review: PATTON (Blu-ray)

Fox  //  Buy from Amazon.com A critically acclaimed film that won a total of eight 1970 Academy Awards (Including Best Picture) Patton is a riveting portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest military geniuses. One of it's Oscars went to George Patton the only Allied general truly feared by the Nazis. Charismatic and Flamboyant Patton designed his own uniforms sported ivory-handled six-shooters and believed he was a warrior in past lives. He outmanuevered Rommel in Africa and after D-Day led his troops in an unstoppable campaign across Europe. But he was rebellious as well in sight and poignancy his own volatile personailty was one enemy he could never defeat. As any regular reader of the mighty DVDschlock.com can tell you, I'm no fan of older movies (basically anything before 1980 is defined as "old" to me.) However, after sitting through my first-ever screening of "Patton" (on Blu-ray, no less), this film is one of few that gets a pass from my normal exclusion of pre-1980 films... It's a tour de force of filmmaking, rolling in amazing storytelling, gorgeous cinematography, phenomenal acting and historical fact woven through an engaging narrative, all of which mixes together to create a helluva good flick. George C. Scott is just incredible in the title role, as he absolutely becomes Patton - he trancends acting and just "is"... and it's amazing to behold. I don't typically say things like that, as it makes me sound like a film snob (where's my black turtleneck and cafe au lait, damnit?), but it's true - the guy is damn impressive in the film, and even if the rest of it was shit (which it most definitely is not), he alone would be worth sitting through this. Thankfully, every aspect of the film is equal to his stellar performance, so this is just a truly excellent viewing experience, made all the more wonderful by the magic of Blu-ray. Video The high def 2.20:1 1080p transfer for this film is freakin' fantastic - admittedly, my hopes were not too high, given that the film is nearly 40 years old... but holy cripes does this look good! Razor-sharp detail, lush coloring, not a single defect - I am impressed! Audio The uncompressed DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround sound mix is solid, but not as impressive as the visuals (esp. with the noticable hiss that appears fairly regularly throughout the film.) Extras introduction from Francis Ford Coppola audio commentary w/ Coppola 3 documentaries: History Through the Lens: Patton: A Rebel Revisited; Patton's Ghost Corps; Making of Patton still galleries historical essay track trailer Closing Thoughts True classic film + enormous assortment of extras = fantastic Blu-ray release from the fine folks @ Fox!