Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Joker Blu-ray Movie Review

Sympathy for the Devil.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 4, 2020

It's taken long enough, but we finally got a Batman movie without...well, Batman. The Caped Crusader isn't seen or mentioned even once during Todd Phillips' Joker, and that's perfectly fine by me. The franchise's most iconic villain is a strong enough character to stand on his own two feet, even as the star of another origin story tossed onto a rather large pile. Plenty of Batman stories have explored Joker's earlier years in a variety of media, from The Killing Joke -- and by that I mean Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's comic, not the awful animated adaptation -- to Tim Burton's iconic 1989 film and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. I'm not a big enough DC nerd to know which version (if any) is considered canon, but I'll take a decent origin story any way I can get it. Does Joker deliver the goods?

Yes, at least from the perspective of an outsider to the heavily saturated genre of comic book movies. Joker takes a strong left turn -- almost a complete 180°, even -- by delivering a modestly-budgeted character study that weaves a dark narrative in the less-traveled territory of pre-Batman Gotham City, circa 1981. (Yes, even before Year One.) Our titular anti-hero begins as Arthur Fleck (Joaqin Phoenix), a mentally unstable man who lives with his eccentric mother Peggy (Frances Conroy) in a massive, run-down apartment complex. Taking odd jobs as a clown-for-hire, Arthur has dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian but struggles with anxiety, depression, and violent thoughts that stem from being bullied and abused during most of his life. Arthur's environment is almost literally toxic: crime runs rampant, his job is pitiful, and Gotham's citizens are on edge due to a garbage strike. The only bright spots in his life are single mom Sophie Diamond (Zazie Beetz), who shares his hatred of their awful apartment building; and watching a late-night talk show starring Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), who he dreams of meeting in person someday.

Thematically, Joker shares a lot of similarities with films like Taxi Driver: mentally unstable loner, unlikely love interest, run-down city streets, seething contempt for a local politician, and of course the appearance of Robert De Niro. A more cynical version of myself might even call it "Taxi Driver for dummies", as it takes a number of lazy narrative shortcuts to drum up sympathy for its main character. Yet Joker remains more than just a compelling character study: it's truly well-crafted and has extremely strong technical merits, looking almost as good as Christopher Nolan's Batman films -- despite being shot digitally and on a much more intimate scale -- with an outstanding original score that provides a perfectly dark and somber backdrop. The sudden outbursts of violence and volatile third act earn Joker a rare "R" rating for its genre -- and while I am not 100% on board with the film's message or politics (especially given America's current social climate), Joker feels no more out-of-character here than he does in The Killing Joke, A Death in the Family, or The Dark Knight. Of course, that's not even taking another important thing into account: Arthur Fleck is clearly an unreliable narrator, so there's the distinct possibility that not everything is as it seems.

For these reasons, Joker can at least be considered a compelling alternate-universe take on established DC characters and history that deserves to be watched, re-watched, and argued about. Warner Bros. presents the film in two different flavors: this respectable Blu-ray or a more technically proficient 4K edition, as well as no shortage of store exclusives and international variants. They've arrived a few weeks later than expected (due to its phenomenal box-office success) and are light on extras, but the main feature looks and sounds good enough that you might not care.

Joker Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, Joker was shot digitally in mixed high resolutions with a true 4K digital intermediate; though Warner Bros.' Blu-ray is technically scaled down quite a bit, its 1080p transfer is clearly a five-star effort that represents the best this format has to offer. Image detail and textures are perfectly rendered, revealing a considerable amount of depth and clarity that stands toe-to-toe with high-quality 35mm film stock. The worn-down cityscapes absolutely burst with detail, while tasteful CGI elements add another layer of visual decay to footage shot on location in New York City. The film's vivid color palette also looks great, from era-specific interior decoration to the bright hues of Arthur's clown costume and makeup. Joker is literally and figuratively a very dark film at times, but shadow detail and contrast levels are likewise extremely stable from start to finish with no obvious signs of banding or artifacts, despite a lower-than-average bit rate that typically hovers right above 20Mbps.

Obviously, the separately-available 4K edition will beat this Blu-ray in every visual category, but this is still an incredibly good-looking disc that should easily satisfy those who haven't switched to that format yet.

Joker Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Equally as impressive is Joker's Dolby Atmos mix, which unfolds to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 if your receiver doesn't support the format. Both tracks are as crystal-clear and enveloping as expected, with extremely crisp dialogue and plenty of discrete channel separation that gives the film a very wide overall soundstage. Music really carries a lot of weight here: composer Hildur Guðnadóttir's plaintive, cello-driven original score is an obvious standout, while diegetic music and a handful of era-specific soundtrack cuts (including songs by The Main Ingredient, Jackson C. Frank, Gary Glitter, Cream, Frank Sinatra, and more) also work their way in nicely. Joker also balances very insular, claustrophobic moments with much more expansive ones, depending on mood, location, or even reality vs. hallucination. LFE is more subtle and unsettling than sudden and punchy, effectively sneaking up rather than feeling like a traditional "demo disc". All told, this is a top-notch presentation that does more than enough work for a character-driven drama.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles have been included during the main feature, as well as a variety of foreign dubs and subs, all listed above. These are formatted perfectly with no sync issues and sit inside the 1.85:1 frame.

Joker Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Joker arrives on Blu-ray in a standard dual-hubbed keepcase with character-focused cover art and a matching, matte-finish slipcover. On-disc extras are surprisingly limited and include a handful of short featurettes.

• Becoming Joker (1:23) - This brief, music-driven piece contains footage of Joaquin Phoenix before and after transforming into the title character -- more a tonal exercise than anything else.

• Joker: Vision & Fury (22:25) - Writer/director Todd Phillips, actor Joaquin Phoenix, production designer Mark Friedberg, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, and other key participants speak about the film's inception, working in a new genre, changing the character's accepted origin, humanizing villains, creating an alternate DC universe, turning modern-day New York City into 1980s Gotham, crafting the original score, writing for Joaquin Phoenix, losing weight for the title role, dancing choreography, the extensive editing process, and more.

• Please Welcome… Joker! (2:44) - This short piece slightly expands upon a segment of "Vision and Fury" (above), presenting multiple takes of a scene from the film with drastically different performances.

• Joker: A Chronicle of Chaos (3:04) - A quick-moving gallery of still images (some candid, others from the finished film) set to music by Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir.

Joker Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Todd Phillips' Joker is a movie America deserves, but not the one it needs right now. Yet while this volatile, beautifully composed character study will surely be misunderstood by some of its target audience and demonized by those who fear its fragile subject matter, it's inarguably a well-made and refreshing left turn for the over-saturated genre of comic book movies. Politics and social messages aside, my only real complaints are a handful of lazy plot developments; otherwise, Joker remains a compelling drama with extremely strong technical merits. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray edition is perfectly satisfying from an A/V perspective (even if the separate 4K disc beats it visually by a decent margin), but the bonus features leave a bit to be desired -- that month-long delay afforded the studio ample time to put together a more complete package. It's still obviously recommended for any and all fans who haven't jumped to 4K yet.