Rumor Has It... Blu-ray Disc Review

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Title: Rumor Has It…

Media: Blu-ray Disc

Genre: Drama Comedy

Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Jenkins, and Mena Suvari

Writer: T.M. Griffin

Director: Rob Reiner

Feature length: 97 minutes

Extras: Theatrical Trailer

Languages: English and French (Dubbed In Quebec) Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired and English, French and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Elite Blue HD Case

Chapter Stops: 25

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2005/Blu-ray Disc Release: 2006

Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“Rumor Has It…” is another of the four first wave Blu-ray Disc titles to be released by Warner Home Video. Other titles in the first wave include “Good Night, And Good Luck”, “Training Day”, and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” While “Good Night, And Good Luck” arrived on Blu-ray Disc first, the other titles are already available on HD DVD. In the case of “Rumor Has It…”, the title was released as the first day and date new release title on both standard definition DVD as well as HD DVD and as the first HD DVD & DVD Combo Format title too. Having reviewed the HD DVD/DVD release a few months ago, it seemed appropriate to begin my second Warner Home Video Blu-ray Disc review with a title I had already reviewed on both HD DVD and DVD and of course somewhat easier to follow-up on.

Synopsis

The premise of “Rumor Has It…” borrows from the idea that perhaps “The Graduate” was actually based loosely on a real event. For Jennifer Aniston’s character, who returns to Pasadena from New York with her fiancé (played by Mark Ruffalo) to attend her sister’s wedding, the possibility begins to take hold of her on a number of levels. While all of her younger sister’s have platinum blond hair, she has a more traditional shade of blond mixed in a bit with some dark hairs, not exactly dirty blond, but definitely not nearly as light as her sister’s hair. Her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine in a scene stealing role) does not make her concerns any better as she makes the acquaintance of a gentleman (Kevin Costner) who has an unorthodox shared family history with both her grandmother and mother. Could he really be her father?

Directed by Rob Reiner, the film starts off well, but somehow loses its way and becomes a bit too predictable at times. The whole Pasadena line may be something one can only appreciate if they are from Pasadena, but I could not help but think what someone from another part of Los Angeles, say Watts for example, might say to the whole “Are you from LA?” questioning thing…I mean not everyone in Manhattan lives on the Upper East or West Side yet there are people born in Manhattan and who live all about the city in various areas of differing economic stature. Sometimes I think a drama comedy that obviously involves upwardly mobile people who can afford a fancy home in Pasadena or to rent an apartment on the Upper West or East Sides of Manhattan can be a little alienating since now I think most people live more modestly. There’s nothing wrong with escaping to a fantasy of American life, but in the end we need a character that can ground the viewer into this world and the bottom line is there is no one in this film that seems particularly relatable to anyone who makes below six figures a year after taxes and grew up in a household where that economic security was the norm.

Review And Comparison

The Blu-ray Disc version of “Rumor Has It…” presents the film in a (1.78:1) aspect ratio that preserves the manner of theatrical exhibition as close to possible for Blu-ray Disc users. My understanding is that the initial Blu-ray Disc releases available now are all in MPEG-2, which is the same compression encoding used for standard definition DVD. The HD DVD version was encoded using VC1 and upon direct comparison between the Blu-ray Disc and the HD DVD version I found some definite differences that some might prefer while others may not necessarily notice or care, especially if they only have one of the two high definition optical disc format set top players in their home. I will not compare the Blu-ray Disc to the standard definition DVD edition since my review of the HD DVD version already discusses the difference between the HD DVD and DVD. I feel that based on my opinions shared here comparing the Blu-ray Disc to the HD DVD version, most consumers will be able to make an educated guess and they can still read my format comparisons on the HD DVD/DVD combo format review anyway and reasonably draw their own conclusions from there. On it’s own, “Rumor Has It…” at times seemed a little jittery as if the image and the television were slightly out of synch. This is the first time I have noticed this on a Blu-ray Disc and this could be the result of dust in the player or a chance faulty disc or my television. So while I am obligated to share that detail, I cannot honestly say it is a symptomatic difference between Blu-ray and HD DVD based on one title alone. The overall picture on the Blu-ray Disc is brighter with more vibrant colors than the HD DVD counterpart, but the HD DVD seemed more detailed and had a few features that the Blu-ray edition simply doesn’t have. On the HD DVD version you can zoom and navigate your zoom to wherever you want it to focus on screen, but this option is not at all offered on the Blu-ray Disc. The scene, languages, and extra features menus, which can be accessed while watching the movie in both versions looked alike and for the most part worked alike. However for the scene selections, the exact time line beneath the photos and chapter stop numbers that delineates exactly how many hours, minutes, and seconds one is into while watching the movie is only available on the HD DVD version. The Blu-ray just lists scene numbers with a thumbnail image beneath each chapter selection. The only extra feature on both discs is simply the theatrical trailer (2:25), but while one can seamlessly view the trailer and then return to the feature on the HD DVD edition without going into a separate menu, the Blu-ray Disc requires a separate simple still frame menu to access the trailer and then resume the film. Why this difference is present is unknown to me since I would think that the interactivity between the two format versions would be identical. The trailer on the HD DVD version is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound while the Blu-ray Disc trailer only has a stereo soundtrack.

Personally I prefer the HD DVD version in terms of picture detail and interactivity, but there are some who prefer a brighter image over a more detailed one so in that case, I’d say go with the Blu-ray Disc. While the Warner Home Video HD DVD version of “Rumor Has It… featured English Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound that my receiver interpreted as DTS Neo 6 using a digital bitstream connection, the Blu-ray Disc edition, which features regular English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound actually sounded better through PCM analogue 5.1 composite audio output with a far more discrete three dimensional sound quality over the Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Soundtrack as interpreted as DTS Neo 6 by my receiver. Now the reality of both formats is that most users, and I include myself among them, are using receivers that despite having dual HDMI inputs and 96/24 sound processing are still not quite up to the new home video technology and my receiver can handle 7.1 Surround Sound too. Thus the unanswered questions are as follows:

1) At 1080p would “Rumor Has It…” look better on Blu-ray Disc?

2) Is PCM 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound truly better than Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound since both offer a higher fidelity than traditional DVD soundtracks?

At 1080i, I have to say the HD DVD version in my opinion had the preferred picture quality, but the 5.1 sound simply resonated better to my ears using the Blu-ray Disc version with 5.1 composite analogue audio instead of digital output. The results I think will vary according to one’s own equipment, but for now that is where I stand on the issue of picture and sound quality comparison for “Rumor Has It…” between both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD release versions. What I am absolutely sure on is the HD DVD version offered a better interactive interface experience that seemed more sophisticated than the Blu-ray Disc version.

A French Language (Dubbed In Quebec) Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack with English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as well as English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the Blu-ray Disc as options too. See it for yourself and compare. “Rumor Has It…” is available on Blu-ray Disc now courtesy of Warner Home Video at retailers on and offline.

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