The Movie
Over the past four years, Brokeback Mountain has rightly evolved into an iconic motion picture for its brave, beautiful dramatization of a homosexual love story between a pair of cowboys. Leave it to director Ang Lee to find the sometimes unbearable sorrow and frustration of being different in a world of unsympathetic--even openly hostile--sameness, and pick up an Oscar along the way.
After ranchers Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) discover their dangerous feelings during a two-man job in the summer of 1963, they embark upon a difficult love affair over the next two decades. No question this film was fraught with taboo, and it drew a lot of predictable hate from a lot of ignorant people, the worst of whom went so far as to make gay jokes upon Ledger's untimely passing, but the humanity and sensitivity of the story ultimately transcended all barriers. And I forgot just how good Anne Hathaway is as Jack's spirited wife, the only one of the four leads (including Michelle Williams) not nominated for an Academy Award.
Also check out Adina Konits' review of the theatrical release of Brokeback Mountain.
The Picture
Considering the well-earned nomination for Best Cinematography, I was somewhat disappointed with this high-def presentation. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great shots, particularly the close-ups (we can tell who needs to moisturize, who needs a sharper razor) and excellent color, but the sweeping vistas which surely inspired The Academy have a distracting twitch, what I dubbed the "Misty Mountain Hop" for all you Zep fans. Dark or soft areas of the 1.85:1 frame also display some artifacts, while the backgrounds have an unnatural hardness to them. Frequent puffs of cigarette smoke or cold breath reproduce mostly organically, although blacks almost always lack adequate nuance. And in the infamous shadowy tent scene, the low lighting levels take an unfortunate toll on color and detail.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is clean but seldom fancy. Dialogue and basic effects are clear but the use of the rears in most scenes is timid at best. There are a few substantial moments of weather, particularly mighty thunder and all-encompassing wind. The rodeo scenes are a tad more spacious, and there are nice bits like a fireworks display, one of the instances of respectable bass punch as needed. Gustavo Santaolalla's Oscar-winning musical score relies heavily upon guitar and other strings, all of which reproduce exquisitely in the home theater.
The Extras
The bonuses are carried over from the HD DVD and the DVD before it, all in standard definition. "A Groundbreaking Success" (17 minutes) chronicles the social significance of the movie, "Music from the Mountain" (eleven minutes) introduces us to composer Santaolalla, and his music plays over the two-and-a-half-minute photo montage, "Impressions from the Film." "On Being a Cowboy" reveals the actors' horse training (six minutes), "Directing from the Heart: Ang Lee" is a blend of praise and genuine insight (seven-and-a-half minutes), "From Script to Screen: Interviews with Diana Ossana & Larry McMurtry" plumbs the genesis of the Oscar-winning adaptation (eleven minutes), while the freestanding Logo TV special "Sharing the Story: The Making of Brokeback Mountain" is redundant if you watch the rest. BD-Live is enabled, but there is no Brokeback-specific content.
Final Thoughts
The picture quality in particular could have been better and some new extras (an audio commentary…?) might have been welcome, but the poignant, universal Brokeback Mountain will likely endure for years to come as a bittersweet, non-traditional Hollywood love story.
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