Version: U.S.A / Sony / Region A
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
MPEG-2 BD-50
Running time: 2:01:05
Movie size: 29,26 GB
Disc size: 35,20 GB
Total bit rate: 32.23 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 25.06 Mbps

LPCM Audio Spanish 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4608 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English / English SDH
Number of chapters: 16

#Audio commentary
#The Making of Volver (8 min)
#Director and Cast Interviews
--Director/writer Pedro Almodovar (10 min)
--Actress Penelope Cruz (5 min)
--Actress Carmen Maura (8 min)
#Tribute to Penelope Cruz (AFI interview) (17 min)
#Photo gallery
#Poster gallery
#Bonus trailers (HD)

This review isn't about the movie. Sorry. You can read all the other reviews for that. The picture quality is very good but I'm disappointed in format/screen size they used. It's not 16x9. So the movie is still in letterbox form even on an HD widescreen tv. There aren't that many extra features either.

I wouldn't exactly call myself a fan of Almodovar's films, but I usually do enjoy watching them. My ambivalence towards him stems from the fact that, on the one hand, his movies tend to be messy works that try to do way too much. It's as if Almodovar is so bursting with creative energy and ideas that he just can't discipline himself to do one movie at a time, and instead tries to cram three or four into one. But, on the other hand, if one focuses on the scenes in each of the movies instead of the whole film, Almodovar's genius is sometimes breathtaking. Beautiful cinematography, wonderful scripts, superb acting. So my modus operandi for watching Almodovar these days is appreciating the scenes and forgetting about the coherency of the movie.

Volver is a mess, but a beautiful one. In an accompanying interview, Almodovar himself somewhat incredibly says that the film is about death: "it is precisely about death...More than about death itself, the screenplay talks about the rich culture that surrounds death in the region of La Mancha, where I was born. It is about the way (not tragic at all) in which various female characters, of different generations, deal with this culture." Most viewers, I suspect, won't have picked up on this, because, typically, death is only one of several themes. Others include mother-daughter relationships, incest, sexual abuse, friendship, and independent women. But forget all that, and focus on the scenes. The opening one of La Mancha women cleaning gravestones is one of the best to be found in an Almodovar film. Equally brilliant are the restaurant scenes. The final ones, in which Maura and Raimunda discuss the horrible family secret, truly mars the entire film. The secret has an incredible ring of falsity, and saps authenticity from what's gone before it.

Generally, the acting in "Volver" is superb. But for my money, the laurel goes to Lola Duenas for her portrayal of sister Sole.

great blu-ray disc, every almodovar movie has always something magical and this one has it too.

I finally got around to watching this movie after years of procrastinating and choosing something else on a visit to the rental store or when shuffling through previewed movies somewhere. I read the many reviews and clearly am not a student of the films of Almodovar, his influences and tendencies, Spanish cinema, or even much of Penelope Cruz. I don't know if that disqualifies me to discuss my thoughts on this movie, but I thought it was good and am glad I picked it up.
The dvd back cover describes the movie as "hilarious" and "comedic" and I am truly clueless as to how anyone could use those adjectives to describe a movie that deals with incest, murder, abuse, and cancer just for openers. Talk about misleading...
Still, I enjoyed the movie and found the mysterious and at times disturbing story to keep my interest. The actors did a wonderful job and I was impressed with Cruz who I'd only seen in the horrid Vanilla Sky and in the disappointing Blow. She has to carry the movie and through the conclusion of the movie when all things are explained, I came to understand her brusque demeanor. Additionally, the scenery between Madrid and La Mancha was picaresque and a nice introduction to a country I have longed to visit.
The extras on my copy had interviews with Cruz, Almodovar, and Carmen Maura. I noted one reviewer complained about the subtitles being choppy but my copy was smooth and without interruptions.
As with most movie reviews on Amazon, the plot has been explained repeatedly and furthermore there seems no shortage of guys willing to confess their fascination with the female lead. In addition, there is a healthy discussion of the director and his work. Then again, perhaps it is simply a need to vomit up the wealth of knowledge gleaned from a life spent studying movies and trying to out-trivialize one another with their endless fact dropping. I am not sure where some of these reviewers fit.
When I read the kind of reviews here, I wonder if this is a movie meant for pedestrian viewers like me. I wonder that my lack of knowledge regarding Almodovar et al detract from what I should gain from watching this movie. Yet, I enjoyed it and I don't know why others wouldn't as well even without joining the debate about strong female characters, how Sophia Loren fits into the picture, the director's female role model issues, European movies versus those from the states, gay themes, the back story of La Mancha, or any of the myriad other issues reviewers felt were necessary to point out in their opinions.
I don't know about all of the women issues or the subtleties of the director and frankly don't care. I don't understand why the delineation has to come and be an issue. Who cares that there is only one man in the movie? Honestly, I didn't think to do a head count of gender as I was watching it. Also, there is some opinion that Almodovar is trying to lump all men into negative categories (unfaithful, sexually depraved, predatory, et al). I didn't make that stretch. The two men who are a part of the plot are representative of the cyclical nature of abuse rather than a broad categorization of all men. I realized at the end that Cruz' ex-boyfriend was evidence of the cycle of abuse that often happens rather than an indictment of all men. There was a brief moment with Cruz and her daughter towards the end that hinted at a final end to this disastrous cycle as it seemed to indicate that the daughter has made peace with what happened to her and the man who did it. I certainly hope so since the members of this fictional family have certainly been through enough drama and tragedy for one life.
Volver is a well made and welcome break from the over abundance of predictable fare and I recommend it to anyone who likes good stories and good acting.