Buried Blu-ray Review

• 7th Feb 2011

An American truck driver abroad wakes to find himself buried in a old-school coffin with very few items at his disposal. We now stay with him for the duration as he tried to make contact with the outside world in a bid to get rescued before his air runs out.

There seemed to be a good buzz about Buried when it was released late last year and the reviews that followed were also pretty good. Most people praised the technical brilliance of the film, it’s ability to induce proper claustrophobia and for all its running time, never getting boring or tedious. And yet somehow – despite its bravery – it seemed to just come and then go.  Perhaps cinema-goers needed something more cheerful to spend their money on or perhaps we all didn’t have the money to spend!

It’s a shame too as director Cortes has crafted a tight and tense thriller and thanks to the wonders of Blu-ray the darkness and flickering of light is made all the more sharp. I’d hate to watch this on a sub-standard type of definition as (although it would invite grain) it’d be more of a frustrating watch in certain scenes and shots. Here it works to serve with better clarity and with some wonderful sound work added to the mix it makes for a very efficient piece of work.

Of course the other person to congratulate is Mr Ryan Reynolds himself who earns major brownie points for his (rather overlooked) performance. With a lot of bad mouthing going around about his upcoming Green Lantern, we can only hope that it simply isn’t the case, as he’s clearly a well trained actor who can diversify.

The only piece in the film worthy of criticism is the slithery visitor that Reynold’s receives, it is a blatant excuse to create a bit of excitement. But it’s forgiveable. Buried is an otherwise terrific experience and on a big enough TV can still have the same effect as the cinema experience (so says the viewing partner I had as they watched it for the first time).

The Blu-ray comes with a few extras including a director’s commentary.

Steven Hurst