American movie star Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray) has went to Tokyo for a commercial shoot. On this shoot Bob, whose acting career has been aging along with him, will be paid 2 million dollars for the shoot. Though with a luxurious hotel and the prospect of a lot of money, Bob finds it hard to have fun in Tokyo. Until he meets young newly wed Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson) who has been left behind by her new husband while he works. Feeling that her husband loves taking photos of celebrity women more than he does her, Charlotte and Bob find themselves bonding over some drinks at the hotel bar. Once their friendship has grown, Charlotte and Bob go out on the town in Tokyo to have fun with each other. With their budding releationship and marriages that are starting to go stale, Bob and Charlotte find themselves walking around in a foregin country while have some foreign feelings for each other in ‘Lost in Translation’.

I had seen ‘Lost in Translation’ shortly after it had came out on DVD but it was a pleasure to see it again on Blu-Ray. This is one of those films that no matter how old or how many times I’ve seen it I will always like it. Bill Murry and Scarlett Johansson do a surpurb job with their acting in this film. Though both of these actors had a great script to work with, which only makes their acting skills come out in top form. I usually don’t go with the cliché lines for films but in this case, ‘Lost in Translation’ really is a smart, witty, funny, film that creates laughter and a connection to the characters. I was hoping that Bob would some how make his marriage work out and that he wouldn’t destroy it by getting into something with Charlotte. Yet at the same time I felt bad for Charlotte and wanted her to be happy. While underlying those feelings there was a little voice that said I would have liked to seen these two characters get together and find their happyiness with each other.

As I said, the acting in this film is supurb but the cinematography in ‘Lost in Translation’ is just as great. The shot with Bill Murray in the elevator towering over everyone else in the elevator was just hilarious yet at the same time stunning in the way it was caught on film. There’s so many scenes that make such a visiual impact that they could be great as video or just as a still photograph. One of these scenes is when Scarlett Johansson is sitting on the window sill, looking out at the city. Or when both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson have a zebra skin behind them, Scarlett is wearing a pink wig, and they are just sitting there next to each other.

Getting to see all these stunning and beautiful scenes again but in Blu-Ray quality on my LCD television was such a pleasure. Considering how much of a impact this film had on me when I had watched it on a regular tube television set, this version made that one look like it was film back in the 60’s. Sound quality was excellent, allowing me to hear everything (except for what Bob whispers to Charlotte, still don’t know what he said) and didn’t have to play the volume up/down game. Though if the film, acting, and cinematography wasn’t enough, there’s all the special features on ‘Lost in Translation’ Blu-Ray that make it one of the greats and a keeper.