Blades of Glory [Blu-ray]
by Josh Gordon, Will Speck
![Blades of Glory [Blu-ray]](/images/Blades-of-Glory-Blu-ray-B000RGSO7I-L.jpg)
List Price:
Our Price: $21.95
You Save: $8.04 (27%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $20.00 (click here)
Category: Blu-ray
See more Blu-ray details
Buy this Blu-ray movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Blu-ray details
Actor: Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Will FerrellDirector: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-06-03
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: DreamWorks / Paramount
Blu-ray Reviews of Blades of Glory [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: Blades of Glory (Blu-ray)
Summary: 5 Stars
Movie - 4.5
I've always been a fan of Will Ferrell. His juvenile hijinks, potty-mouth humor, and physical mannerisms are something I've come to enjoy over the course of his career, and not even so much during his SNL stint, but from his work in Anchorman on up. Meanwhile, Jon Heder certainly made his mark in comedy with his portrayal of the socially awkward and quirky Napoleon Dynamite, something of a surprising low-budget oddity that probably caught a lot of other people off guard as well. Put these two together in a movie produced by, you guessed it, Ben Stiller, and you've got a very silly and over-the-top sports comedy. Like a certain other Ben Stiller film about the comedic sports underdog story (Dodgeball), Blades of Glory is another mishmash of elements that is meant to, first and foremost, entertain, but also give some kind of weird, outlandish version of inspiration at the same time. Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Heder) are figure skating's top two stars. Skills-wise, they're the best at what they do, but couldn't be more opposite from one another in terms of personality. Hating each others' guts and being forced to share Olympic gold, they get into a scuffle during the awards ceremony and are banned for life from singles skating. But upon an urging by MacElroy's creepiest and most obsessed fan, Hector (Nick Swardson), a loophole is found in the rules saying MacElroy can still compete in doubles. Predictably, as if you couldn't tell by the cover, MacElroy and Michaels become male doubles skating partners and attempt to achieve gold once again. If you know Will Ferrell's style of comedy and like it, then there's not much else to be said. The film is raunchy, silly, quirky, and not all that high-brow outside of a delightful performance by Jenna Fischer (who looked surprisingly hot in lingerie). Will Arnett and Amy Poehler co-star (with Fischer) as the opposing team, and Craig T. Nelson, as you can guess, plays Ferrell and Heder's coach.
Video - 4.5
Having watched quite a few different types of genres on BD lately (lots of comedy, but the occasional drama and action flick), I have to say I'm surprised at the level of picture quality presented in a lot of the comedies I've seen, and Blades of Glory looks as glorious as its title implies. The color palette full of blues, whites, and shiny variations of the two, with a splash of red, looks stunning. From the very outset of the opening sequence where the two skaters are competing against one another at the Olympics, there's a very nice sense of pop to the overall picture. The details in their costumes, the clarity of the crowd, and the flawless digital removal of all the wiring looks excellent, which to me is kind of shocking for a simple comedy movie. All the little sequins on Heder's peacock suit, the bright reds and oranges on Ferrell's fire suit, or their outer space and electro-laden lights on their space suits look remarkably clear and vibrant. Outside of competition, blacks and contrast handle especially well revealing shadows, lines, facial features, and overall image detail in a clear, almost lifelike manner. Again, it's all about the costuming. My favorite one outside of the skater suits was Jenna Fischer's lingerie. I thought she was kind of cute on The Office and all, but wow. That black nightie with the all the cleavage and the fishnet stalkings look great. Oh, and so does the quality of black levels within the costume itself. The only downside to the picture? Saturation tends to be a little low on the non-competition scenes reserving a lot of the film's lighting and shine for the glossier parts of the movie, but I never found it to be a huge problem. It does, however, knock the overall transfer down just a bit, but is a beauty to behold, regardless.
Audio - 4.5
Back in the day before Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA became the economical norm for disc space, there once was a codec called Uncompressed PCM. And while it took up a good deal of memory, it packed a wallop of a bit rate. Blades of Glory, for all its ridiculousness, got a mind-bottling presentation from Paramount/Dreamworks with an audio encode of 6.9Mbps, that's nearly twice the bit rate of Avatar. Strange for a sports comedy to get such royal treatment, I know, when so many other newly re-/released and catalog titles are still getting shafted with lossy Dolby Digital (*cough* Warner Brothers), but big thanks to the people at Paramount for giving Blades a very excellent aural presentation. My biggest surprise upon a few re-watches on my newly-equipped HT setup (new center, fronts, and sub added since then) is the amount of directionality and separation within the film's sound design. Something I've always liked about sports movies is the ambiance of crowd noise, and this track definitely didn't disappoint. Dialogue remains clear and centered, while the front sides and rears do a tremendous job of placing cheers, random fans voicing their support, and camera clicks all over the place. The score by Theodore Shapiro or what few instances there are of record label songs totally immerse you. Aerosmith's I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing and Queen's Flash are two great songs by two very great bands, and hearing them in lossless audio during the competitive events is a blast every time. The only downside, or rather the only elements not truly taken advantage of, are the LFEs. While there is some slight bass from the music, your sub never really gets a workout until the very last scene with some fireworks and Ferrell blasting fire into the camera. But all in all, the sound couldn't be any better.
Extras - 3.5
There aren't a whole lot of extras, but a good majority of them are in HD and pretty entertaining for what they're worth. There's a making-of, a segment for the skate choreography, one for costuming, various interviews with cast and crew, deleted scenes, alternate takes, and a trailer that amount to a little over an hour in total duration. One of the highlights for me was the making-of, in which Ferrell, Heder, Fischer, Stiller, and the two directors are very candid and seriously funny (as in serious, yet jocular) about how the movie came about, what they hoped to "achieve" by making it, and their experiences in filming it. My second favorite would have to be the interview with Arnett and Poehler, I liked them for what little exposure I had to their SNL days, but I've seen or heard them in a few movies since then and like their chemistry and overall demeanor a lot. Lastly, my favorite extra is the unscripted Moviefone Q&A between Ferrell, Heder, and Arnett. The three get along very well, don't take the interview too seriously, and offer some pretty funny responses to the questions they get asked. My one disappointment in this package, however, is the lack of a commentary. Had those three taken the time to sit down, or maybe if a combination of them were in the booth with Stiller, Poehler, Nelson, Fischer, Swardson (maybe in-character as Hector) or either of the directors, I think this would've made for a great, great listen to compliment the zaniness of the film itself. It's a darn shame nothing was made, but there's still a good amount of extras here that fans would probably get a kick out of.
Overall - 4.5
Blades of Glory is crazy and over-the-top. It's a story about male pairs figure skating with raunchy humor, sexual references, a balanced dose of slapstick, and even a little wordplay here and there. As ridiculous as the premise seems, it's also a movie in the care of some really good comedic actors in Ferrell, Heder, Fischer, Arnett, and Poehler, all of who give great deliveries and possess excellent chemistry with one another. With near-reference picture and sound and a slightly underwhelming, but still entertaining, set of extras, Blades of Glory comes highly recommended. Boom!
Description of Blades of Glory [Blu-ray]
When rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) go ballistic in an embarrassing, no-holds-barred fight at the World Championships, they are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years on, they?ve found a loophole that will allow them to compete: if they can put aside their differences, they can skate together ? in pairs? figure skatingBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Other Guys (Two-Disc Unrated Other Edition Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy)SON; Release date: 2010-12-14; Blu-ray
Best price: $19.93
Price in other shops:
Kicking & ScreamingRelease date: 2007-05-01; Amazon Instant Video; Movie
Best price: $2.99
Balls of Fury (Widescreen Edition)WALKEN,CHRISTOPHER; Release date: 2007-12-18; DVD
Best price: $2.84
Price in other shops:
Zoolander (Special Collector's Edition)Paramount; Release date: 2002-03-12; DVD
Best price: $4.72
Price in other shops:
The Love GuruParamount; Release date: 2008-09-16; Published: 2008-09-01; DVD
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
![Step Brothers (2-Disc Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Step-Brothers-2-Disc-Unrated-Edition-Blu-ray-B001G5T6GC-X.jpg)
Step Brothers (2-Disc Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray]FERRELL,WILL; Release date: 2008-12-02; Blu-ray
Best price: $11.68
Price in other shops:
![Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Unrated and Uncut) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Talladega-Nights-The-Ballad-of-Ricky-Bobby-Unrated-and-Uncut-Blu-ray-B000J4P9PI-X.jpg)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Unrated and Uncut) [Blu-ray]SONY PICTURES HOME ENT; Release date: 2006-12-12; Blu-ray
Best price: $9.34
Price in other shops:
![Semi-Pro [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Semi-Pro-Blu-ray-B0016MOV9W-X.jpg)
Semi-Pro [Blu-ray]NEW Line Home Video; Release date: 2008-06-03; Blu-ray
Best price: $7.86
Price in other shops:
![Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Unrated) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Dodgeball-A-True-Underdog-Story-Unrated-Blu-ray-B00193F304-X.jpg)
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Unrated) [Blu-ray]Fox; Release date: 2008-12-09; Blu-ray
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops:
![Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Anchorman-The-Legend-of-Ron-Burgundy-Blu-ray-B004IK30S2-X.jpg)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy [Blu-ray]DRM; Release date: 2011-03-15; Blu-ray
Best price: $10.40
Price in other shops: