7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The story of Fred Rogers, the honored host and creator of the popular children's television program, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968).
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper, Susan Kelechi Watson, Maryann PlunkettBiography | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1, 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1, 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Director Marielle Heller's (The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is not a story of Mr. Rogers, the beloved children's television host, but rather of what Mr. Rogers does. His perspective on life is seen through the prism of a cynical, angry journalist whose life changes over time when the kindly Rogers sets time aside to make him the center of his world. It's a tender, heartfelt story of real, dramatic change and the difference one man can make not in the world but rather within one soul when he takes the time to look into one.
The film begins with a standard definition video quality 4x3 presentation, reminiscent of the production presentation of the original show. The film opens up minutes later, introducing Lloyd Vogel, whom Fred Rogers just discussed, accepting an award in New York City. The image transitions back to the 4x3 video at times throughout the film. The core 1.85:1 content looks terrific. Noise is minimal and the film-quality presentation has much to offer, getting everything right in broadly excellent fashion. Everything is in good working order. Faces are sufficiently complex to high end format standards, ditto clothes, particularly Rogers' sweaters, which even in the 4x3 video appear pleasantly crisp. Set pieces are well defined, whether the literal WQED TV show set where audiences will sit in awe for the wonderful recreation detail, or New York locales where some of the action takes place. Colors are dialed in to a pleasantly perfect contrast with no over saturation or desaturation to report. Rogers' red sweater pops with impressive stability, skin tones are spot-on, and black levels leave no room for complaint. There are no serious encode issues to report.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack handles the movie's mostly minimal material with ease. The track is active and lively in its music, presenting both familiar refrains and newly minted score with impressive width, modest surround engagement, and a proper low end accompaniment. Fidelity is perfect: precision detail throughout the range is never lacking. The track engages mild atmospherics from time to time, including full-bodied New York City din in chapter seven with Rogers in town, visiting with Lloyd. The picture is predominantly dialogue heavy, though. The spoken word comes through clearly, with perfect prioritization, from a natural front-center home.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood includes a filmmaker commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more. A DVD copy of the film and a
Movies
Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.
Fred Rogers takes nothing for granted. He admires life's simple joys, truly enjoying the opportunity to, for example, be in the presence of a string quartet playing beautiful music. He responds with genuine delight to the world around him and offers even more genuine care and concern to those around him and for those in need. When he meets Vogel and agrees to the interview, he doesn't see an opportunity to promote himself but rather to lift up a man in need -- in desperate need -- of life perspective change. Hanks is remarkable, suffice it to say, certainly not in the art of replacing Rogers but definitely in the art of understanding and demonstrating his spiritual essence. And the part works because Matthew Rhys is fully on board with slowly redirecting his deeply wounded essence along the journey, at first pushing away but gradually accepting what Rogers has to offer him as the story moves along. This is purpose driven, honest, and sincere cinema at its finest. Sony's Blu-ray release of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood delivers a well-rounded package, yielding wonderful video and audio presentations, supported by a good allotment of extra content. This release earns my highest recommendation.
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