The Patriot: Extended Cut Blu-ray Disc Review

Buy This Blu-ray Disc Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!

Title: The Patriot: Extended Cut

Media: Blu-ray Disc

Region: A

Genre: Historical Epic

Stars: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper, Tcheky Karyo, Rene Auberjonois, Tom Wilkinson, Adam Baldwin, and Peter Woodward

Writer: Robert Rodat

Director: Roland Emmerich

Feature length: 175 minutes

Extras: The Art Of War Featurette, The True Patriots Featurette

Languages: English PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround Sound, and English, French, Czech, and Polish VO Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired and English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Polish, Swedish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hindi, Norwegian, Slovene, Turkish, Romanian, and Croatian Subtitles

Packaging: Blue BD Case

Chapter Stops: 16

Sound: PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2000/Blu-ray Disc Release: 2007

Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

The Directing and Producing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin in collaboration with Writer Robert Rodat and Star Mel Gibson delivered The Patriot to movie screens across America during the summer of 2000. The film marked a departure from the sci-fi films like Godzilla, Independence Day, and Stargate that Emmerich and Devlin have been known for producing. The Patriot is a historical epic and somewhat of a popcorn film too, but The Patriot is also a dramatic departure from the previous Centropolis Entertainment features.

Mel Gibson portrays a farmer haunted by his memories of his participation in the French and Indian War, who finds himself swept into the American Revolution when the war threatens his family. Gibson manages to deliver a great heroic performance that is emotionally charged and different from his performance in Braveheart. Heath Ledger also delivers a good performance as Gibson's oldest son who joins the militia despite his father's objections and ultimately draws the family into the war and all of its consequences. Jason Isaacs brings another great screen villain performance and Babylon 5/Crusade fans can spot Actor Peter Woodward as one of the officers in the British army. Actor Adam Baldwin, who appeared in the film My Bodyguard with a very young Dean Devlin and has also appeared in other Devlin produced projects, such as Independence Day, also turns in a good mixed performance of what I guess could be described as a reluctant villain since it is clear he does not agree with his commanding officer’s orders, but never the less, this does not excuse him from committing what today would be called war crimes. The Extended Cut is approximately ten minutes longer than the theatrical cut although there are no markers that detail where extended footage has been inserted.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing The Patriot: Extended Cut on to Blu-ray Disc with a high definition 1080p maximum resolution where available picture quality in a (2.40:1) widescreen aspect ratio and a high powered English PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround Soundtrack that manages to separate John Williams' score from the dialogue and effects beautifully and is an edgier mix with a higher volume and fidelity than the English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack found on the Blu-ray Disc too. The picture has vibrant colors, which at times makes the realistic bloody battles a bit hard to watch. Mel Gibson covered in blood is not a pretty sight. French, Czech, and Polish VO Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks are also included onto the Blu-ray Disc along with English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and the largest optional amount of subtitles I think I’ve ever seen for a home video release that includes English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Polish, Swedish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Hindi, Norwegian, Slovene, Turkish, Romanian, and Croatian Subtitles

Two extra value features from the previous DVD releases are carried on to this Blu-ray Disc release to include The Art Of War Featurette, which shows how much detail and care was taken into creating the world of The Patriot through visual effects and meticulous consideration to detail and The True Patriots Featurette, which also covers similar ground while incorporating more video taped interviews from Emmerich, Devlin, Rodat, and assorted historians.

A “Coming Soon” to Blu-ray Disc spot (1:11) and the trailer for Legends Of The Fall (2:16) are included with 5.1 Surround Sound. The seamless interactive menus run smoothly and the main menu is nicely animated with scenes from the film. The Patriot: Extended Cut is available on Blu-ray Disc now just in time for the Fourth of July at retailers on and offline courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Return To The Previous Page

Buy This Blu-ray Disc Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!