Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

1917 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 15, 2020

1917's technical achievements are surpassed only by its gripping narrative and emotionally driven character arcs. The movie foregoes frenzied action for frightening realism within the context of a war-torn landscape and two men's journey through it with the hopes of preventing great tragedy. Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Spectre) and Cinematographer Roger Deakins create a taut, seamlessly edited masterpiece that marries photographic immersion with absorbing storytelling. Few films can claim such thorough workmanship and faultless execution of cinema at both its most advanced and fundamental levels of excellence.

Going over.

The date is April 6, 1917. The Germans have seemingly retreated from a stronghold position in France but British aerial reconnaissance suggests that the army has simply repositioned in strategic retreat in hopes of entrapping an overeager British advance scheduled for the following day. With no means of reaching the unit expected to make the charge which will assuredly all but lose every man for nothing, two British soldiers -- Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), whose brother is part of the army charging into the trap, and Will Schofield (George MacKay) -- are tasked with making the dangerous daylight trek through open territory to alert the endangered unit's field commander, Colonel Mackenzie, that his attack is to be called off posthaste.

1917 mesmerizes from the opening shot. As the camera pulls back from a serene, idyllic countryside setting, the image reveals a few scattered men lying about, hanging laundry, cooking food, until it progresses into a deep trench and begins to show the gruff and gritty realities of war, transitioning from beauty to ugliness in a matter of moments within a single, seamless shot. As the men later traverse through the trench and across the battlefield, littered with dead bodies, destroyed tanks, and nothing but mud and death as far as the eye can see, the sense of widespread destruction intermixes with the intimacies and urgencies of the mission the men undertake. Mendes and Deakins allow the viewer to not simply see it all, but also to experience it, to understand the world and appreciate the horrors that appear in nearly very frame. It's beautiful and repulsive art the same time, a historical testament to man’s brutality but also to his drive and determination even in the face of all but certain failure and futility.

Mendes and Deakins build the movie with unprecedented fluidity. The first, and only, obvious “cut” comes 66 minutes into the movie during a key transitional period that advances time several hours. It’s the only respite from the illusion of an otherwise continuous take that is truly seamless, both from photographical and performance perspectives. George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman are excellent in the leads, never breaking the illusion as they work through extended stretches and perform seamlessly with the technical side of things. But 1917 never feels like it’s about its technical merits, as splendid and noteworthy as they may be. For such a complex undertaking the story is incredibly simple and straightforward and, eventually, asks its audience to experience the journey as much, if not more, through the psychological perspective as the physical perspective. And that is why it works. Certainly the production design, the photographic composition, the action, and the acting are world-class, but it’s that intimacy of narrative and the essential human emotions that drive the movie to success well beyond the other components that would only support, not lead, when in lesser hands and with lesser material.

1917 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

One might believe a film source and a level of inherent grit to be vital to a movie like 1917, but Mendes and Deakins work magic with the high resolution digital photography that in many ways brings a more realistic character to the production than could film, more fully drawing the audience into the experience by erasing as much of the barrier between camera and viewer as possible. That's critical when considering the movie's makeup, its accomplished effort to present the story as if photographed in two continuous shots. On Blu-ray, the digitally sourced material shines. It's clean but at the same time captures the filth and mud and death and decay of the war-torn wasteland with remarkable precision and clarity. Terrain is a vital visual component in the movie. Viewers will see with great clarity clumps of mud, puddles, and some unblemished grasses. The trenches are filled with worn woods, beaten sandbags, and traces of material debris here and there. These are incredibly authentic production details that the Blu-ray presents with resplendent accuracy. Object clarity is excellent, too. A soldier's gear -- leather pouches, fabric frays, caked-on mud, scuffs on helmets, wear on rifle stocks -- is never wanting for improved textural definition. Faces are, of course, clearly defined and intimately revealing, though much of the movie sees the camera and the characters in motion, sometimes even walking away from the camera, so there are not the usual numbers for relatively static close-ups as one might find in other movies. The color palette appears slightly muted, and the production very much so. Earthy grays, uniform beiges, and overcast skies are the dominant tones, but rare examples of lively greens, white blossoms on downed trees, red blood, and orange fireballs do offer splashes of color that are intense compared to the drab world around them but that present with neutral contrast and no overplay. Black levels are fine within some lower light interiors and dark nighttime exteriors. Skin tones are a little pasty but within the movie's tonal parameters. 1917 looks magnificent on Blu-ray.

1917 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

1917's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is an exercise in sound engineering and delivery excellence. The soundstage expands almost immediately to pull the listener into the trenches and across the battlefields. In the former, there's a hectic din at times, more subdued rustling at others, but the feel for immersion within the confined space is evident with surround and overhead engagement regular. Listeners will find the first example of discrete overhead usage when a pair of planes pass above Schofield and Blake within the 20-minute mark as they make their way across the abandoned battlefield. An explosion within the confines of an abandoned German bunker in chapter six offers an impressive blast rushing through the stage, sending debris flying across and then falling from above, both with seamless surround detail and top end presentation. Rushing waters in chapter 15 soak the stage with intense depth and ferocious movement, and gunfire punches hard and impacts surfaces with alarming ferocity, notably from a sniper's rifle partway through the film. Music plays with superb low end depth to solidify widely engaged, fluid, and very lifelike notes; like action and atmosphere, it's enveloping but with perfect balance. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from a natural front-center position. Film audio doesn't get much more complete and immersive as this.

1917 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

1917 includes a handful of featurettes and a pair of audio commentary tracks. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed/debossed slipcover.

• The Weight of the World: Sam Mendes (1080p, 4:29): A look at the scriptwriting process, Mendes' passion for and personal connection to the material, the director's work on set, and more.
• Allied Forces: The Making of 1917 (1080p, 12:01): Crafting the movie in what appear to be two long consecutive shots, shooting on the Arri LF Mini and the various control options for certain camera movements and coverage, logistical challenges, production detail and location hardships, and more.
• The Score of 1917 (1080p, 3:52): In discussion of the movie's music with Composer Thomas Newman, Director Sam Mendes, and others.
• In the Trenches (1080p, 6:59): This piece covers casting relatively unknown actors in the lead roles, their performances and screen presence, commitment to the roles, and more.
• Recreating History (1080p, 10:25): Mendes' collaboration with Dennis Gassner, "crafting the world around the rhythm of the script," logistical challenges, extensive preparatory work, numerous design specifics, lighting challenges, and more.
• Audio Commentary: Director/Co-Writer Sam Mendes covers the film in wide-berth detail: the film's origins in his grandfather's war stories, score, war history, story details, cast and performances, production design, and other critical and anecdotal tidbits. This is an excellent, broad swatch commentary.
• Audio Commentary: Director of Photography Roger Deakins delivers a more technically focused exploration of the film and his incredible work on it.

1917 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

1917 ranks amongst the finest War films ever made. It's as much of a narrative achievement as it is a technical achievement, home to unprecedented production detail excellence as well as first-rate action and grounded, sincere emotional currents. Nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, and the winner of three, including Best Cinematography, 1917 is one of 2020's, and its genres, finest. Universal's Blu-ray is terrific, too, boasting excellent 1080p video, reference quality Atmos audio, and a fine assortment extra content. 1917 earns my highest recommendation.