The Bourne Collection is a series of action spy thriller films that are based off of the character Jason Bourne (played by Matt Damon). Bourne, a CIA assassin who is suffering from extreme memory loss, must figure out who he is. The series was originally created by author Robert Ludlum. The Bourne Legacy (the fourth film in the series) introduces us to a new lead character, Aaron Cross (played by Jeremy Renner), who is a Department of Defense operative who runs for his life because of Bourne’s actions in the third film.
All three of Ludlum’s novels were adapted for the screen and feature Matt Damon as the lead character in each of them. Doug Liman directed The Bourne Identity, Paul Greengrass directed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum (and Jason Bourne which is due for for Blu-ray and DVD release here in December) while Tony Gilroy directed The Bourne Legacy.
Damon made the decision to not return for the fourth installment of the series, however his character is mentioned and seen in pictures throughout the film. He has since returned to reprise his role in the fifth installment.
Overall, The Bourne Series has received positive feedback from film critics and has grossed over $1.6 billion. The series as a whole is noted for its use of real stunt work in contrast to the growing use of computer generated action sequences.
The Films (3.5/5):
After deciding to pick up The Bourne Collection I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve seen people rave about how awesome this series is, and I’ve heard people express their distaste for it. With the new film coming out next week, I figured it was time for me to finally dive into this series. Overall, the series wasn’t bad. It started out slow and I found myself quite bored with it until about a quarter of the way through the second film, where it became understandably slow because of the foundation building they did with Bourne. However, after that foundation was set, this series really provides audiences with some on the edge of your seat action. Enough action that actually makes you appreciate the fact that they used real stunt work for these films because you can see the casts dedication to making this series happen.
Picture Quality (4.5/5):
With an extremely impressive visual presentation, The Bourne Collection offers home viewers an extremely crisp, clear picture into the mind of Jason Bourne and all of those people who are working with or against him. Being able to visually see and understand as much as possible is something we all look for with Blu-ray releases and this release does a really nice job overall at doing that. My only complaint that I had with it was with the darker lit scenes being a little difficult to see things. I’m not sure if it was just my eyesight working against me today, but I found myself squinting during those scenes to make sure I can see everything. But, outside of that, this release of the series is extremely fantastic in terms of visuals and ultimately made me really glad that I picked this up.
Audio Quality (5/5):
While most of the films that’s packaged in The Bourne Collection come bearing a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track, this series really sounded great as it roared through my home theater system. Making sure audiences are given as much of an immersive experience as possible with these films, it really felt as if my wife and I were sitting right there in the middle of all of the action. The Bourne Legacy comes packaged with a DTS-HD Master Audio 71 audio track, and you can definitely tell the difference between the two types with its inclusion of the additional speakers. One other notable part about this release is the included audio score for each of the films. While most films do a great job with their use of the musical score and its relation to the emotions of the characters at any given point. The Bourne Collection is certainly a prime example of this. As the faster-paced scenes churned through my speakers, I knew some pretty serious stuff was about to go down, so I knew to pay more attention to that given scene.
The Packaging (5/5):
I know that packaging like this is often frowned upon by some in the /r/dvdcollection subreddit, however I will tell you that I am quite pleased with the packaging that The Bourne Collection came bundled in. While the release that I used for this review is the Region Free UK import as it was purchased over its US counterpart because it was significantly cheaper at the time of purchase. The Bourne Collection comes packaged in two thicker style amaray cases that hold the discs. The first case includes the first three films while the second case includes the fourth film. Included within those cases are the standard Blu-ray discs for each film respectively as well as a digital copy redemption pamphlet to add the films to your digital library. While natively, these codes will not work in the US, I’ve seen discussion on various forums of workarounds to bypass that so I will not go into those. The two amaray cases are surrounded by a cardboard sleeve that allows for a seamless look while it’s shelved in your collection should you decide to face the spine of the cardboard outward.
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Special Features (5/5):
Upon purchasing The Bourne Collection from Amazon UK, I had no idea of what to expect in terms of additional content as my overall experiences with UK imports have varied in this regard. However, this release comes fully stocked with anything and everything you could imagine in relation to this series. Included with this release is:
The Bourne Identity
- My Scenes
- The Ludlum Identity
- The Ludlum Supremacy
- The Ludlum Ultimatum
- Alternate Opening and Alternate Ending
- Deleted Scenes
- Extended Farmhouse Scene
- The Birth of The Bourne Identity
- The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum
- Access Granted
- From Identity To Supremacy: Jason & Marie
- The Bourne Diagnosis
- Cloak and Dagger: Covert Ops
- Inside A Fight Sequence
- Moby “Extreme Ways” Music Video
- Feature Commentary With Director Doug Liman
The Bourne Supremacy
- My Scenes
- Explosive Deleted Scenes
- Matching Identities: Casting
- Keeping It Real
- Blowing Things Up
- On The Movie With Jason Bourne
- Bourne To Be Wild: Fight Training
- Crash Cam: Racing Through The Streets Of Moscow
- The Go-Mobile Revs Up The Action
- Anatomy Of A Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene
- Scoring With John Powell
- The Bourne Mastermind (Part 2)
- The Bourne Diagnosis (Part 2)
- Feature Commentary With Director Paul Greengrass
The Bourne Ultimatum
- My Scenes
- Deleted Scenes
- Be Bourne Spy Training
- Man On The Move: Jason Bourne
- Rooftop Pursuit
- Planning The Punches
- Driving School
- New York Chase
- Feature Commentary With Director Paul Greengrass
The Bourne Legacy
- Deleted Scenes
- Re-Bourne
- Enter Aaron Cross
- Crossing Continents: Legacy On Location
- Man vs. Wolf
- Wolf Sequence Test
- Moving Targets: Aaron and Marta
- Capturing Chaos: The Motorbike Chase
- Feature Commentary With Director/Co-Writer Tony Gilroy, Co-Writer Dan Gilroy, Editor John Gilroy, Director Of Photography Robert Elswit, Second Unit Director Dan Bradley and Production Designer Kevin Thompson
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, VC-1
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1, 2.35:1
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
The Bourne Identity
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
The Bourne Supremacy
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
The Bourne Ultimatum
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Japanese: DTS 5.1
The Bourne Legacy
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
English: DTS 2.0
Subtitles
The Bourne Identity
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
The Bourne Supremacy
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
The Bourne Ultimatum
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
The Bourne Legacy
English SDH, French, Spanish
Runtime
The Bourne Identity: 119 minutes
The Bourne Supremacy: 108 minutes
The Bourne Ultimatum: 115 minutes
The Bourne Legacy: 135 minutes
Total: 477 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I was pretty pleased with The Bourne Collection. Sure, initially I found myself a bit bored with the films, but as that foundation was built, I really enjoyed the adventure that it took me on. Being in a situation something like this is definitely something that I’d never wish upon somebody, and it only makes me wonder what some of the situations are that some of our government employees go through. I mean, something like this isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.
Generally speaking, the visual and audible presentation of this box set was extremely well done. Being able to mostly see everything and definitely being able to hear everything as each film unfolded on my living room television was definitely appreciated. Also, the included supplements to each film is truly appreciated. I haven’t seen this much bonus content in quite some time.
After exploring through these films, I can without a doubt say that I’m looking forward to the fifth installment, Jason Bourne, to release on December 6. Stay tuned here for my review of the 4K UHD release of that film. However, if you’re interested in adding the Region Free UK import of The Bourne Collection to your personal library, you can definitely pick it up from Amazon UK – however I’d personally recommend waiting for it to go on sale as I only paid around $12.00 for this pick up. Right now, Amazon US is offering this exact release for $16.99.
