Pitch Black + The
Chronicles of Riddick (Universal Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: A-
Extras: B- Films: B/C+
We’ve
already extensively covered Pitch Black
and The Chronicles of Riddick when
they arrived on the now defunct HD-DVD format, you can read about each of them
here:
Pitch
Black
The
Chronicles of Riddick
Now both
films are available for fans who chose the Blu-ray format, which won the HD
battle. While the film is essentially
the same (both are unrated directors cut) the Blu-rays feature better picture
and sound quality here.
The
HD-DVD’s were far too soft and showcased the films digital work poorly, these
Blu-ray editions are still presented in 2.35 X 1 with 1080p High Definition
transfers, but the Blu-rays get the mix just right with excellent detail,
color/contrast, and give the films new life on the format. The same can be said for the films sound,
which you can read about the previous HD-DVD’s and their limitations, even
though they were released with DTS soundtracks, they were not DTS-HD 5.1 mixes
like we have here on the Blu-ray. The
lossless DTS-HD mixes finally restore the energy and sound design that these
films had in the theater with plenty of kick throughout. I always thought that Pitch Black had a very unique soundtrack that was utilized quite
well with its stylized camerawork; finally the Blu-ray offers that sound mix
with more detail, fidelity, and overall depth that fans know the film is
capable of.
While the
supplements are carried over, make no mistake about it that the Blu-rays run
laps around the HD-DVDs, which at the time were a step above the standard
definition DVD’s issued. Fans will be
incredibly glad to finally see lossless mixes that these films are clearly
designed for and we are getting to the point where there are very few films
left that have yet to be released on Blu-ray that were on HD-DVD.
- Nate Goss
