Gravity

I have never done a review of a film quite like "Gravity." It would be hard to place it into any one recognized film genre. This is a story of survival that may be similar to those you have heard of, such as Aron Ralston's story in the film "127 Hours." But this is placed way above our own familiar environment, in a setting usually reserved for aliens and futuristic galaxy travel: the vast emptiness of space. Words cannot fully justify the extent of this experience, though I will try my best. But this is really something you have to see for yourself.Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer, currently on her first mission in space aboard the space shuttle Explorer. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), a longtime astronaut, is her commander. While attempting to fix a telescope, they are suddenly warned by Houston of an impending crisis: a Russian satellite was blown up, and its debris has spread into other surrounding satellites, all of which is now heading in their direction. No sooner do we hear their warning when, like a speeding bullet, the crew and ship is suddenly torn into by an intense hurricane of smashing satellite-parts, from which only Stone and Kowalski emerge unscathed. And, to make matters worse, the satellite connecting the astronauts to Earth has also been destroyed, leaving them alone in the dark. Think of "Apollo 13," but with no Houston to guide them home.As the film's opening lines state: in space, there is no sound, no light, and no gravity. If separated from your spacecraft, as Stone soon is, you will continue to drift endlessly, unless something manages to stop you. So, after being knocked out of reach from the ship, Stone continues to spin out of control. And director Alfonso Cuarón, with no regard for nausea-induced audience members, takes us right along with her. On one side, we see nothing but desperately empty blackness; on the other, an illumination of the bright orb of our own blue planet, which is now drifting farther and farther away.Throughout the length of "Gravity," there is really no single moment (maybe one) that the camera remains stationary. We either drift along with our two principle cast members, see POV shots through their space helmets, or travel in circling arcs, perceiving them as tiny dots in the distance. In Cuarón's last project "Children of Men," there is a long tracking shot towards the end of the film, in which we see the characters wander through a hectic war-zone. In "Gravity," the extended camera shots are used to similar effect, though, as mentioned, the atmosphere is soundless here. So, as the giant arm of a satellite swings around and smashes into the side of a space shuttle, there are no explosive bangs or crashes. The intensity of these moments comes only through the reactions from Kowalski or Stone: heavy breathing, upset voices, or the labored screams of a person desperately fighting for their life. And, at all times, it is intensified by the electronic spirals of Steven Price's form-fitting musical score.Not since "Life of Pi" or "Avatar" has digital technology so seamlessly fit a movie. Yet unlike these two previous films, the CGI in "Gravity" is not meant to create an alien or dream-like effect. Instead, it serves to create as realistic a world as possible. A tiny droplet of water seeps from Stone's eye, and sails gently out in front of her. A pen floats gracefully around her head, as pieces of satellites soar through the air outside the space module, reflecting on the glinting sun, which has just started to peak its face from around the corner. As harrowing as much of this movie is, this is also, at times, a poetic experience."Gravity" is, essentially, an allegory of the many cycles of human life. There is birth, struggle, companionship, loss, and, through it all, the will to survive. At one moment, Stone is shown floating in a fetal position when first coming inside a space module, her arms wrapped around her legs, as if still inside the mother's womb. This one shot shows Stone's renewed strength of survival after the start of her ordeal. She will soon emerge from this experience, reborn and ready to fight for her life rather than lay down and accept this as the end. It is the influence of Kowalski's calm confidence at the start that finally convinces Stone that she must survive, and that she must take control, despite her losses in her life back on Earth. With the exception of the first twenty minutes with Clooney, this really is a one-man (woman) show, and Bullock manages to carry the full weight of "Gravity." This is the type of performance that deserves Academy recognition, which would make it the second nomination for Bullock in only the last couple of years.At once a virtual roller-coaster simulator ride, "Gravity" is also the most visually splendid film of 2013. And it's unlikely that another film will come close. It is a dizzying, entertaining, terrifying adventure.

I was starting to think this was never going to be released again with an atmos track. Finally has happened, and it’s as amazing as you would think. If you don’t have an atmos home theater system , and I’m not talking about your stupid junk sound bars, then don’t bother unless you just want to own the movie . It is an atmos masterpiece.

Note: I'm updating this review as I've now had a chance to spend some quality time with this "Diamond Luxe" Special Edition Blu-ray Disc. See "4/1/15 Update" section below for my impressions of the actual "Gravity" Special Edition Blu-ray Disc with Dolby Atmos. I've left my original review intact here for posterity as my commentary (3D vs. Dolby Atmos) is still valid.Original review (pre-release):"Gravity" is an intense audio and video experience, and an enjoyable film overall which is enhanced through the use of both 3D and Dolby Atmos surround. So why does the studio make us pick one or the other? The initial release of "Gravity" on Blu-ray is available in 3D, but with only a 5.1-channel soundtrack. It's a great-looking and sounding disc, but lacks the immersiveness of Dolby Atmos. This "Diamond Luxe" edition of the film will have a Dolby Atmos mix, but is not available in 3D. Frustrating!I saw the film two nights in a row in theaters: first in Dolby Atmos (in 3D), then in IMAX (also 3D). Both were enjoyable, but the pinpoint precision of sound available in Dolby Atmos made certain scenes -- like the opening shot with the sound slowly growing out of the vast nothingness -- so much more effective. Also, in scenes where there are layers upon layers of sound objects on top of the powerful score, Dolby Atmos helps to keep the mix sounding both coherent and immersive. Little details and spatial cues make it all very believable.As for the 3D, I know the live action shots were shot with a traditional camera and upconverted to 3D, but really that's only the actors' faces. The suits, backgrounds, ships, etc. are nearly all CGI creations, rendered in 3D. I would consider this more "real" 3D than "fake" 3D. Hey, if the director thinks 3D is essential to enjoyment of the film, who are we to argue? 3D is certainly effective at accentuating the peril when rogue satellites and space shrapnel are hurtling toward the viewer and when one of the astronauts is spinning out of control attached to a damaged space ship. 3D also heightens the feeling of claustrophobia in the tight spaces of the ships and space station, making the experience of what these people are going though more immediate, and more real.C'mon, Warner, let us watch "Gravity" the way Alfonso Cuarón intended: in 3D *AND* Dolby Atmos!4/1/15 Update:Having watched this Blu-ray now a couple of times all the way through, and repeating several scenes, I have to say, my opinion hasn't changed much from the theatrical release: the Dolby Atmos soundtrack of the Blu-ray Disc is nothing short of spectacular, but I do miss the 3D. If I had to choose one, I'd pick the Dolby Atmos 2D version over a non-Atmos 3D version, hands-down. If you have a Dolby Atmos-capable system, you simply *must* get this Blu-ray Disc. I've said for a while that "Gravity" is the poster child of Dolby Atmos, and this Blu-ray reinforces that.Just sit back and watch the opening scene for proof. Deep bass and effects build to a crescendo as text on screen describes the utter inhospitability of space. The sound peaks at intense levels and abruptly ends, followed by a deep enveloping silence. Out of this audio void slowly come the sounds of radio communications among astronauts and mission control personnel. Only in Dolby Atmos can you pick out the individual voices as they span the entire 3D space, side to side, top to bottom.Comparing to my memory of the film in theaters (I saw it twice in Dolby Atmos), I think the home mix on this Blu-ray is an excellent representation of the theatrical audio. Switching over to the standard 5.1 "Silent Space" track, these same conversations sound jumbled. I've never thought of standard 5.1 surround sound as "flat" before, but it feels that way, compared to the wide open Dolby Atmos mix.Dolby Atmos is used to good effect multiple times within the film, including that opening scene, the initial bombardment of the shuttle with space shrapnel (at about 11:00), the destruction of the International Space Station (52:39), and the final scene with buzzing insects and the sweeping music (1:22:00). The sense of 3-dimensional space is conveyed well in the Atmos mix.As for extras, there is a whole separate disc of Special Features, but these are mostly carried over from the previous Blu-ray release (with 3 new exclusives, detailed below). The main new thing here is the "Silent Space" version of the film. This is a bit of a misnomer, as there are still plenty of sounds and effects (including Dr. Stone's deep throbbing heartbeat). The only thing missing is the music. It's basically what Dr. Stone would have heard from within her own spacesuit (or from inside the various crafts she enters). Frankly, to me, this is an interesting experiment, but not one that I'd enjoy for repeated viewings. The film's score by Stephen Price is one of its highlights and I miss its presence. Without the music, the film feels a little more like a documentary and is, ultimately, less dramatic.Also exclusive to this release are three new videos, all in HD: "Looking to the Stars": a 42-minute homage to space-based SciFi films; "Gravity: The Human Element," an 11-minute featurette on what it takes to be a real astronaut, and "Sandra's Birthday Wish" a 3-minute birthday greeting from Sandra Bullock to director Alfonso Cuaron (complete with completely cheesy green screen-based visual effects). Pile on the special features from the original release and it all adds up to nearly 6 hours of bonus materials (including 90 minutes for the Silent Space version of the film). In other words, there's a lot to keep a fan busy, if you're into that sort of stuff.All in all, it's really an excellent release with top-notch video and audio. If they had included a 3D version of the film with Dolby Atmos, it would have been a clear 5-star Blu-ray Disc set, but even without that, it's still worth a purchase.

Ottimo film da avere in collezione

La película no es mi favorita del director. Respecto a la edición está excelente, contiene material extra interesante y la versión sin banda sonora para más inmersión en el silencio del espacio. la caja venía un poco maltratada de la esquina pero es mínimo el daño, no se nota a menos que revises muy a detalle. La caja es muy llamativa pues tiene un acabado mate, un poco brillante, una buena adición para colección o si eres fan de la película, el precio es excelente.

FILM: 9/10VIDEO: 9/10AUDIO: 8/10EXTRA: 10/10Alfonso Cuaròn ci lancia nell'ignoto con un film coraggioso e di grande impatto visivo.Sandra Bullock, George Clooney e lo spazio profondo sono i protagonisti di questo film più unico che raro, quasi totalmente ambientato nello spazio, con una trama semplice ma al contempo profonda e personaggi di spessore.7 Oscar non si vincono per caso e Gravity, a mio parere, li merita tutti.Visivamente è un gioiello e alcuni simbolismi molto ricercati (es. la scena in cui la Bullock galleggia in posizione fetale) ne fanno una perla rara.L'edizione bluray è all'altezza del film.In particolare, gli Extra, sono esattamente quanto serve per rendere onore ad un film di tale caratura.Geniale il cortometraggio "Aningaaq" direttamente collegato alla trama del film.

A great movie especially in 3d

La había visto en cine y me fascinó.Espere a que bajara un poquito de precio en Amazon y en cuanto lo hizo me lo compre.Sabiendo la trama y cuando ves una pelicula por segunda vez, a veces la opinión cambia. Pues no, me la he visto tres veces más en una television grande, y no solo la opinión no decae, sino que mejora. Tiene puntos flojos de guión, pero son escasos. Me sigue gustando mucho.Respecto al DVD, en mi ejemplar si viene, de hecho se lo ha llevado mi hijo de vacaciones para verla, dejandome el blu ray.La imagen del BR es espectacular, como ya viene siendo standard en casi todos los blu ray de estrenos recientes.La banda sonora, tanto en inglés como encastellano es muy buena. El juego del mudo vacio y el sonoro mundo con oxigeno está fantasticamente hecho y luce mucho en el 5.1Este año estoy siendo mas exigente con las peliculas que compro, pero Gravity ha sido un acierto esperado.El envío perfecto.