Little Women Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Little Women Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony has released 'Little Women' to Blu-ray for the second time as part of its MOD (Manufactured on Demand) line of Blu-ray discs (there's also a suboptimal, but cheaper, Mill Creek alternative). This is a fairly substantial new release. It's pressed rather than burned and it features improved video and audio over the previous (though excellent) 2016 Choice Collection Blu-ray as well as several extras new to the 1080p format. See below for full coverage of all new content.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Little Women's 2020 Blu-ray releases falls under the MOD (Manufactured on Demand) category, but this version is pressed rather than burned. The picture is an upgrade over the existing Sony "Choice Collection" Blu-ray, which was quite stunning in its own right. This new presentation is supposedly sourced from a new 4K master, but Sony provided no press materials to support that claim. Either way, the new image is striking but not in any way an overhaul of the previous image. Improvements are nevertheless evident. The image is startlingly excellent, featuring one of the most refined and organic film-quality presentations the Blu-ray format has seen. Grain retention is constant and its display steady and flattering. It's not at all dense but nevertheless a critical component to the picture's visual structure. Details are razor sharp across a wide spectrum of visual goodness, from period attire to lacy support things, from wooden accents around the home to precisely defined facial textures that reveal every pore, bump, hair, wrinkle, mole and other qualities with highly impressive clarity. The entire picture is a treasure of resplendently clear and accurate components. Any bump in the road is very minor; there's a hint of softness in a scene in the 81-minute mark but it's certainly only worth mentioning, not knocking down the score. Colors are likewise superb, including purely white snow, warm woods, fall leaves, and natural greenery. Paint tones around the house of various shades dazzle in any light. Skin tones are perfectly natural while black levels are flawless; look at the 26-minute mark for one of the finest examples. There's no print damage or encode issues apparent. While this is practically Blu-ray perfection, it's truly disappointing that Sony didn't go the extra mile and release the film on the UHD format. One can only imagine the film looking even better with higher resolution and an expanded color gamut.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There appear to the some changes to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, too. While differences in essential content delivery, like dialogue, are not particularly obvious, comparisons of several of the more sonically active scenes did produce some notable differences. Take a scene at the 1:30:20 mark, lasting for a good 20 seconds or so. On this new edition, the scene is alive with bustling sound and heavy surround support and music that fills the stage with impressively airy and wide spacing, punctuated by a horse galloping across the screen. The feel of saturation, surround fullness, and placement authenticity just isn't there on the previous disc. Similarly, party atmosphere din in chapter five lacks fullness and immersive detail on the old disc; this new presentation is much more authentic and satisfying. Certainly basics such as musical clarity and dialogue accuracy are fine. This is a healthy improvement over the previous release's soundtrack, even if it shares the same technical specifications.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Little Women carries over both supplements from the previously issued disc and adds several new ones which appear to be added from preexisting standard definition releases. For coverage of repeating extras, please click here. New-to-Blu-ray content is marked as such and reviewed below. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• NEW! Audio Commentary: Director Gillian Armstrong recalls the filmmaking process in some detail, beginning with the opening title sequence and moving on to cover a broad spectrum of content, including actor preparation and performances, story and source material, her work as director, production details, anecdotes, and much more.
• Deleted Scenes (1080i upscaled): Included are Jo Teaches French to Kids (0:53) and Marmee Comforts Beth (0:52). With NEW optional audio commentary.
• The Making of Little Women (1080i upscaled, ~4x3, 6:53).
• NEW! Costume & Production Design (1080i upscaled, ~4x3, 8:10): A well-rounded exploration of several key costumes from a few scenes from the film, with discussions pertaining to how they reflect the scene's needs as well as the story and setting particulars. The piece concludes with photographs and production sketches set to music.
• NEW! Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:59).

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While there's no UHD in sight for Little Women (or for the story's latest cinema adaptation for that matter) this is a fine release in total, boasting practically faultless video and audio presentations. This disc also adds a few extras new to Blu-ray. Very highly recommended for both double dipper and new buyers alike.