pictorial diary of his experiences. Obviously it's been severely edited - one gets the impression Russell had his video camera with him everywhere - but it still provides some fascinating looks at what he did in the making of the film.
Four Deleted Scenes full a total of six minutes, 39 seconds. All four scenes seem quite interesting. I understand why they got cut but also feel they could easily have remained, which isn't usually the case
We can view these with or without commentary from Russell. He briefly discusses the clips and communicates why he removed them. Russell adds useful notes.
Next we find an Interview with Director of Photography Newton Thomas Sigel. This seven-minute, 10-second program essentially provides Sigel's narration on top of shots from movie.
His comments usually relate to what's on screen at the time, and he provides some decent information about the photographic choices made during the filming. Some of this data is a bit redundant from other sources, but it's still a worthwhile piece.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we find An Intimate Look Inside the Acting Process With Ice Cube. Jonze shot this tongue-in-cheek two-minute, 21-second production and offers Cube's "serious" discussions of how to act.
We see Cube focus on a "crucial" line that he has to offer. It's a very funny piece.
Ultimately, Three Kings provides a very satisfying experience. The film itself comes with some flaws but nonetheless seems exciting and stimulating. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture, audio and supplements. This becomes a fine release for a compelling movie.
