My favourite new movie so far on Blu-ray this year is Moon, released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on January 12th, 2010.
It is hard to categorize this movie – perhaps it is a kind of science fiction mystery thriller.
Sam Bell is the sole inhabitant on the far side of the moon, running a mining operation that supplies clean energy back to Earth.
His only companion is the computer named GERTY, who looks after his needs as he monitors the automated mining equipment.
After Sam starts seeing strange visions, he has an accident on the moon’s surface, which triggers a chain of events that causes Sam to question his reality and the motives of the company that commissioned him.
These secrets are revealed fairly early in the film and the main drive of the movie is Sam’s quest to understand his situation and to resolve it.
While the pacing is perhaps a little slow, the movie is a mesmerizing piece that holds it tension right to the end.
Sam Rockwell plays the Sam Bell character with great skill, and the computer is voiced by Kevin Spacey.
Moon was the first feature directed by Duncan Jones.
The movie had a very strong critical reception with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89% and an IMDb score of 8/10.
However, Moon was pretty
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quiet at the cinema, reaching $5M at the US box office.
The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 24.5 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
Check out the details page for Moon to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.
The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels – 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.
The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 40.0 GB used and is coded for All Regions.
This disc has a pair of commentaries – one with writer/director Duncan Jones and producer Stuart Fenegan, and the other with Duncan Jones, director of photography Gary Shaw, concept designer Gavin Rothery and production designer Tony Noble.
The supplements also include the original short film from Duncan Jones called Whistle.
Featurettes include an excellent Making of Moon and another on creating the visual effects.
There are also a pair of question and answer sessions, one at the Science Center and another at the Sundance Film Festival.
The disc also includes the Theatrical Trailer and BD Live interactive features.
Moon is an excellent movie and a very worthwhile release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment – one I thoroughly recommend.
The retail price is $37.95, or order it right now at Amazon for $23.99, saving 37%!
Extras:
Commentary With Writer/Director Duncan Jones And Producer Stuart Fenegan
Commentary With Writer/Director Duncan Jones, Director Of Photography Gary Shaw, Concept Designer Gavin Rothery And Production Designer Tony Noble
Whistle – A Short Film by Duncan Jones
The Making of Moon
Creating The Visual Effects
Science Center Q&A with Director Duncan Jones
Filmmaker’s Q&A at The Sundance Film Festival
Theatrical Trailer
Synopsis:
Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is nearing the completion of his 3-year-long contract with Lunar Industries, mining Earth’s primary source of energy on the dark side of the moon. Alone with only the base’s vigilant computer Gerty (voiced by Oscar-Winner Kevin Spacey, 1999 Best Actor, American Beauty) as his sole companion, Bell’s extended isolation has taken its toll. His only link to the outside world comes from satellite messages from his wife and young daughter. He longs to return home, but a terrible accident on the lunar surface leads to a disturbing discovery that contributes to his growing sense of paranoia and dislocation so many miles away from home. Moon is an engrossing, intelligent sci-fi thriller that ranks with genre classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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