Men In Black Blu-ray Disc Review

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Title: Men In Black

Media: Blu-ray Disc

Region: A, B, C

Genre: Sci-Fi Comedy

Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Rip Torn

Writer: Ed Solomon

Based On The Comic Book By: Lowell Cunningham

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Feature length: 98 minutes

Extras: Visual Telestrator Feature Commentary Featuring Barry Sonnenfeld and Tommy Lee Jones With On-Screen Diagrams, Technical Commentary With Barry Sonnenfeld, Rick Baker, and ILM team, Character Animation Studies Using Angles, Tunnel Scene Deconstruction Using Angles, Extended and Alternate Scenes, Conceptual Art, Storyboard, and Production Photo Galleries, Storyboard Comparisons, Original Featurette, Documentary: Metamorphosis Of Men In Black, Music Video Starring Will Smith and Mikey, Theatrical Trailers and Teaser

New Features: Intergalactic Pursuit: The MIB Multiplayer Trivia Game (BD Live), Ask Frank The Pug Interactive Game, Alien Subtitle Track

Languages: English French and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound and Spanish and Thai Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired and French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Thai, Arabic, Bahasa, and Dutch Language Subtitles

Packaging: Blue BD Case

Chapter Stops: 16

Sound: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 1997/Blu-ray Disc Release: 2008

Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Men In Black arrived on Blu-ray Disc within two years of the format’s debut. While not a Directed by Steven Spielberg title like last year’s Close Encounter’s Of The Third Kind, it is none the less one of the more popular titles produced by Amblin Entertainment so it’s arrival on Blu-ray Disc is yet another sign of the format’s continued mainstream acceptance and the high definition optical disc format of choice as well as the best way to view films in high definition in the home at the time of this writing. It took more than three years for the film to debut on DVD back in the day.

Men In Black is a clever sci-fi comedy that features Will Smith as the new recruit with MIB Veteran Tommy Lee Jones as they participate in an ultra super secret police force that monitors the traffic of extraterrestrial immigration on Earth and maintains the intergalactic law. A giant alien bug has come to Earth to steal a microscopic galaxy and cause chaos that threatens the very existence of Earth itself because his species thrives on the pestilence and tragedies of others for food. Smith and Jones must intercept the bug, prevent the galaxy from being stolen, and save the world, which is all in a day's work for MIB veteran's Jones and their boss played by Rip Torn. Linda Fiorentino lends her older woman's sex appeal as a Doctor in the City Morgue who gets caught up in the adventure while Vincent D'Onofrio delivers a wonderful physical performance as Edgar, the bug hidden within the decomposing body suit of an ill fated farmer.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has delivered Men In Black on Blu-ray Disc with a 1080p high definition widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio that is superior to any high definition broadcast I have ever seen and is also superior to the previous DVD releases. The presentation overall is excellent. English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound has been added to this release and it adds a bit more bass as well as more detail on the sound effects a better appreciation for the intricate little noises whether it be the slight sounds of an alien visitor or the subtleties of the streets of New York that make this high resolution soundtrack a winner. French and Portuguese Language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound mixes are also included along with Spanish and Thai Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks. English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Thai, Arabic, Bahasa, and Dutch Language Subtitles are encoded onto the Blu-ray Disc as options and there is an Alien Language Subtitle choice available too.

The majority of the bonus features are carried over from the previous DVD releases and are detailed below, but in terms of new extra value features, the Blu-ray Disc BD Live feature is actually not very different from the web material that was available on HD DVD titles before the collapse of the format. There are spotlight trailers for The Other Boleyn Girl, Broken Trail, The Professionals, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Persepolis, Ultraviolet and more titles other various genre subheadings. In the (Coming Soon) category are trailers for Lakeview Terrace, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, and The House Bunny. If that were not enough, the disc itself also features previews for The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep, Vantage Point, First Sunday and a “BD is HD” promo spot. Other BD Live materials include a cute Ask Frank The Pug feature and a trivia game. BD Live features are only available for users with a BD player or drive with an Ethernet port and Profile 2.0 compliance. I used my Sony PlayStation 3 for these features and they all worked fine. Just be sure you have downloaded the latest firmware update.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld and Actor Tommy Lee Jones give a fun and scene specific audio commentary track that allows the option to see the two silhouetted and actually point at what they are talking about while a light pen circles and adds extra visual weight to what exactly is the topic of discussion. This extra feature alone makes the commentary so much more enjoyable because it makes one feel like they are more of a participant in the commentary experience than just a listener. There is also a technical audio commentary with Barry Sonnenfeld, Rick Baker, and ILM team members.

There are a number of multi-angle effects components as well that gives the viewer with a remote an opportunity to analyze and study various alien characters and the Tunnel Scene. This feature worked quite fluidly and is a great extra for students interested in special effects and filmmaking. As if this was not enough, Conceptual Art, Storyboard, and Production Photo Galleries are also included for viewers to review as well as storyboard comparison of key segments from the film.

Five Extended and alternate scenes are rather short and are probably the only weak element available on this disc since the documentary, Metamorphosis Of Men In Black actually covers the changes made before the film's release with better alternate takes and videotaped interviews that include Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, and Effects Wizard Rick Baker. An older promotional featurette is also included on the DVD along the Teaser and Theatrical Trailer for Men In Black. The scene editing workshops are also a lot of fun and easy to put together.

Men In Black is available on Blu-ray Disc now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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