The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is presented on Blu-ray courtesy
of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p
transfer in 1.78:1 (for the Hunger Games sequences) and 2.40:1 (for all
other sequences). This is perhaps appropriately an
even darker, moodier experience than the first film, with deep, shaded
scenes making up the bulk of the film. Contrast is
very strong and shadow detail remains strong throughout the film.
Colors have been graded fairly aggressively throughout
the film. A lot of the District 12 sequences are bathed in a slate gray
or ice cold blue color, with flesh tones and other pops
of primaries intentionally desaturated. While this is an understandable
stylistic decision, it does tend to slightly mitigate fine
detail at times. Once or twice, Francis Lawrence and cinematographer Jo
Willems suddenly offer a completely natural, robust
looking palette (a scene in a field between Katniss and Gale or the
opening of the Games—shown in the first screenshot—
are notable examples), and these segments pop incredibly well.
The Hunger Games themselves are in a sort of semi-tropical environment,
and the greens are lushly presented, though,
again, several key sequences take place in the dark. This transfer
shows absolutely no signs of artificial sharpening or other
digital tweaking and recreates the original theatrical experience
exceedingly well.
