Product Details

• Actors: Mark Ballou, Oliver Block, Vinnie Capone, Josh Clark, Kimberlee M. Davis
• Directors: Penny Marshall
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Subtitles: French
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: May 12, 2009
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001R10BEG
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,330 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 05/05/2009 Run time: 105 minutes Rating: Pg

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Same features as DVD special edition, May 18, 2009

By	Dave "Davelandweb" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

If you have Big (Extended Edition), then you will see that this new Blu-ray edition has no new extra features from that version. What it does have is higher picture quality and sound. There are details I hadn't noticed before. Is it worth this purchase? That all depends on how much of a home theater buff you are. If you want blu-ray quality video and audio, then you will most likely want to upgrade this classic 1988 flick; otherwise, you might be content to hold onto your DVD version until something significantly better comes out.

When it was first released in 1988, "Big" instantly became one of my favorite films. 20 years later, I can still say the same thing. This film not only "holds up" well, it is still a timeless classic. It is the story of 12 year old Josh Baskin, who wishes he were "big" after being humiliated at a carnival for not being tall enough to ride an attraction in front of the classmate that he has a crush on. His wish is granted by the arcade machine, Zoltar, and the next morning, he wakes up as a 30 year old (Tom Hanks). He's kicked out of the house by his mother, who thinks he is a pervert who has broken in. To make matters worse, he can't reverse the wish for at least another 30 days. On the advice of his best buddy, Billy (Jared Rushton), he gets a job in New York City to pass the time and earn some money to live on. Josh quickly moves up the ladder at MacMillan Toy Company, and also attracts the attention of Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins), who has made a habit of sleeping with the new up-and-coming executives. The longer he inhabits his 30-year old body, the more he grows away from his childhood buddy, Billy. However, the day of reckoning eventually comes when he must make a choice.

Hanks & Perkins give outstanding performances; instead of "playing" a 12 year old, Hanks actually becomes one. His innocence is totally believable. Perkins plays the part of the ambitious Susan to perfection, and she is the perfect love interest for Hanks. Talk about chemistry!

Just like its DVD counterpart, the Blu-Ray version gives you 2 versions of the movie; one is the theatrical version, and the other is an Extended Cut (note: NOT a director's cut...just an extra 20 minutes or so added back in). Skip the extended version; it adds nothing, and if anything slows the pacing down and adds sub plots that are meaningless (example: Billy's shrewish mother, played by Frances Fisher). The picture is wonderful; good detail and color. Sound is a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (48kHz/24-bit) that sounds pleasing, but other than the Billy Idol "Hot in the City" Limo scene, doesn't really get much of a chance to shine. Video is presented in a remastered 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer (1.85:1) and looks very good but won't blow your socks off. Extras are all presented in 480i/MPEG-2.

There is an interesting "commentary" track by the writers/creators of "Big," Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg. Although extremely interesting, this would have been better as an audio-only supplement. A nice commentary that corresponds with the picture by director Marshall or Hanks would have been better. The track consists of current interviews with Ross & Spielberg (yes, Steven's sister) who introduce vintage audio tapes that they made while they brainstormed the idea of what would become "Big." The tapes do not correspond to what you see on your screen. Yes, it is interesting, but after awhile, it gets somewhat annoying having to listen to Gary continually talk over Anne and not letting her ideas be heard. It does appear that much of the movie that we know and love came from Anne, who quietly (and thankfully) persisted with her vision.

Deleted scenes with commentary by director Penny Marshall (but if you watch the extended cut, none of these will be new for you). For one of her first movies, she does an excellent job. As did Anne, she had a vision of what the film and especially Hanks' performance should be and she stuck with it, despite the risks (example: at least 3 other age-change movies were ready for release before "Big" would be finished). There are a number of featurettes: "Big Beginnings", "Chemistry of a Classic", AMC Backstory, "The Work of Play," and "Carnival Party Newswrap" (a vintage film showing the wrap party for "Big."). There is a fair amount of overlap in all the extras, as Marshall, Ross, and Spielberg are the main contributors. Still, plenty of interesting tidbits; we came this close to seeing Robert DeNiro in the lead role. It is also interesting to hear the young stars of the film, David Moscow (young Josh) and Jared Rushton, discuss the filming. Perkins also gives some fun insights as well. Theatrical trailer and TV Spots round out this edition.

If Blu-ray is to succeed, then some of the other studios besides Disney need to really step up to the plate and offer something that takes advantage of the format, rather than just shuffling over material from previously released DVD's. Disney puts most of their extras in high-def as well, whereas Fox and other studios seem content to only upgrade the movie itself.

While it`s good to see "Big" on Blu-ray, I wouldn't recommend that people rush right out to buy this one.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big - Blu-ray Info, May 23, 2009

By	LGANS316 (Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews

Version: U.S.A / FOX / Region A
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / BD+ / Seamless branching
Disc size: 40,43 GB
Total bit rate: 26.57 Mbps

Extended Cut
Running time: 2:10:25
Feature size: 25,98 GB
Average video bit rate: 19.96 Mbps
Number of chapters: 32

Theatrical Cut
Running time: 1:44:12
Feature size: 20,76 GB
Average video bit rate: 19.95 Mbps
Number of chapters: 24

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3694 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3694 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps

Subtitles: English (SDH), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Traditional), English, French (Text), Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish

#Audio Commentary
#Featurettes (SD - 50 minutes)
#TV Special (SD - 21 minutes)
#Deleted Scenes (SD - 12 minutes)
#Theatrical Trailers (HD)

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big at it's best, May 17, 2009

By	JVAN "Electronics Shopper" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Compared to earlier releases, this looks amazing! It doesn't have that sharpness that makes modern blu-rays amazingly detailed, but it's not needed or missed. Watching this is like watching it in a theater. If your TV or player has a Cinema or Movie mode (which mutes colors and/or softens the picture) turn it off. The movie already has the "soft" cinema look those modes induce. That being said, the colors are absolutely perfect, and it's hard to take your eyes away; especially if you've seen this before. The blacks are always inky, and overall there are never speckling or noise artifacts.

The sound is punched up to modern standards as well (see below) and sounds amazing in surround (considering how the previous releases sounded). It's up to modern day standards for a drama/comedy. Dialog is clear and easy to understand, and surround and L/R components are present only when appropriate, not just to show off surround technology. But when it does kick in (for scenes with music, etc.), it's enveloping. Definitely up to par with modern movies.

You have a choice of the regular or extended edition. The extended edition is fun. I've seen this movie many times, and the extra/extended scenes make it a lot of fun, since you never know when they're going to occur. Overall, if this is currently, or ever has been one of your favorites, you need to get it, even if you have it on DVD. It will be one of your favorites again!

Features:
Theatrical Version And Extended Cut
Big Brainstorming - An Audio Documentary by Gary Ross & Anne Spielberg
8 Deleted Scenes
Exclusive Featurettes:
- Big Beginnings
- Chemistry of a Classic
- The Workof Play
AMC Backstory: Big
Carnival Party Newswrap

Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color
Screen Resolution: 1080p
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
ENGLISH: DTS-HD MA 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Mono
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo
PORTUGUESE: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles:
English, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Korean, Cantonese