HD-DVD Review: King Kong (2005) - Page 2

On the other hand, there's the audio. This is truly home theater perfection. While mixed slightly lower than a standard DVD, this is a film that should always have the volume up a little higher than normal. The surround speakers carry an immense amount of audio, even during quieter scenes. The jungle never sounded like this before. Bass is powerful enough to ruin any friendly relationships with neighbors. Movement is easier to detect from side to side and front to back. There's an added bit of clarity as well.

Extras are tricky. This disc features U-Control, a way to watch special features and the film at the same time. By turning this on at any time during the movie, an icon appears in the lower right corner. Pressing OK brings up a small picture-in-picture piece that plays a relevant piece dependent on that section of the film.

The extras consist mostly of the production diaries, included on the standard DVD. These were shot as the movie was filming on a weekly basis. This is hardly a complete set of them, and they play out of order. Worse yet, they cannot be accessed any other way except through watching the film. It's a nice piece of technology, but it's covering a drastic decline in special features, and it's a miserable way to view them.

Looking deeper into the extras menu reveals one option. You have the ability to bookmark your favorite scenes for quick access. Given the ease of use with the always available menu (you never have to leave the movie), it's not hard to switch to a different scene at will. This is hardly an extra.

Viewing some of these early HD-DVDs is like a bad flashback to the early days of DVD: Lack of extras with plenty of technology to justify the price. Even if you already own the two different Kong DVDs, this is the only true way to watch the film itself. Hang on to those other sets for the superb extras.

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Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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