Coming Home Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Coming Home Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 21, 2019

Hal Ashby's "Coming Home" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film; archival audio commentary by Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, and Haskell Wexler; two featurettes; and more. The release also arrives with a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Scott Harrison and critic Glenn Kenny. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

In the United States, Hal Ashby's film was released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in 2014. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Brian Orndorf's review of this release here.

Coming Home Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hal Ashby's Coming Home arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same old master that the folks at Kino Lorber worked with when they prepared this release of Coming Home for the North American market in 2014. It is a weak master that has a wide range of serious limitations. For example, the entire film looks quite soft and often even a tad 'noisy' because grain is very loose and even smeary. Predictably, definition is not optimal and plenty of the darker footage struggles with uncharacteristic flatness. Also, fluidity isn't convincing, so on a larger screen you will see the image being a bit shaky at times. The color scheme looks dated -- the primaries are weak while the supporting nuances are very limited and anemic. There are no large cuts, damage marks, or debris, but some specks and even blemishes can be spotted. So, this film really needs a serious and competent makeover so that it looks as it should on Blu-ray. My score is 2.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you need to have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Coming Home Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

What the old master offers in video department leaves a lot to be desired, but in the audio department I don't see -- or hear is perhaps more appropriate to write -- any major issues. The audio is stable and clean, while dynamic intensity is very good for a film from the 1970s. It is very possible that a new remaster will also introduce some rebalancing improvements in the audio departments, but I don't think they they will be substantial.

Coming Home Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for Coming Home. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Hal Ashby: A Man Out of Time - this archival featurette takes a closer look at Hal Ashby's work as an editor and director as well as the production of Coming Home. Included in it are clips from interviews with Haskell Wexler (Medium Cool), Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night), Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Coming Back Home - this archival featurette examines some of the key themes in Coming Home as well as the preparation and editing work that was done before shooting of the film started. Included in it are clips from interviews with Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, and Haskell Wexler. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Commentary One - this vintage audio commentary features Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, and Haskell Wexler. It has appeared on previous home video releases of Coming Home.

• Commentary Two - this new audio commentary was recorded by novelist and script writer Scott Harrison. The commentary has a lot of good information about the music that is heard throughout the film, the conception of the narrative (and the different point of views in it), and important political events. The commentary was recorded.

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Scott Harrison and critic Glenn Kenny.

Coming Home Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eureka Entertainment's release of Hal Ashby's Coming Home is sourced from the same old master that a few years ago Kino Lorber worked with to produce their North American release of the film. I think that it is a pretty weak master, so a proper remaster is needed so that the film looks as good as it should in high-definition. If you want to have the film in your collection, my advise is to wait for a sale and then consider a purchase.