The Movie
In this country at least, a revolution in martial arts movies began with 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, bringing elements of both fantasy and epic period grandeur. Two years later, much of the same beauty could be found in Zhang Yimou's Hero, the exceptionally well-told story of the unexpected, unacknowledged, and even unnamed heroes in every war. As the vast civil conflict continues to keep the seven nations of China disparate, a lone fighter (Jet Li) who has slain three top assassins is granted an audience with the grateful king. During this fateful meeting, lies are told and exposed, before still more necessary sacrifices can be made on the way to their ultimate unification and peace. It's a thrilling, touching, and even educational tale.
The Picture
Some grain is evident in the original 2.35:1 image, which in turn yields a modest amount of noise. The nuance and character of the video is striking however, particularly in its contrast to the deliberately softer black-and-white of the imagined swordfight playing out in the minds of two warriors. Various portions of the film employ a different palettes, like the reds at the calligraphy school, the yellow of the forest and the blue of the library, at times like a painting come to life. Detail is exquisite, preserving pores, individual hairs, textures, and all of the attention that the filmmakers put into the crowds and backgrounds. This newfound clarity also exposes some of the computer effects, while flickering flames can be a little overblown, and some unavoidable moiré taints a scene filmed through the narrow slats of some swaying blinds. But the good in this master far outweighs the not-so-good.
The Sound
Okay.
Let me get this out of the way: I'm a big believer that movies should be watched in their original language, even if that means reading subtitles. The Hero Blu-ray does indeed default to the Chinese track... as Dolby Digital 5.1. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is the English dub. It's spectacular, as I'll get to in a moment, but it just doesn't ring true, and leads to the same lip-synch problems that American audiences have had to deal with since the first foreign films started arriving at our theaters. My issue is fundamental: Blu-ray can deliver high-resolution audio, and Miramax did provide a DTS-HD Master Audio track... but for the wrong language, in my opinion. Dolby Digital is so "DVD," which is last-gen technology.
That being said, the DTS-HD Master Audio is an effortless masterpiece with so many wonderful touches. The delicate drip-drip-drip on a rainy day at the chess court is clear even amid all the thuds and clanging of a sword battle. Later, falling leaves float around us, and the strings and percussion of Tan Dun's musical score are crystal clear, including Itzhak Perlman's haunting violin solos. The rain of arrows at the calligraphy school is a terrific setpiece, and of course the library scene has been a staple ever since it appeared on a DTS demo DVD. Everything is underscored by ample bass, and not just in the marching of the 100,000-man army. As a counterpoint, the swords have an airy "zing." The audio here is the ideal complement to the sumptuous video.
The Extras
New for this edition is the "Close-Up of a Fight Scene" featurette with Quentin Tarantino, going in-depth (nine minutes) on the chess court duel, with lots of behind-the-scenes footage. It's in standard definition though, like all of the bonus material here. "Hero Defined" (24 minutes) is more serious and even more philosophical than the typical "making of," anchored by director Zhang Yimou, backed by his cast and crew. Storyboards for four sequences are shown side-by-side with the finished film (five minutes total), "Inside the Action: A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li" is one-on-one fun (14 minutes), while a promo for the soundtrack CD runs less than a minute.
Disc Two contains a Digital Copy of Hero for iTunes or Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
I've already forgiven Miramax for the language gaffe but please please please give the original language soundtrack the same attention to detail and quality (and lossless high definition surround) as the English dub next time! Hero is a stunner, an audio/video treat that also happens to be an entertaining and intellectually satisfying film.
Product Details
Also available as part of "The Ultimate Force of Four" Blu-ray Boxed Set.
Where to Buy:
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