Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 19, 2020

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.

In 1998, while attending his sister’s third wedding, Esquire Journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) has a physical altercation with his estranged father (Chris Cooper), a fight that has been a long time coming. It upsets his wife (Susan Kelechi Watson) and newborn baby. Things need to change. And they will, in the most unexpected of ways. At work, he is assigned a 400 word puff piece (“but I’m an investigative journalist!”) on Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), the beloved children’s television host. It’s not anywhere up Vogel’s alley (ironically the next scene depicts another confrontation with his father in an alleyway back entrance to his apartment) but Rogers is the only one who has agreed to allow Vogel, a dark and cynical writer, to interview him. When Rogers tells him that the most important thing in his life, right now, is speaking to Vogel, as Vogel looks down on a father who walked out on him years ago, it’s the first realization of what Rogers has to offer him, what’s been missing from his life, and setting in motion the healing process and reconciling with his father.

There are some interesting juxtapositions here and there that, possibly purposefully, perhaps accidentally, speak to Rogers’ approach to life on and off the camera. When Vogel first arrives at WQED where an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is being filmed, the camera shows Rogers live on stage and through TV monitors at the same time, in the same shot, suggesting that he is one and the same in either arena, that his persona does to begin or end on either side of the camera, that his genuine spirit and desire to lift and inspire holds no matter where he is or how he may appear, which is a vital component to his story, and to Vogel’s, too. And that is the essence of what made Fred Rogers so special. In fact, minutes later when Vogel and Fred speak one-on-one, Vogel asks if Fred Rogers, the man, is a hero. “No” is the response. He follows up by asking if Mr. Rogers, the TV personality, is a hero. Rogers turns the tables. The audience, and Vogel, already know the answer. Rogers upsets some of the more jaded work-first people in his studio who are practically disgusted with his digressions to spend time with a needy child or otherwise depart from their schedule. He knows the value of his TV show -- he says that when he looks through the camera he imagines gazing into the eyes of a single little boy or girl -- but he also knows the value of personal communication and concentration, again vital to Vogel's Rogers-inspired turnaround.

Rogers says that his goal is to “give children positive ways to deal with their feelings.” Of course, his message extends beyond numerical age, as Vogel learns. Rogers chooses to engage his audience, his friends, his acquaintances -- even jaded, life-hardened adults -- in life. He confronts directly, but lovingly, through experience and trained temperament. Rogers' wife Joanne (Maryann Plunkett) tells Vogel that her husband is not a perfect man. He is prone to anger and negative thoughts and actions, and he is certainly not a saint -- he wants to pull people to his level, not place himself on a pedestal beyond anyone's reach -- but simply a gentle soul who chooses how he responds to his emotions. The film spends little time exploring his faith, though it is not dismissed. In one scene, Rogers prays directly, by name, for those for whom he cares, including the entire Vogel family. It's a critical part of his life and perhaps the only, albeit slightly, underplayed part in a movie that is about reflecting Rogers' own understated approach to life. That is nowhere more evident than a scene in which he asks Vogel to pause for a full minute, in silence, to reflect on those who have loved him. The crowded restaurant (populated by real people from the real Mr. Rogers' life) goes silent and the movie literally takes the minute to ask not only its characters, but also its audience, to stop and think. It's one of cinema's great moments of screen-audience interaction in the simplest, and most powerful, example of Rogers' pace and approach to life.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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.

• Audio Commentary: Director Marielle Heller and Director of Photography Jody Lee Lipes deliver a casual and insightful track that explores the movie from some basic, and some deeper, perspectives.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p, 16:45 total runtime): Included are Heroes Must Die, You Just Had a Full Interview, Mr. Rogers' Archives, A Trip to the Hospital, Are You Still Feeling Agitated, Did You Know About Me?, I Asked You for Two Photographs, and Mitzi.
• Blooper Reel (1080p, 1:38): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers (1080p,. 10:29): Hanks' take on the character and taking on the role; finding, not replicating, the character; physical prep and costumes; and more.
• The People Who Make a Neighborhood: The Making Of (1080p, 15:23): Hanks, partially in character, introduces the people who worked hard to bring the movie to life, including Director Marielle Heller and key cast. the extra also explores shooting at WQED, set building, and more.
• Dreaming Big, Building Small: The Puppets & Miniatures (1080p, 8:37): A closer look at recreating and performing the Neighborhood puppets.
• Daniel Tiger Explains: Practice Makes Perfect (1080p, 2:42): Essentially the blooper reel from a different perspective.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.