Movies to Shop by

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http://www.hemagazine.com/node/Movies_to_Shop_By

If you’re shopping for a new display, don’t leave home without these indispensable Blu-ray discs.

Over the past six years worth of “Show-Offs” columns, I’ve devoted who knows how many thousands of words to one singular goal: giving you the tools you need to blow your hair back, tickle your retinas, and prove to your guests that you have the best home theater on the block.

That assumes, of course, that you actually do have the best home theater on the block.

If you’re still shopping for the perfect display, or simply want to make sure that yours is in tip-top working order, you’re going to need a slightly different set of tools—amongst them the following five unforgiving Blu-ray discs,

These were selected for their ability to evaluate a potential new set or freshly calibrated display in different, but equally important, ways.

Batman Begins (Blu-ray)
Best Test Chapter: 1

Batman Begins

The first thing I look for when evaluating a display is its level of black. Everything else about the image can be positively flawless, but if the low end of the value scale isn’t positively stygian, the image just doesn’t pop. And to put a display’s black levels to the test, you’d have to look long and hard for a better, blacker disc than Batman Begins on Blu-ray.

In fact, the very first sequence—in which little Master Bruce takes an unfortunate tumble into the well that will eventually fuel both his phobias and his famous chiropteran masquerade—is as far as you need look to find shadows as deep and dark as the underside of Pol Pot’s soul.

Pay particular attention to the inky background that nearly swallows young Bruce as he lies at the bottom of the cave. Also note the depths of the cave in the very next shot. If either is anything less than perfectly pitch—if they don’t nearly suck the light right out of the room itself—either the display isn’t calibrated well or it isn’t up to snuff.

Sunshine (Blu-ray)
Best Test Chapter: 1

Sunfire

Of course, having black levels that make squid ink look positively ashen is one thing, but you don’t want those deep dark shadows eating the rest of the image. Less-expensive LCDs in particular are notorious for an ailment known as “crushed blacks,” in which subtle details are forever lost in darker scenes, no matter how well the set is calibrated.

To ensure that you don’t find yourself a victim of this unfortunate malady, be sure to bring a disc with you that sports a lot of subtle detail in the nether regions of the value scale—a disc like Danny Boyle’s sci-fi epic Sunshine on Blu-ray.

Again, you need look no further than the opening chapter for the perfect evaluative scene; once the Icarus II has eclipsed the sun in the opening sequence—once the black vacuum of space dominates the screen—take a close look at the side of the ship itself. If its structure looks simple, you don’t know what you’re missing.

It’s actually riddled with details: struts and beams and long spinning arms and other jutty-outty things rendered in almost-black. Black’s next-door neighbor. Or maybe its quiet roommate. If you can’t see them, you’re going to miss many of the finer details in this amazing-looking flick.

National Treasure (Blu-ray)
Best Test Chapter: 4

National Treasure

Judged as a whole, National Treasure’s Blu-ray transfer is a teensy bit uneven, but at its best, few discs can touch it in terms of fine detail, which makes it perfect for scrutinizing the scaling capabilities of a non-1080p display—in other words, its ability to convert an image consisting of 1920x1080 pixels to the display’s native resolution smoothly. It’s also a fantastic test of an LCD display’s refresh rate and response time.

Check out the beginning of Chapter 4 to see what I mean. If the sculpted details of the Library of Congress’s coffered dome don’t send your jaw toward the floor at an expeditious rate, you’re definitely not seeing everything this Blu-ray has to offer.

Lock onto one of the sculpted figures in the dome and follow it with your eye as the camera pans downward: does it flow cohesively and remain detailed, as it should? Or does it devolve into a jagged, blurry, incoherent mess? I hope I needn’t point out that the latter is most definitely not preferable.

Black Snake Moan (Blu-ray)
Best Test Chapter: 8

Black Snake Moan

If deep, rich, vibrant colors are a good thing, then deeper, richer, more vibrant colors are even better, right? At least that’s what far too many display manufacturers would have you believe. In the competitive wilderness of in-store displays, fire-engine red in tooth and claw, one way to stand out of the pack is to be more colorful than the competition—to boast reds that are redder, blues that are bluer, greens that are way on the other side of the fence.

But do you really want to taste a rainbow of fruit flavors every time you turn on your TV? If your answer to that question is no—and hopefully it is—you’re going to need a disc with superb and realistic color reproduction to put your prospective (or freshly calibrated) display to the test. And for my money, no film fits this bill better than Black Snake Moan.

What I love about the film’s palette is its discretion; the screen is awash throughout with the muted earth tones of the dusty, dirty South. So when rich splashes of vibrant color do pop up—like they do at the beginning of Chapter 8—they have to be spot on accurate, or run the risk of looking a little Looney Tunes.

Pay attention to the building façades as Lazarus pulls into town to peddle his produce: do they look like bricks, or bric-a-brac? Take heed of the fabrics, as well; denims should be a rich, store-bought hue, not Very Berry Blue. Likewise, the dresses in Ellie May’s should look like the dye would bleed all over the place in the first wash; they shouldn’t, on the other hand, make your eyes bleed.

I Am Legend (Blu-ray)
Best Test Chapter: 5

I Am Legend

Bring these crucial elements together in one image and what you end up with is a downright frighteningly realistic and absolutely uncompromising picture that deftly separates the winning displays from the wimpy wannabes. Take a look at Chapter 5 to see what I mean—and to see if the display you’re looking at has got the goods.

The scene opens with a tight close-up of Will Smith’s visage—a veritable landscape of prickly whiskers and wide-open pores—with a slick, wet, adorably obsidian puppy nose thrown in next to him for good measure. If the next shot, with its rock-solid contrasts and ultra-detailed foreground don’t have you patting your face to feel for 3D glasses, something is definitely amiss.

And pay particular attention to the colors in the cuts that follow—especially as Smith descends into this underground lab. The transition from the earthen décor and luscious skin tones above to the bright blue glare of the ultraviolet lamps below should be stark, but not a shock to the senses. The cool, gleaming light that surrounds Smith should certainly leap off the screen. If it’s blocky, bleeding, or looks even remotely like Day-Glo hairspray, though, you seriously need to keep shopping.