Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Little Women Blu-ray Movie Review

Mill Creek has released the beloved 1994 film 'Little Women' to Blu-ray. The film first came to the market via Sony in 2016 as part of the controversial 'Choice Collection' but received a substantially superior version in 2020 (please click here to see the 2016 disc and here for the 2020 version). The Mill Creek issue is not as good, but it's infinitely affordable at time of writing and also ships with a second film, 'Marie Antoinette,' as part of a two-film double feature.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's 1080p Blu-ray presentation of Little Women is not as good as either Sony release, but the image is satisfactory as presented here. To be sure, it does suffer from some mild compression issues which are evident in practically every shot. The key word here is "mild." While such are in evidence, the picture holds up fairly well all things considered and never drops to the lowest depths of despair in the same style as some of Mill Creek's worst releases like The Freshman and Like Father Like Son. The picture, in the aggregate, offers a generally satisfying image that lacks the fine grain, authoritative crispness, and perfectly authentic filmic appearance of the newest Sony release. Still, this is a generally good looking image, boasting quality details, excellent sharpness, and a decent approximation of a fine film-like picture. Quality details are evident throughout, whether in facial close-ups, period attire, or the denser appointments and structural elements seen in various interiors throughout the film. Colors are fine, again like the detailing lacking the fine-point excellence the Sony disc offers (again, especially the latter one), but tonal balance is good, depth and vibrancy are decent enough, and primaries present with a fair sense of pop and punch. Skin tones are healthy enough, ditto black levels, and the image presents nice white crip snow in the wintertime, sunlit exteriors. This is hardly on par with either Sony image, but it's not at all poor for a budget double feature release.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek releases Little Women to Blu-ray with a Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy soundtrack. The Sony discs both featured 5.1 lossless presentations. Despite the lack of lossless audio, the presentation here is fine for core content delivery. Clearly it lacks the finesse and accuracy the lossless track affords the material, especially with the newer Sony release, but listeners will enjoy the musical clarity and spacious engagement heard over the film's open. Music continues to impress throughout for core definition and front side spatial awareness. Surrounds are not used heavily or extensively, but the presentation yields enough back content to keep the listener aware of their presence, especially in building up subtle atmosphere, both inside and outside in various scenes. Dialogue is the core sonic driver, and it is presented with fine front-center positioning. It is well prioritized throughout and clarity is very good under the lossy encode limitations.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplemental content is included. Absent are the various extras from the Sony discs, including a commentary track, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a trailer. As it ships in the double feature package, no DVD or digital copies are included and the release does not ship with a slipcover.

Little Women Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Little Women is a fine little film. Beyond its stunning attention to period detail and sense of authenticity, the film is further beautifully acted, costumed, scored, and photographed. It's a pleasure and one of the defining films of how well classic literature can translate to the cinematic medium. Mill Creek's Blu-ray holds the film together rather well, all things considered. It's not as good as the Sony releases in any way -- considering, video, audio, or supplements -- but as a budget double feature issue it offers enough to satisfy the basic demands of a watch.