Part of Universal’s Father’s Day Blu-ray promotion, Cinderella Man finally makes its debut on that other High Definition format that Universal once said “Pah!” to in a very good video transfer that preserves the film’s 2.35:1 widescreen ratio. In order to remind modern moviegoers that this movie takes place in our nation’s “Golden” era, the film has a rather “golden” tint to it. That said, the “gold” hue seems to makes some of the darker scenes look a little less-than-golden. Nevertheless, the image is very clear and the remaining colors are well-balanced. Three DTS 5.1 audio options are available for the main feature: English, French, and Spanish. Since I only speak one of those three languages fluently (there are many who would argue with me on that), I opted for the English one. Truth be told, it doesn’t fully deliver. Sure, Cinderella Man has some great boxing moments, but those are the only moments in which the DTS 5.1 mix really works — the rest of the movie’s audio is pretty much reserved for the front speakers. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.
Special features abound with this release, including three audio commentaries (Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman, and Cliff Hollingsworth), deleted scenes, and a slew of featurettes and whatnot. Most of these bonus ditties have been issued on disc before, be it with the HD-DVD release or the Standard DVD issue. If the movie mowed you over and you hadn’t taken the time to see the extras before, you’ll keep yourself busy. The only odd eyebrow-raiser here for me was the decision to give the Blu-ray menu’s buttons a high-tech sound to them. For any other film, it might work. But for a piece set in the 1920s and 1930s, I say “nay.”
Regardless, Cinderella Man is probably the only good film to carry Akiva Goldsman’s name — and that’s saying something in itself.
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