THE EXPENDABLES (Sylvester Stallone, 2010)

[Jox]

For those like me who have not switched to Blu-ray yet, it seems that the 90mins documentary INFERNO will be on a DVD disc in the UK 3disc combo steel book edition (and not the Blu-ray compared to the other US, French and other editions)
http://homecinema.thedigitalfix.co.uk/c ... mber.html#

[Jox]

Blu-ray giveaway! (US residents only)
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2010/17003

http://chud.com/articles/articles/26501 ... Page1.html

[Jox]

Blu-ray giveaway! (US residents only)
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2010/17003

http://chud.com/articles/articles/26501 ... Page1.html

http://www.joblo.com/digital/index.php?id=7689

[Jox]

For US fans who have Netflix it seems the INFERNO making of can be seen on instant watch
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Infer ... #height343


And here is the US Blu-ray test by DVDbeaver:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm

Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

It's hard to find fault with the Blu-ray appearance of The Expendables - it supports the intended thicker, heavy theatrical look. Grain is there - maybe a little chunkier than I would have expected but it adds some nice texture. Detail is adept when called upon but there isn't an abundance of dimensionality. Black levels are rich. Skin tones aren't overly warm. Daylight scenes are more impressive and I would expect that it advances beyond the simultaneously released DVD edition in notable areas of detail, colors (although the film is fairly dark without a lot of vibrant hues) and texture. Even the fast-cut action sequences are visually impressive.

Audio :
Audio is flawless with a very strong DTS-HD Master 7.1 at 5750 kbps. There is plenty of activity for the rear speakers - even the Tattoo needle buzzing - to get involved and Brian Tyler's score is drenched in exclamatory bass response and drama. I expect this sounds about as good as this film can - there isn't a lot of high-end crispness but that is typical of this genre - it's the explosions that count. There are optional subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked disc although it is also available in region 'B' (via UK and France) a couple of weeks later than this US/Canada release date.

Extras :
Supplements are, predictably, extensive starting with a 2-hour Ultimate Recon Mode Interactive BonusView feature that is seamlessly branched with the film. It has Stallone commenting on production - slightly different than a commentary as he we can see him in the spare window and the effects can be directly related to. There is also the straight audio commentary with the likable Sylvester Stallone - then over 3 hours of video extras from the 1.5 hour "Inferno: The Making of The Expendables" documentary to the 26-minute "From the Ashes: Postproduction and Release" featurette. Not enough? There is the Comic-Con 2010 Panel promotion, a lone deleted scene, a 5-minute 'Gag Reel', marketing archive extras featuring a Trailer, TV Spot. and poster gallery. Then comes the bevy of Blu-ray bells and whistles like BD Touch™ and Metamenu™ Remote Enabled for iPhone®/iPod®/iPad® Interactivity, D-Box Motion Control Enabled, Lionsgate Live™ BD-Live menu system lets you access exclusive content, special offers, ringtones etc. There are two other disc sin the package - a DVD version of the feature, and a Digital Copy of The Expendables.

[Jox]

http://www.avforums.com/movies/index.ph ... 41#verdict

For a kick-off, we have one of Sly’s typically excellent and hugely open commentary tracks that goes into a lot of detail about the production. He talks about the script, the locations, the cast, the streamlining of the plot and the dialogue and, of course, about the action and the enormous damage that he, and the others, all received in the name of art. This is wide-ranging and thoroughly engaging. We hear about the difficulties of filming in the confines of a real ship, about working with Willis and Schwarzenegger, about the extensive violence and the stuntwork, the injuries and the constant attention to driving the plot forward. Although it is a shame that Statham’s full fight sequence on the basketball court was trimmed down to only a third of its original length, Stallone is quite right about why he omitted so much of it. His decision may rob us of some of the very thing we love most about the cockney bruiser, but it was definitely done for the right reasons. He is quite amusing when talking about Mickey Rourke’s character and his lack of screentime, explaining that the guy was fitting his performance in around his work on Iron Man II, and that since he looked identical to his mad Russki Death Machine you could basically pretend that Tool was the same person, just on his night-gig as a tattooist. Entertainment is guaranteed with Sly on fine, funny and self-deprecating form.
When you watch the film in Recon-Mode, you are treated to a comprehensive PiP track that boxes-out a portion of the screen and fills it with behind-the-scenes footage. Sometimes we get more than one box with a separate participant to guide us through, and sometimes we leave the film entirely and dip properly into some new material. The feature is utilised often and a great deal of new info is gleaned. Sly's commentary is drafted-in to cover some of the onscreen footage, although I'm sure that it sounded as though he was also providing some new chat, as well. Ahh, I'll have to go back and check on that just to make sure. Naturally a fair amount of the same ground is covered but Stallone and his production teams certainly seem to have planned things out. Together, they deliver fact and trivia and anecdote aplenty, but Stallone ensures that everything is carried out with a great sense of humour and that almost pseudo humility that he has become renowned for.
The magnificence of excess that is the now highly cherished 92-minute making-of, called Inferno, takes up the lion’s share of this extras package. Coming in four parts, but happily played as one big feature if you like, this is a terrific warts ‘n’ all documentary that boasts an all-access fly-on-the-wall type of approach. We can see Sly on-set or location and coming up with ideas – such as the hatch in the sea-plane gag. We witness script evolutions, rehearsals, camera set-ups, costumes and war-paint, and we hear on-set snippets from all the cast and a lot of the crew. By far the most entertaining part is the third section which, bwah-ha-harrrr, focusses on the fisticuffs and the stunt choreography for the big smackdown in the catacombs and, of course, the massive final fire-fight. We see Sly, having just found out that he only has two hours of prep before facing Steve Austin and not the two weeks he had banked on, as he watches the stunt template for what he has to do. Aye, there is blood, sweat and tears on the set. But, horror of horrors, Sly even has close-ups of the incredibly nasty injections he has put into his swollen and twisted ankles to speed up the healing process and allow him back on-set as soon as possible. Cheers, Sly. I was eating at the time. But the injuries mount up and we get to know Sly's doctor quite well with the repeated care that the star needs. Hell, Austin broke Sly's neck! This is basically the epitome of the modern filmmaker's consumer-savvy. Sly knows that we can't get enough of this and, thus, making a film for him now means that he actually making at least two films – with the other being this exhaustive behind-the-scenes documentary.
The might of this gung-ho project is further covered in the 25-minute Post Production Diaries. Here we have a glimpse at the sound editing, the looping of dialogue, the editing of the picture and the evolution of the score from Brian Tyler. Sly allows some conversations to be filmed, and we hear great and honest opinions from all those involved in these key areas. There is also a look at the test screening process and the score-card process that it involves. What is cool about this mini-doc is that Stallone pops up to host it from time to time with a concise and direct agenda that highlights what he was after – BIG sound effects!!! – and steers the direction of the piece. Far from being annoyingly involved with literally everything – it’s MY film and I’ll be in ALL the featurettes and documentaries and commentaries – he is a reassuring captain at the helm. I know that I am biased and I can also imagine that some more casual fans may even become a little cheesed-off with his omnipresence, but I love his total hands-on approach.
This release also features one Deleted Scene. This is an alternative take on Gunner’s introduction during the pirate rescue sequence. Dolph appears and tells a truly awful joke to the leader of the hostage-takers before blowing him in half. Quite honestly, Stallone was right to have rethought this scene because this variation just doesn’t work well at all.
45 minutes of footage of the Comic-Con panel that brought Sly together with the rest of his cast to much acclaim in San Diego July 2010. Hosted by Harry Knowles, from Aintitcoolnews, this is your typically irreverent crowd-pleasing Q & A frequently punctuated by wild whoops and cheers from the excited audience. Of course it is over-the-top, but damn it all, no fan of this stuff, these guys, or just of Stallone, wouldn't want to have been there to see this. To be honest, these guys – Sly, Dolph, Randy, Terry – are hysterical. The anecdotes are fast and fun, and the playful ribbing of one another is often exceptionally cute and clever. Listen out for the bit when Stallone addresses the area of on-set egotism. Daft and over-hyped, over-promoted back-slapping, but crazily addictive at the same time … and especially cool for the flash-flood appearance of Bruce Willis, who was apparently unscheduled.
As well as Liongate BD-Live, D-Box Motion Control (which would be awesome with this film) and a selection of trailers for The Expendables and as well as a slew of other hard-hitters from the cast of the film, this is a triple-disc set that also contains a DVD edition of the film and a digital copy.
This is a terrific all-round package that goes the extra mile in terms of behind-the-scenes material and all-access entertainment. No fan will be disappointed, that's for sure.

[Jox]

US backcover

DVD


BLU-RAY

[Jox]

Spendid announced the BR/DVD details of the German edition to come out January 21, 2011
Along with the same extras as the US, still and poster galleries, B-roll + goodies like tatoo sheet, mini-poster, trading card, beltbuckle(?) will be included in the limited Steelbook hero pack edition...

http://www.emp.de/bin/shop.php?prog=sho ... k&tc=EMPTY

[Jox]

Dutch boxset



and the "expendables collection"
http://www.bol.com/nl/p/dvd/expendables ... uct_images

http://www.bol.com/nl/p/dvd/expendables ... uct_images

[Moltisanti]

Just finished watching the Blu-ray. Going from big screen to small doesn't diminish the impact of the action at all.

I guess I understand why Sly cut Lundgren's "joke" scene, but it made me laugh

[Jox]

Another great review of the Blu-ray
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/3883/expendables.html

[Travis]

Dolph was just on TMZ with Sly. They are in Mexico to scout locations for The Expendables 2, supposedly.

[Warchild]

Finally got my copy yesterday i got the steel case which comes with 3 cd's, one is a DVD, one is a blu-ray and the third cd is a digital copy, got a great deal for it too, saw the movie yesterday and i noticed something i didn't noticed in the movie when i saw it in theaters, i noticed that the big knife jason statham used to kill Eric Roberts , is the knife Dolph carried around with him and he told jason inside the airplane that he could keep it.

[Jox]

Dolph was just on TMZ with Sly. They are in Mexico to scout locations for The Expendables 2, supposedly.

That was last week, Dolph joined him for a day I think. Now I believe he flew to Vancouver to prep for IN THE NAME OF THE KING 2.

i noticed that the big knife jason statham used to kill Eric Roberts , is the knife Dolph carried around with him and he told jason inside the airplane that he could keep it.

Yeap, and what missing from the final script is in the last scene, Jason gives the knife back to Dolph and says it may be off balance, and later Jason's speech and when everybody turned around Dolph throws it on th target which breaks in 4 pieces and Dolph is like "oops, just checking the balance"...

[shooby]

Who had seen the first movie with Statham ?

[Jox]

It's in the final shooting script, but I'm not sure he filmed it, although you do see Dolph with his knife actually, and on some stills, may be on the director's cut!