The Movie
If there's one movie that Italian-Americans hold above all others, well, it's The Godfather, which to us includes The Godfather Part II as part of a single entity, barring III of course. For those who can't handle the violence, or if we simply need to pick a runner up, it would have to be the brilliantly-observed family comedy Moonstruck.
We can even forgive the fact that star Cher has about as much Italian blood in her as a bowl of rice: Hell, she won the Academy Award for her portrayal of a not-yet-over-the-hill widow with a sudden second chance at love. Complicating her romantic rebirth however is the fact that her unexpected paramour is the brother of the man she was engaged to not 24 hours ago. Love's funny like that, and so is Moonstruck, unselfconsciously free of overt sex and profanity but full of deliciously honest, memorable characters and dialogue.
The Picture
The 1.85:1 image is on the warm side but in a welcome way, with some film grain and minimal noise. Impressively, the bitrate of the AVC master hovers right around the 35-36 megabits-per-second mark for much of the 102-minute running time. Blacks are slightly better than expected, mostly natural, not super-detailed but neither are they excessively harsh.
The Sound
A generous effort has been made to remix the 1987 soundtrack for DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, with pleasing moments as when the crowd at The Grand Ticino expresses their approval. There are classic home theater moments as when a jumbo jet flies overhead, directionality as a gate slides closed, even gentle echo as needed, although little touches like a tweeting bird in a cage might be a bit too pronounced. Music weaves spiritedly through the movie, always clean and well-balanced.
The Extras
Cher is joined by director Norman Jewison and fellow Oscar-winner, writer John Patrick Shanley, on the audio commentary, ported like all of the extras here from the 2006 Sony Deluxe Edition DVD. "Moonstruck: At the Heart of an Italian Family" (25-and-a-half minutes) combines talent interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with personal anecdotes form everyday Italian-American couples. The half-hour, seven-part "Pastas to Pastries: The Art of Fine Italian Food" takes us on a tour of Little Italy, and composer Dick Hyman discusses the operatic tone of the film in "Music of Moonstruck," about six minutes. The video extras are all in standard definition.
Final Thoughts
In truth, the Moonstruck Blu-ray does not represent a major upgrade from the previously available DVD, nothing new or drastically enhanced, but the movie has lost none of its power to charm, and for a mere $19.99 or less, this is a high-value catalog title.
Product Details
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