The Audio: Rating the Sound

I'm thinking back on all the Blu-rays I've ever watched and I don't think any have ever started with a note from the filmmakers saying for the best audio experience that they recommend listening to the movie "loud." It makes perfect sense. You won't feel the full weight of this much nuanced soundtrack by just allowing it to play at your normal volume level. Crank this baby up and let its incredibly complex sound design wash over you.

Fox has provided a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix for this release. Believe me when I say this, you're going to want all eight of those channels to be able to get the full effect of this film. From the opening scene you can distinctly hear waves crashing. Full-bodied waves that fill the whole front part of the soundfield. The smooth crashing of the waves seamlessly ebbs and flows through the channels creating a very realistic experience.

The soundtrack is full of memorable classical pieces from Brahms to Mozart which reverberate through all seven speakers. This music is meant to envelope you in the scenes and it most certainly does. It sucks you in as the symphonic sounds are clearly defined with wonderful fidelity.

Directionality is key as every scene is almost like we're right in the middle of it. We hear people talking off to the side in the side speakers, while other kids chatter up front about something completely different. A town waterhole is filled to the brim with townsfolk milling about and their children frolicking in the water. Each individual voice is distinct and intelligible, even when all the kids in the group are talking simultaneously like they so often do.

The subwoofer also isn't left out at all. The celestial scenes are packed with ominous LFE. As a small planet passes by what appears to be a giant fireball it's easy to feel the surging bass being produced. When volcanoes erupt, the sudden force was enough to terrifyingly jar my sleeping dog awake, causing her to move further away from the television.

Dialogue is always intelligible, even the whispers -– of which there are many. This is one of the reasons you need that volume turned up loud. There are so many hushed lines of dialogue that you'll miss something if it isn't cranked up a bit. What is very telling to me about this mix is that there are a few times where a sound or two are thrown in without any warning. At the beginning after the O'Brien's find out that their son has died in the war, the camera pans through a forest gazing at the treetops and you can hear Mrs. O'Brien scream. It's a muted scream, but it's delicate touch isn't lost in the slightest.

Just like the video, the audio here is breathtakingly amazing. Demo material all the way around.

The Tree of Life Blu-ray, Audio Quality

You know you're in for a true audio experience when a disclaimer pops up before the movie begins stating that the filmmakers suggest you should keep the volume loud. Malick has always used sound as a thematic signifier--especially in The Thin Red Line and The New World--and Tree of Life is no different, featuring a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track that's thoughtfully designed, a perfect balance of the powerful and the delicate. As you can imagine from a film that depicts the beginning of the cosmos, the end of the Earth, and the general power of nature by way of volcanic explosions and pounding waterfalls, the subwoofer gets plenty of chances to rumble and throb. But the track also excels in the realism of its quieter moments--the sound of waves and gulls squawking in the rear channels, wind rustling through curtains and leaves and tall grass, crickets see-sawing the night away. Each location has its own sense of ambience and acoustics. Throughout, voices are clear and easy to understand, both the interior narration and the dialogue between characters. And then, of course, there's the epic soundtrack, which features original music by Alexandre Desplat--who has most recently done scores for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The King's Speech--along with nearly forty classical pieces, from piano interludes to full-blast operatic requiems. The film is wall-to-wall music, and it all sounds wonderful here-- dynamic, rich, and expressive. Follow the disclaimer's instructions and crank your receiver up a few notches past your usual listening levels; you'll definitely appreciate the additional volume.

The tree of life comes to Blu-ray Disc from 20th Century Fox featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 35 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 5.1 Mbps.

This is a high bitrate and reference quality high definition transfer that looks spectacular. At times I found the visuals to be breath taking. The film utilizes a reserved chromatic palate that sets the thematic tone for the 1950’s era familial drama. Clothing, interior design etc. are kept within the scope of the time frame which means lots of browns, grays, greens and blacks. Such isn’t the case when director Malick takes us on a journey of the boundless musings of his vision of earth and beyond. The nature defined colors look terrific as the deep, vivid, reds, succulent blues, and resplendent earth toned hues leap from the 1.85:1 framed video. The digitally created images of space boast a resplendent array of brilliant color with deep, image penetrating blacks and spot on contrast. Brightly lit sequences are equally rewarding and feature gradational grays and crisp, delineated whites. Images are exquisitely detailed, with a near infinite sense of depth regardless of the camera’s perspective. Resolution is strong as the vastness and scope of the imagery both digital and real is fully realized and appears lucid, dimensional, and artifact free. Any minor nits that I found to pick didn’t warrant a deduction in my opinion so I won’t mention them. I thought this looked amazing.

The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is an impressive one that makes use of the entire surround platform. It’s a sophisticated design that occasionally rewards with activity that is intricately placed within the sound field so as to provide a feeling of total immersion. I found this audio presentation to be highly detailed with excellent dynamic range which enables it to be authoritative at one moment and intricately nuanced the next. Dialogue is definitive and appreciably lucid through the center channel as it reaches far into the room. It’s located just slightly in front of the left/right speakers within soundstage. I never had any trouble distinguishing even the slightest changes in the pitch or inflection of voices. Front channel separation is excellent which draws out both large and small sound elements allowing their directional correlation based upon the onscreen events to be definable. There isn’t perpetual use of the rear channels and subwoofer however when applied the effects are involving and surreal.