Bourne Trilogy — Blu-ray Review
The Bourne Trilogy
Jason Bourne explodes onto Blu-ray with Universal's release of The Bourne Trilogy consisting of The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremazy and The Bourne Ultimatum. This 3-disc set collects the three Bourne movies together for the first time on Blu-ray, and is the only way you can buy the movies; they aren't sold separately.
Matt Damon wasn't known as an action star when he stepped into the role of "Jason Bourne" back in 2002. Most people knew him as Ben Affleck's buddy, having appeared with his friend in Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting and Dogma, and I remember being a little bit unsure of what to expect as I headed into the the theater to watch The Bourne Identity. Walking out was a different story. Was Matt Damon an action star? He sure was, and he went on to star in the other two Bourne movies in 2004 and 2007.
This certainly isn't the first time I've watched these movies on a home video format; I own two different DVDs, the HD DVD release, and now the Blu-ray, and that's just for The Bourne Identity! This release includes extras from the previous DVD and HD DVD, plus a significant boost in picture and audio quality over the DVD titles. Each movie includes a 1080p transfer, with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, as well as Spanish and French DTS 5.1 tracks. Unfortunately all the video features are in 480i/p, so there's no bump in quality there, but the content is worth watching even in SD. Here's a list of the special features for each disc:
The Bourne Identity
The Ludlum Identity (12:49)
The Ludlum Supremacy (12:41)
The Ludlum Ultimatum (23:57)
Alternate Opening and Alternate Ending (10:46)
Deleted Scenes (6:58)
Extended Farmhouse Scene (0:58)
The Birth of The Bourne Identity (14:32)
The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum (5:44)
Access Granted: An Interview with Co-Writer Tony Gilroy (4:03)
From Identity to Supremacy: Jason and Marie (3:37)
The Bourne Diagnosis (3:26)
Cloak and Dagger: Covert Ops (5:31)
Inside a Fight Sequence (4:43)
Moby "Extreme Ways" music video (3:39)
Feature commentary with Director Doug Liman
The Bourne Supremacy
Explosive Deleted Scenes (10:46)
Matching Identities: Casting (5:23)
Keeping it Real (4:58)
Blowing Things Up (4:00)
On the Move with Jason Bourne (4:46)
Bourne to Be Wild: Fight Training (4:21)
Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow (5:58)
The Go-Mobile Revs Up the Action (6:49)
Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene (4:41)
Scoring with John Powell (4:46)
The Bourne Mastermind - Part 2 (4:42)
The Bourne Diagnosis - Part 2 (5:39)
Feature commentary with Director Paul Greengrass
The Bourne Ultimatum Deleted Scenes (12:22)
Be Bourne Spy Training - an observational spy training game
Man on the Move: Jason Bourne (23:58)
Rooftop Pursuit (5:39)
Planning the Punches (4:59)
Driving School (3:23)
New York Chase (10:46)
Feature commentary with Director Paul Greengrass
Treadstone Files/Bourne Dossier/Blackbrier Files, Bourne Orientation and Picture in Picture are controlled through the "U-Control" feature. The "Treadstone Files"/"Bourne Dossier"/ÆBlackbrier Files" contain interesting trivia about the events in the movie. "Bourne Orientation" recaps some of the events up until the point in the movie where the feature is activated. "Picture in Picture" will display some interviews with cast and crew during certain scenes. You can jump to specific areas from the "U-Control" menu, or just keep it on while watching the movie and access the scenes as they appear. I prefer watching all the extras after the movie is over, choosing to access the scenes from the "U-Control" menu.
Each disc includes BD Live features like trailers, a movie chat, the ability to create your own commentary, and the Bourne Card Strategy Challenge, a fun, but complex, card game you can play online. You can build your own custom deck, or choose from one of the pre-built decks, then take on your opponent. I handily beat my opponent, and with an undefeated record, I decided to retire from the game.
The Bourne movies are great, and this is the best presentation you'll find. One thing to note, since I had a bit of trouble with it, the box opens by lifting on the picture of Matt Damon. It's held closed with a strong magnet, and I wasn't 100% sure how to open the box, choosing to feel around a bit before I started pulling it apart. I've destroyed a custom package in the past because I wasn't sure how to open it, and this box is too pretty to wreck, so I was overly cautious with it.
Buy The Bourne Trilogy on Amazon.com
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