Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Heart and Souls Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 10, 2024

Mill Creek has released the 1993 Comedy-Drama 'Heart and Souls,' starring a venerable collection of actors including Robert Downey Jr., Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, David Paymer, Elisabeth Shue, and Tom Sizemore, to Blu-ray. The film was previously released to Blu-ray in 2019 by Universal. In quite the surprise move, this Mill Creek release includes a handful of supplemental features that were absent from the Universal disc.

For a full film review, please see the excellent recap and analysis penned by Randy Miller III accompanying the 2019 Universal release by clicking here.

Heart and Souls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Heart and Souls arrives on Blu-ray from Mill Creek with a satisfying, if not at times problematic, 1080p transfer. While I did not review the Universal disc and have no basis for comparison beyond Randy's written review and supplied screenshots, it certainly appears that the images are sourced form the same master, but as often seems to be the case, the Mill Creek disc appears to introduce some compression issues that result in this being a slight downgrade from Universal's work. Indeed, the image is frequently home to mild compression issues (as well as the odd and errant pop and speckle), none of which elevate to a level of severity to make this anywhere near unwatchable, but those looking for the best presentation will want to go to the Universal disc.

Still, this image shares some of its good qualities with the Universal disc. While some shots look very smooth, the image does not, on the whole, appear to be the victim of extreme grain removal. Grain is not as organic as it might be, looking fairly sharp, bit the image is still home to well defined textures, evident on period clothes but also various bits of city detail. Faces, of course, are nicely defined in total, lacking the razor precision that film resolution and Blu-ray can provide, but here offering good foundational definition that results in pleasing, if not all that special, facial structure and detail revelation. Colors are fine, appearing suitably bold especially in good light (a sequence around the 40-miinute mark is a good example, being a well-lit scene with some bold greens and colorful clothes on full display). Colors are nicely saturated though they cannot be described as "vivid." "Pleasing," yes, but not "powerful." White balance is OK, skin tones are OK, and black levels are...OK. In sum the transfer exists a slight bit above "OK" but could certainly stand to be remastered at some point.

Heart and Souls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek releases Heart and Souls to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is the same encode that was present on the 2019 Universal disc, and it is very likely that this is the same presentation, but I will offer a brief review since I did not review, nor have access to, that Universal disc.

The presentation is solid if unremarkable. It's nicely defined in its totality with musical engagement, which is one of the clear highlights. To be sure, the music lacks the precision fidelity and pinpoint clarity that is common in newer productions, and the presentation has a certain early 90s vibe to it, but it's effectively presented and probably near or at best case scenario for the material as it was recorded and engineered. The track offers some pleasing moments of greater size and intensity, most notably, and probably most crucially to the film, the bus accident in the first act that sets the plot in motion for the rest of the film. While it lacks absolute grace and sonic nuance, there is enough sense of movement and depth, albeit fairly crude depth, to effectively convey the moment's basic needs. The track also deals with lesser ambient effects which hold the line for the track: well placed, nicely immersive as necessary (even if the bulk of the track is more front-heavy than surround-balanced), and suitably clear, all of which help to define the listening area but not necessarily draw the listener fully into it. Finally, dialogue is also good enough, also lacking lifelike, pinpoint precision but presenting with good prioritization, center balance, and clarity from beginning to end.

Heart and Souls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

It is a very rare circumstance that a Mill Creek re-release of a Universal catalogue title contains extras that were on the Universal disc, and even rarer is when the Mill Creek disc includes supplements when the Universal disc offered none. Indeed, Universal's 2019 issue offered absolutely nothing, but here is the Mill Creek disc with three featurettes and a trailer. Do note that no DVD or digital copies are included. This release does ship with one of Mill Creek's popular "Retro VHS" slipcovers.

• Driven by Destiny: Making Heart and Souls (1080p, 37:15): A surprisingly lengthy, and satisfying, exploration of the film, beginning with a discussion of Director Ron Underwood's career leading to this film, the themes the film explores, cast and the characters they play, making various parts of the film, crew, and more.
• Writing Heart and Souls (1080p, 12:07): Atop various clips form the film is an exploration of the scriptwriting process, including differences from the original short film, writing the characters, and more.
• Designing Heart and Souls (1080p, 2:58): A very brief look at the straight down the middle set and production design that accentuates the character humor in the film.
• Heart and Souls Theatrical Trailer (480i, window box, 2:18).

Heart and Souls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Heart and Souls builds a collection of interesting characters within an engaging framework that keeps the movie watchable today, despite some dated visuals and stylings. The Mill Creek Blu-ray is a very good choice for home consumption, offering video and audio that seems at least on par (though perhaps slightly behind) the Universal issue while adding both a few supplements unavailable on the Universal disc and also including the collectible Retro VHS slipcover. At time of writing, it's also about $5 cheaper on Amazon. Recommended.