Plot: What’s it about?
2006. Where does the time go? Looking back a decade (as of this writing) it’s hard to believe, yet easy to see some of the things that have happened in the world of film. 2006 was a fairly good year for movies. We saw Daniel Craig in his first stint as James Bond in Casino Royale. Martin Scorsese finally won his Oscar with The Departed and Sylvester Stallone was once again back in the ring as Rocky Balboa in…Rocky Balboa. However looking past those films and onto this, it was this one that managed to rake in over $300 million worldwide. Based on Lauren Weisberger’s biting satirical novel of the same name, The Devil Wears Prada was something for everyone. Meryl Streep led the way with a seasoned, yet strangely unrecognizable cast. Anne Hathaway was known for her Disney films (The Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted), Simon Baker landed the role of The Mentalist after this and Emily Blunt is, for all intents and purposes, Hathaway’s equal as an actress (minus the Oscar). At this point in time, we’re ready to accept Meryl Streep as anything. Let the games begin.
Hathaway plays Andy, a bright-eyed idealistic young writer who dreams of making it big in New York City. Unfortunately, she gets served a dose of reality pretty quickly and takes a job as an assistant to an assistant (Emily Blunt) of Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andy, initially shrugging off the job as a means to an end, slowly starts to get drawn into the world of high fashion. This doesn’t sit too well with her live-in boyfriend (Adrian Grenier). Andy has to make a decision – quit her job and look for something else or sell her soul and become another of Miranda’s adoring lackeys. She chooses the latter. Caught up in the intoxicating world of high fashion, she meets writer Christian (Simon Baker) who promises to read some of her material. Eventually push comes to shove and Andy reaches a crossroads in her life. Will she take the road less traveled or keep living the high life?
I’d actually forgotten how much I enjoyed this film and, unlike others, it’s not just Meryl Streep that carries the torch. The ensemble cast is all perfect in their respective roles especially Stanley Tucci who has got to be one of my favorite character actors. Streep didn’t win the Academy Award and Hathaway wasn’t nominated. Blunt was. Admittedly I know nothing about the world of fashion and even less about writing about it, but I have to imagine there is a lot of truth in what we see on screen. The world of fashion changes on a dime, though the concepts are timeless. And it’s amazing how dated something can look just a decade later. I mention this because the film doesn’t look dated, but clothes are usually a dead giveaway as to a point in time. I’m getting off subject. Nevertheless, if you’ve somehow missed this little gem over the last ten years take a couple hours out of your day and check it out. It’s a shame that Fox’s re-issue of this contains nothing special, but I’ll cover that below.
Video: How’s it look?
When the movie first came out on Blu-ray, this was one of the marquee titles of the then fledgling format. Presented in a 2.35:1 MPEG-2 transfer (yes, this even predated both VC-1 and AVC codecs), the movie looks good…but not great. Some of the outdoor shots in the city seem to get washed out a bit. Flesh tones are natural and warm, detail looks good but after seeing some recent films, it does look a bit on the dull side. Contrast is strong with no real errors, though again – comparing it to a more “modern” film it just doesn’t feel the same. These early Blu-ray’s were essentially upscaled DVD’s and that’s about the best way to describe the way this looks.
Audio: How’s it sound?
One thing that hasn’t changed is the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. Granted this is, for all intents and purposes, a “chick flick” or “romantic comedy” if you must, so don’t expect a lot out of the channels. We’re immediately greeted with KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See” in the opening credits. Vocals are, by and large, very strong though Streep’s character seems to mumble her lines a bit. I won’t question Streep’s character choice and her dictation – she clearly had something in mind, though when it comes to how it sounds – it’s a bit muddled in spots. Surrounds are used sparingly, though they do offer a bit of range in some of the scenes. By and large this track is front heavy and will not disappoint.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A lot has happened to the Blu-ray format in the last decade and this film looked the part when it came out. The supplements weren’t exactly robust, but contained enough to possibly warrant a purchase. Ironically there were a slew of five featurettes that were actually on the DVD and dropped for the Blu-ray release. A decade later we’ve got…the same thing. Yes, really. This is the exact same disc that Fox put out in 2006. The only thing that’s been changed is the cover art. Even the discs are identical! Oh there’s a Digital HD copy that’s been added as well. New 4K restoration? Nope. A retrospective “look back” by the cast since this movie launched several careers? Keep looking. Did they at least put those five featurettes on the Blu-ray that were on the DVD? Keep dreaming. Anyway…since we don’t have a review of the disc to begin with, here’s what to expect.
- Audio Commentary – Director David Frankel, Producer Wendy Finerman, Costume Designer Patricia Field, Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, Editor Mark Livolsi and Director of Photography Florian Ballhaus combine for a pretty chatty and informative track. Pretty much the entire gamut is covered here from adapting the novel, to casting to production design and location shooting. It’s a good track if you’ve not heard it before.
- Deleted Scenes – A handful of deleted scenes are included with director and editor commentary.
- Gag Reel – Shenanigans on the set.
- Trivia Track – When this disc was initially released, this was a little more impressive. Not too much since this technology had been used on countless movies before, but it was a nice little touch. Many of the facts are now out of date (i.e. “Did you know that if Meryl Streep is nominated for an Oscar for this film, she’ll break Katherine Hepburn’s record?”). Streep was nominated, actually, and lost but was nominated six more times (as of this writing) and won another Best Actress Oscar in 2012. At any rate, the point being if Fox had taken some time, they could have updated this track (or anything else on the disc other than the cover art), but alas…
The Bottom Line
A decade later The Devil Wears Prada remains the same guilty pleasure if was back in 2006. Looking back, it’ll probably be best remembered as a launching pad for Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt’s careers, but there’s more to it than that. The down side of this “Anniversary Edition” is that there’s nothing new here. I mean nothing, save the cover art and Digital HD code. Even the disc is the same. If you find a sealed copy of the 2006 disc and put it in your player – it’s the same thing as this one. That’s progress for you. Having said that, if you don’t own this disc, I guess this is the one to get as I actually do prefer the cover art and having a digital copy is nice.
