Why So Blu?

Captain Phillips (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

There are many great moments in Captain Phillips, the drama that recreates the true story of the hijacking of a container vessel by Somali pirates that took place in 2009, based on the memoir by Captain Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty. One moment that comes to mind is a look that Tom Hanks gives during an early part of the film. It is a simple acknowledgment of something pivotal happening to his ship, but he finds precisely the right way to do this with just an expression on his face. This is an actor who had been working for over 30 years and still found new ways to impress me. It’s a shame the film did not end up scoring an Oscar nomination for Hanks, among its other accolades. Still, this Paul Greengrass-directed thriller is not just anchored by a terrific lead performance. Here’s a film that presents a challenging situation, sustains a level of tension, and steers away from tackling any more than it needs to.

Film:

(Note: This review was originally published on October 11, 2013.)

Hanks stars as Captain Phillips, the commanding officer of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama. While at sea, moving through international waters, around the coast of Africa, a threat emerges. Somali pirates are bent on making their way to the vessel, boarding it, taking hostages, and negotiating for a large sum of cash. Captain Phillips does everything he can to stop this from happening, only to then do everything he can to keep the pirates from finding the rest of the crew aboard the ship. Before long, it comes down to Phillips and four pirates, who find themselves in way over their heads.

I can divulge how much information I knew about this story before going in, but it does not really matter. The fact that a film like this manages to join the ranks of many other successful movies based on true stories, with outcomes widely known to the public, is something to be proud of. Director Greengrass, who gave himself what may have been an even harder challenge, from certain perspectives, with United 93 back in 2006, has built quite the tense feature based on the script by Billy Ray, who adapted Phillips’ book. Even with a certain level of inevitability in play, the tension in this film rarely lets up, and the craft involved in recapturing a situation like this is quite impressive.

Invoking the Greengrass name, of course, recalls his penchant for shaky cam, but the difference between Greengrass and the various action filmmakers that have adopted this technique over the years is how it serves the narrative (let alone how much better Greengrass is at it). He has found a way to build involving narratives based on the docudrama filmmaking techniques he is fond of utilizing. Moreover, the fact that he can have the camera track all the action in this type of format while on the ocean and keep the viewer invested on an emotional level, rather than have them become seasick, is the mark of someone who knows how to hone their own style appropriately.

Along with Hanks, credit also goes to Barkhad Abdi as Muse, the lead pirate who does the most verbal sparring with Hanks. This leads to the intimidation game, with an even more hyper pirate, played by Barkhad Abdirahman, standing right behind him (with a loaded AK-47) every step of the way.  Considering that these pirates were young men between 16 and 20, it is interesting to see how their personas match up with the situation that grows far out of hand.  While Captain Phillips functions more as a procedural than a character drama, the work done to give us the most it can regarding who these pirates and Phillips are as people is more than satisfactory, elevating the film even further.

Read the rest of this review HERE.

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Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: Given the nature of Greengrass’ filmmaking style, while the film may have a sort of grainy look to go along with the cinematography that is either scorched with sunlight or covered in the darkness of nighttime at sea or the bowls of the ship, it still looks great. This 4K presentation does a fantastic job of holding true to the film’s vision without betraying its unique nature. Details are sharp, production design, costumes, etc., all appear clearly on screen.

Depth: There is plenty to appreciate about the sense of depth here, as we see people moving all over the frame during various arguments, let alone the ascending and descending taking place on this ship, adding to the sense of dimensionality.

Black Levels: There are a lot of indoor settings and nighttime scenes that speak to seeing an optimal amount of steady black levels, and it’s true. No sign of crushing.

Color Reproduction: It’s not exactly a muted film, but the realistic nature of what it aims for means the colors aren’t necessarily being pushed for the sake of popping. With that in mind, it doesn’t hold back the areas that feature a lot of color, whether it’s the orange vessel we spend a lot of time in or the greens of the small boats that rub against the water we are constantly near.

Flesh Tones: Rich textures allow facial close-ups and detail to shine.

Noise/Artifacts: Nothing in sight.

 

Audio:

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD TrueHD 7.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles: English SDH, Español, French

Dynamics: Sony doesn’t disappoint with its Dolby Atmos track. Plenty of work goes into the various settings, with the film supplying so much music, sound effects, dialogue, and more to fill out the audio levels.

Height: The bounce of all the dialogue around the ships and vessels feels like the most apparent aspect here. It all functions as a way to help deliver a well-rounded audio experience.

Low-Frequency Extension: The LFE output is strong enough for the score, gunfire, and other loud elements without overshadowing what occurs.

Surround Sound Presentation: All the speakers have a chance to shine here. As the film builds toward its various confrontation scenes, there’s plenty to enjoy in how it understands space and uses it on an audio level.

Dialogue Reproduction: All the dialogue is clear.

 

Extras:

The 4K disc features no extras outside of a trailer, while the Blu-ray copy of the film features the same features originally made available. This means getting a solid commentary and a lengthy documentary about the making of the film.

Features Include:

• Audio Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass (Blu-ray Disc) – Greengrass is not the most exciting speaker, but he does know how to pack a commentary full of information regarding the filmmaking process, and more.
• Capturing Captain Phillips (HD, Blu-ray Disc)
  • Embarkation (20:23) – A focus on the history of piracy and what led up to the actual making of the film before it began shooting, including rehearsals.
  • Full Ahead (24:42) – This section focuses on the preparation of the ship, what it is to be on set, stunts, and more.
  • Stand Fast (13:35) – This part focuses on shooting on the lifeboat and the film’s finale.
• Theatrical Trailer (4K Disc, HD, 2:24)
• Previews (HD)
• Blu-ray Copy of the Film
• Digital HD Copy of the Film

 

Summary:

I was a big fan of Captain Phillips upon its initial release in theaters, and looking at it again, the film has held up great. It’s a tense and exciting action-thriller that absolutely delivers on a dramatic front as well. This sits among Hanks’ best performances, and there’s terrific breakout work from Abdi as well. Greengrass took what he has been good at and delivered a real winner. Sony has done the same with this 4K UHD release, as it boasts an incredible video presentation, and adds an Atmos track that does a number on the sound system. There is Nothing new regarding supplements, but these are still good enough extras to accompany this solid package.

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