Techie or not, there was something for everyone at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, even for movie lovers. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment was on hand to bring the issue of the future of technology in entertainment to the forefront, particularly the Blu-ray format, during “The Director’s Vision” panel. The Los Angeles Time’s Geoff Boucher spoke with directors Michael Mann, Oliver Stone and Baz Luhrmann to get their perspectives on the topic.
Mann took the reigns to start and explained that thanks to Blu-ray’s higher bit rate, “it’s the premiere format to reproduce all the work we do.” In terms of on-set decisions concerning depth of field, what portion of the frame the filmmaker would like the viewer’s eye to be drawn to and more, Mann believes Blu-ray does a better job of depicting those efforts.
Stone chimed in relating the issue to film students in the 60s and 70s. Back then he explained, “If you have a print that looked so good at home, it’s a dream.” Today we do have The Criterion Collection, permitting us to watch films from way back when, in top-notch quality, but Stone said, “Criterion does a great job, but look at Blu-ray compared to it; there’s no comparison.”
As for Luhrmann, he proudly announced that he’s a “Blu-ray nut.” He likens that passion to good personal relationships. “Great movies are like people. If you have a connection with them, you want to have deeper relationships with them, more layers.”
Stone wrapped up the discussion with a particularly significant aspect of the format – it’s ability to persevere. Even more profound, Stone called Blu-ray “the last hardware.” He said, “There won’t be any other hardware. It’s going to be on a digital phone or it’s gonna be on a computer or a TV screen, but it’ll be stored, but you’ll never have access to it and physically hold it in your hand like a book.”
As cool as some of the bells and whistles that Blu-ray has to offer are, Stone is the one who really nailed what this whole issue comes down to. Considering the long run, Blu-ray is simply the best method of preservation. In terms of entertainment, yes, it’s got fun bonuses like games and BD Live, but their value is short term. In some time, the home distribution companies will come up with even more innovative BD extras and we’ll adjust. On the other hand, should Stone be correct in saying Blu-ray could be our very last form of physical home entertainment, this is the format that we’ll need to rely on for tangible conservation for, well, perhaps forever.
Check out the panel for yourself here.
By Perri Nemiroff
