Stranger Than Fiction: Special Edition on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Rachel Cericola
The Film
Going into
Stranger Than Fiction, one might expect another Will Ferrell-styled romp. Ferrell's Harold Crick is leading the average life of an IRS agent (re: boring), when voices in his head begin narrating his life. It sounds like there's potential for some streaking in there somewhere.
However, this is not your usual Ferrell movie. There's no Vince Vaughn, no John C. Reilly, and no shots of Ferrell's infamous backside. Instead, the comic actor's first semi-serious role is a bizarre one. Did we mention that the voice belongs to Emma Thompson? She plays an author, who happens to be writing Harold's story as he's living it.
Stranger Than Fiction has been compared countless times to the many works of Charlie Kaufman (
Being John Malkovich,
Adaptation). While that is pretty spot-on, the film would be nothing without Ferrell in the lead. True Ferrell fans might be slightly disappointed. After all, there are no blow-up dolls or tighty-whitey shots here. Still, he manages to squeak out a slight bit of humor in a
role that definitely needs it. There's also a ton of strong supporting performances, most notably Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman -- who is particularly hilarious as the literary professor/lifeguard trying to help Harold translate his predicament.
Check out Joe Lozito's review of the theatrical release of Stranger Than Fiction.
The Picture
Those familiar with the not-so-special edition of
Stranger Than Fiction shouldn't expect anything new on the image side. However, it's hard to improve on the 1.85:1 transfer. The colors pop and the images are very sharp, especially when it comes to facial detail and all of the on-screen graphics and other illustrations that seem pop up throughout Harold's day.
The Sound
Sony did tweak the sound, adding the TrueHD 5.1 track to this Special Edition release. The new sound is nice and delivers clear dialogue, but there is nothing truly noteworthy that would warrant great sound technology. In other words,
Stranger Than Fiction will most likely live at the bottom of your list of go-to discs when it comes to demo material.
The Extras
This Special Edition couldn't be less special. Obligatory deleted scenes (never before seen!), a few featurettes about how everyone was perfectly cast, and commentaries are average fare. Some of the new perks are slightly entertaining, but it's odd that Sony would drag them out into a another release. Was the film that big that it called for a double dip? That's a special edition of lameness.
Final Thoughts
Despite an excellent image transfer, this probably isn't a must-have for A/V buffs. Still,
Stranger Than Fiction is surprisingly entertaining, and worthy of a rental. It's a shame that it didn't get better treatment at the box office. Sony's promoting the flick as a frat-pack-styled comedy didn't exactly help matters. After all, there is some man-ass -- just not Will Ferrell man-ass.
Where to Buy:
Product Details
- Actors: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson
- Director: Marc Forster
- Audio/Languages: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English, French), Audio Descriptive Track (English)
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Region: A
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: PG-13
- Studio: Sony Pictures
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: December 2, 2008
- Run Time: 113 minutes
- List Price: $28.95
- Extras:
- Commentary with Director Marc Forster, Will Ferrell and Dustin Hoffman
- Filmmakers Commentary
- Actors In Search of a Story
- Building the Team
- Words on a Page
- Picture a Number: The Evolution of a G.U.I.
- On the Set
- On Location in Chicago
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
