It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley Blu-ray Movie Review

Last goodbye?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 13, 2026

It's been said that the brightest stars burn the fastest... and while that's an astronomical fact, it also applies to some people on Earth too. Nestled between the tragic early deaths of musicians Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith is one Jeffrey Scott Buckley, son of singer-songwriter Tim, who drowned at age 30 in 1997 after a three-year tour in support of his acclaimed debut album, Grace. Now, almost 30 years after his death, long-time documentary filmmaker Amy Berg delivers It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, an intimate tribute to the musician as told by his friends and family.

Not surprisingly, It's Never Over takes a purely linear approach to storytelling, and its dense mixture of talking-head interviews, vintage photos, and video recordings -- all presented in a variety of aspect ratios -- should feel familiar to long-time documentary fans. His mother Mary Guibert, who met Tim in high school, recounts his total departure from her life after she became pregnant with Jeff at age 17. Raising him closely and with total devotion, she describes her baby boy as a "born singer" showing wisdom far beyond his years. Moments from Jeff's childhood and formative years are mostly presented without time stamps, and they play like a turbulent and amorphous mixture of joyous creativity, anxiety, sensitivity, wide-eyed admiration (and later disgust) for his soon-to-be famous dad, trouble at school, and an obligatory rebellious phase during his teen years. All the while -- and partially in Jeff's own words, thanks to numerous audio recordings -- he regarded music as a constant companion and crucial part of his existence, not a hobby, and performance footage of him as early as 14 reveals a striking talent destined for greater things.

Berg's documentary tightens up as Jeff's budding career came into focus, particularly on April 26, 1991, when a star-studded tribute show for his father Tim -- which he reluctantly signed up for -- ended up as more of a showcase for his then-unknown talent that led to dozens of representation offers. Jeff's 1993 debut EP with Columbia Records was made from residency-like performances at a small club called Sin-é, located in Manhattan's East Village, that drew substantial crowds through word-of-mouth. This of course led up to the release of his first and only album Grace in 1994, as well as its sprawling three-year tour that took an intense emotional toll on a man who, years before, would devote endless hours to wandering in New York and creating elaborate outgoing messages for his answering machine.

That limbo-like era between the tour's merciful end, Jeff's move to Memphis, and early work on his unfinished second album plays out like a haze of occasionally unsteady inner thoughts, but comforting words from his close acquaintances like girlfriend Joan Wasser (a talented musician in her own right that Jeff became enamored with when her band, The Dambuilders, opened for him), collaborators Michael Tighe and Matt Johnson, producer Andy Wallace, musician Aimee Man, tour manager Gene Bowen, and even his Memphis neighbors show Jeff as a man who appeared to finally reclaim his footing after a handful of near-breakdowns. Yet all the same, an impromptu early-evening swim in the Wolf River claimed Jeff's life on May 29, 1997, robbing the world of an enormous talent with much more to share.

Die-hard fans know these details already... and as you might suspect, It's Never Over's release year suggests it's anything but an attempt to cash in with some kind of tell-all narrative. (In fact, the only real clarification about Jeff's death here is that no drugs were in his system, only one beer, and of course that he was in a positive mindset at the time.) As such, it presents his life in a celebratory fashion, underlining his lifelong love of music and a laundry list of broad influences -- which ranged from Nina Simone to The Smiths, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden, and Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan -- while offering an intimate look at his personal life and mindset via vintage "home movies", audio recordings, and even journal entries. If all this sounds a bit voyeuristic and tasteless, it's not; in fact, it mirrors his almost confessional songwriting and projected personality, which takes on added weight since these moments feel like messages from the afterlife. In the end, then, It's Never Over has an air of finality... yet it still feels timeless by reminding us that the music that outlived him will likely be absorbed and enjoyed by generations to come.

Magnolia Entertainment's welcome Blu-ray arrives just a few months after its wider release in August 2025, bringing with it a decently supportive A/V presentation and a few modest extras. Like the main feature itself, this will be a nice keepsake for Buckley fans of all experience levels and has been made with the best intentions.

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Based on the subject matter and variety of source materials, It's Never Over looks more or less exactly as you'd expect on Magnolia Entertainment's single-layered Blu-ray. Recently-shot interview clips look clean and crisp and fill the 1.78:1 frame, whereas a good amount of the older analog footage -- shot on everything from camcorders to film, and in some cases clearly pulled from low-resolution digital files that suffer from macro blocking and other compression side effects -- likewise appears cropped from its presumably original 4x3 aspect ratio. All photos are typically unrestored, retaining much of their time-related color fading and dust/dirt (which, like the older clips, are sometimes overlaid with simulated "grain", scribbles, and Buckley's lyrics) while often likewise cropped. Only a handful of non-interview items retain their original aspect ratios, almost at random, which gives the film a scattershot "warts and all" appearance that nonetheless usually looks pretty appealing in its stylish randomness. So take my possibly too-high 4/5 rating with a grain of salt, of course: it's from the perspective that this sometimes unavoidably or even intentionally rough-looking film looks like a solid port of its source material with no glaring issues that weren't already baked in to begin with.

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 5.1 mix follows suit with an overwhelmingly front-forward presentation that prioritizes interview dialogue with occasional support from Buckley's songs that frequently seep into the rear channels but never in a distracting way. As with the visuals, any imperfections in the audio are likewise source-related, from candid interviews to live music and other loose moments. It's solid work, all things considered, and likewise shows little room for improvement.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with familiar cover artwork and a few very brief bonus features.

• Deleted Scenes (5 clips, 4:26 total) - A short and decently interesting collection of deleted scenes including "Jeff Loses His Journal", "Michael Tighe at Jeff's Apartment", "Jeff Knew He Was Great", "Michael Tighe on the Tim Buckley Tribute", and "Soundgarden on SNL" (a short story -- not a performance, sadly).

• Road Recovery (3:05) - Jeff's tour manager Gene Bowen opens up about his former struggles with addiction and promotes his titular non-profit organization, which aims to help 13-25 year-olds manage or avoid the pitfalls and challenges of behavioral issues, as well as physical or mental health trauma.

• Jeff's Childhood Pics (0:24) - A short and self-playing slideshow of photos seen during the film.

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Amy Berg's new documentary It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley offers an intimate look at the life and career of its beloved musical subject, arriving with the full participation and support of his family and closest friends. For that alone it'll be of great interest for anyone and everyone who has ever enjoyed his music, even though some moments will unavoidably reopen new wounds for those deeply affected by his tragic death in 1997. Magnolia's Blu-ray package offers solid A/V support and a few thoughtful extras, and for obvious reasons comes very firmly Recommended.