The Movie
George Clooney is The American, an assassin and custom weapons fabricator whose dark past has been catching up with him lately. Some angry Swedes are on his trail so he hides out in a small Italian village while awaiting his next assignment. And so he bides his time in this unhurried drama, striking up a friendship with the town priest who tries to dissect this mysterious stranger's character. In the arms of a local prostitute he begins to find the peace he has been seeking, but just as he begins to envision a new life to follow his old one, reality closes in and puts everything at risk again. There are brief bursts of violence, but don't mistake The American for a thriller: It's the story of a man at the crossroads, and we're not sure who to trust, or even who to root for.
Also read Mark Grady's review of The American.
The Picture
The 2.4:1 frame is often a canvas for the beautiful European scenery, stunning and clear and rife with shadow detail, even in difficult backlit shots. Some of the fine lines on the buildings can be a bit much even for 1080p video, and there's a tad of noise and a bit of film grain, but this is a surprisingly strong transfer overall. Even the lines on George Clooney's face are plainly evident, but on him they manage to show character, not age.
The Sound
Quite a few bullets are fired, and these sharp gunshots are celebrated in the DTS-HD Master Audio track with precise directionality and just the right resonance. Rears are employed to convey active train stations or other crowd noise, and incidental sounds are placed thoughtfully around the discrete 5.1 soundfield, right down to a tiny splash behind us in one scene. The musical score is generously mixed across the channels.
The Extras
In addition to his audio commentary, director Anton Corbijn waxes cinematic in the "Journey to Redemption" making-of, in high-definition. The five-and-a-half minutes of unchaptered deleted scenes are also HD. The American Blu-ray supports BD-Live connectivity, with Universal's Ticker news feed.
It also offers their pocket BLU portable bonus content and enhanced control from selected handheld devices. A unique printed code inside package enables a Digital Copy download for iTunes and Windows Media. And although not really an "extra," the disc provides the studio's "uHear" feature which skips back 15 seconds and engages the subtitles with a touch of the Yellow button, if we miss some dialogue.
Final Thoughts
The American relies heavily upon the engaging presence of its star, and the result is an atmospheric, sometimes tense glimpse into the life of a complex, unusual character. Helping his cause is an uncompromising technical presentation on Blu-ray.
Product Details
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