The Bucket List Blu-ray Disc (Rob Reiner, 2007)

Warner (USA)
1.85:1 1080p
97 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: Trivia Track; Rob Reiner Interviews Jack; Rob Reiner Interviews Morgan; Writing a Bucket List; John Mayer’s “Say” music video; The Making of “Say”

Released: 10 June 2008
Blu-ray case

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are undoubtedly acting treasures. However, of late, Nicholson has been content with mugging and leering, and Freeman is better as a narrator than as an actor. Pairing for The Bucket List, a movie about two fogies with cancer who decide to live it up before they expire, is basically an admittance by Nicholson and Freeman that they have simply stopped caring about their acting legacies. The movie is simultaneously charming and offensive. The two leads have a fun chemistry, but the fact that one character is a billionaire who can afford to pay for their “death” vacation is salt-in-the-wound for the billions of people who just don’t want to be hungry or in pain on the last day of their lives.

Video:
Given the subject matter, one shouldn’t be surprised that the 1.85:1 1080p picture is sunny with bright, cheery colors. The video transfer is a bit soft compared to what we’re used to seeing with optical-disc high-def, though given the warm hues that dominate the palette, softness is probably unavoidable. Sharpness and detailing are par for the course without offering a standout experience.

Audio:
Home-theatre enthusiasts may be disappointed to discover that the primary English track was encoded in DD 5.1 and not Dolby TrueHD or PCM, but this movie really doesn’t lend itself to stunning sonics. You get pleasantly produced dialogue, some front stereo separation for the music score, and occasional rear activity during “action” sequences (car racing, skydiving, etc.). Otherwise, the center channel dominates.

You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
This is one of Warner’s Blu-ray releases with a clear advantage in terms of extras over its SD DVD counterpart.

First up is a Trivia Track with selectable pop-up graphics during the movie. The movie itself doesn’t inspire a lot of interesting material, so I don’t see viewers using the track more than two or three times.

Next up are two interviews by the director with the two leads. Everyone enjoys each other’s company, and all three are old enough to have experienced some of the main characters’ anxieties (though they’re probably all rich enough to go on a end-of-life vacation, unlike most of us).

In “Writing a Bucket List”, screenwriter Justin Zackham talks about the inspiration for his script as well as a book that he’s writing about celebrity bucket lists.

Finally, you get John Mayer’s “Say” music video and a featurette about the making of the music video.

(The SD DVD only has “Writing a Bucket List” and the music video.)