DVD
REVIEW: GRAN TORINO
06/05/09
OVERVIEW:
Experience a tour de force
this June 9 when Gran Torino arrives on Blu-ray and DVD from
Warner Home Video. Directed by four-time Academy Award®
winner Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven),
Gran Torino follows Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) as he comes to
understand certain truths about his soul that have been
walled off since the war. Multiple Academy Award winner
Clint Eastwood stars in the drama Gran Torino, marking his
first film role since the Oscar-winning Million Dollar Baby.
Eastwood stars as an iron-willed and inflexible Korean War
veteran, living in a changing world, who is forced by his
immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held
prejudices.
Gran Torino is the
proud recipient of a Golden Globe™ nomination this year for
Best Original Song. Gran Torino also won Best Actor (Clint
Eastwood) and Best Original Screenplay (Nick Schenk) honors
from the National Board of Review. Clint Eastwood was also
honored with a Best Actor nomination from Chicago Film
Critics Association and the Broadcast Film Critics
Association.
On June 9th Gran Torino will also be available ON DEMAND
through Digital Cable, Satellite TV, Xbox 360 and
PlayStation 3 game consoles and it can be downloaded for
rental or purchase on iTunes and Amazon Video On Demand.
Visit
www.thegrantorino.com/ondemand for details.
SYNOPSIS: Retired
auto worker Walt Kowalski fills his days with home repair,
beer, and monthly trips to the barber. Though his late
wife's final wish was for him to take confession, for
Walt--an embittered veteran of the Korean War who keeps his
M-1 rifle cleaned and ready--there's nothing to confess. And
no one he trusts enough to confess to other than his dog,
Daisy.
The people he once called
his neighbors have all moved or passed away, replaced by the
Hmong immigrants he despises. Resentful of virtually
everything he sees--the drooping eaves, overgrown lawns and
the foreign faces surrounding him; the aimless gangs of
Hmong, Latino and African American teenagers who all think
the neighborhood belongs to them; the callow strangers his
children have grown up to be--Walt is just waiting out the
rest of his life.
Until the night someone
tries to steal his Gran Torino.
Still gleaming as it did
the day Walt himself helped roll it off the assembly line
decades ago, the Gran Torino brings his shy teenaged
neighbor Thao (Bee Vang) into his life when Hmong
gang-bangers pressure the boy into trying to steal it.
But Walt stands in the way
of both the heist and the gang, making him the reluctant
hero of the neighborhood--especially to Thao's mother and
older sister, Sue (Ahney Her), who insist that Thao work for
Walt as a way to make amends. Though he initially wants
nothing to do with these people, Walt eventually gives in
and puts the boy to work fixing up the neighborhood, setting
into motion an unlikely friendship that will change both
their lives.
Through Thao and his
family's unrelenting kindness, Walt eventually comes to
understand certain truths about the people next door. And
about himself. These people--provincial refugees from a
cruel past--have more in common with Walt than he has with
his own family, and reveal to him parts of his soul that
have been walled off since the war...like the Gran Torino
preserved in the shadows of his garage.
DVD: In this DVD the film is presented in widescreen 16x9
with a 2.35:1 aspect radio preserving its theatrical format. The transfer looks clean and inviting.
Ones again Warner Bros has dont an execllent job with this
transfer. The picture is complemented with a 5.1 Dolby
Digital audio in English, Spanish and Francais with Spanish and French
subtitles.
In terms of special
features the DVD doesn't include much. Only two short
featurettes The first one is "Manning the Wheel" which is
look at the American car culture. The second one is "Gran
Torino: More Than a Car", a four minutes visit to
Detroit and the Woodward Dream Cruise. It is unfortunately
that the DVD doesn't include at least some kind of behind
the scenes. All the behind the scenes featurettes are only
available in the Blu-ray release. The DVD also includes a
digital copy of the film.
Overall Gran Torino is
without a doubt one of the best film of 2008. Clint
Eastwood's direction and performance take a simple story to
higher levels.
VIDEO:
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and Francais (Quebec)
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish
Francais (Quebec)- Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Manning the
Wheel” – a look at the American car culture and what
it represents to the character Walt and to generations of
men. (9:21)
“Gran Torino: More
Than a Car”
- Visit Detroit and the Woodward Dream Cruise, an
annual parade of vintage cars held at the major cruise
center in Detroit during the 50's and 60's. (3:55)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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