Home Fires Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Home Fires Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 4, 2015

Returning to WWII for inspiration, “Home Fires” is the latest ITV series to take advantage of the wartime setting, although this program is about the road to conflict, identifying the tension building in rural England as the area prepares for the inevitable. For this tale, an adaptation of the book “Jambusters” (oh, how I wish that title was kept) by Julie Summers, the focus is on the female, tracking the development of a local Women’s Institute and the varied lives of its troubled members.

“Home Fires” is a soap opera, but one with more grit and care extended to its myriad of subplots and motivations. The setting is routine, but the participants have their own interesting domestic dramas to work through, with the show covering spousal abuse, sexuality, marriage, illiteracy, betrayal, and competition. However, the program is particularly mindful of parental love, detailing one couple’s attempt to make sense of their lone son’s interest in joining the war, caught between the teen’s maturity and their own understandably selfish reasons to keep him away from harm. It’s the highlight of a show that’s already filled with riveting asides that explore haunted and conflicted personalities, supported by tremendous performances from the likes of Samantha Bond (playing the headstrong leader of the W.I.), Claire Rushbrook, Francesca Annis, Claire Price, and Claire Calbraith.

Home Fires Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation falls in line with previous PBS releases, offering a relatively crisp look at the HD-shot program. Detail is always best when fully illuminated, studying aging particulars on the cast, while locations offer varied decoration and farmland expanse. Fabrics also retain pleasing textures. Colors are stable, leading with terrific greenery and bold costumes, while skintones retain their natural appeal. Delineation runs a little too thick at times, showing solidification with evening events. Banding is periodically detected.

Home Fires Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is consistent with clarity and power, leading with dialogue exchanges that retain dramatic power and weight, handling the varied performances. Scoring is supportive and insistent when the moment calls for such musical urgency, but it's the show's theme song that retains impressive presence in the mix, arriving with precise instrumentation and power. Atmospherics are mostly busy, working through interior and exterior scenes, identifying wide open spaces and echoed rooms.

Home Fires Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

Home Fires Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While "Home Fires" teases a few melodramatic extremes, it never takes the bait, showing sustained commitment to the characters as they experience the highs and lows of life on the edge of war. There's a terrific flow to the overall story, and time is well spent with each participant, getting to know quirks and fears. "Home Fires" is quality work with heart and sturdy drama, providing a slightly different take on the average WWII tale of national anxiety.