Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

One Night in Miami... Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 16, 2021

Regina King's "One Night in Miami..." (2020) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new program with director Regina King and screenwriter Kemp Powers; new program with producer Nick Baxter and industry veterans Andy Hay and Paul Ledford; new program with actors Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr.; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The night that never was

Can you imagine what would have happened if Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Joseph MacCarthy, and Joe DiMaggio crossed paths and addressed each other’s views on time, success, politics, love, and a few other things that usually matter in life? Well, you don’t have to do it. You can watch Nic Roeg’s thought-provoking drama Insignificance and get a pretty great summation of this fictitious engagement.

Now, can you imagine what our present would have looked like if Adolph Hitler had wiped out Joseph Stalin’s Red Army and after the end of WWII the world was divided by two very different superpowers -- United Germany and the United States of America? And can you imagine what would have happened if the inevitable Cold War between these two superpowers was about to end a lot earlier than expected because President Joseph P. Kennedy had agreed to sign a treaty restoring official diplomatic relations with his counterpart in Berlin? Well, once again you don’t have to torture your mind. You just have to find the time to view Christopher Menaul’s fascinating thriller Fatherland.

How about a legitimately whacky scenario that tops the two that are highlighted above? Can you guess what would have happened if H.G. Wells really did build his time machine, but before he could test it Jack the Ripper stole it and landed in the year 1979? What would have been Wells’ reaction? Do you think that he would have found a way to follow Jack the Ripper and bring him back to the time he escaped from? And how would have Jack the Ripper behaved in the future? Spend a night with Nicholas Meyer’s classic mind-bender Time After Time and you can see a very plausible reconstruction of these hypothetical events.

Regina King’s film One Night in Miami... utilizes a very similar blueprint to reconstruct a legendary meeting that never happened. This time around the historic figures are Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), and they all meet in a small motel room somewhere in the beautiful city of Miami. The wild night three of them have been expecting, however, never materializes, and instead, Malcolm X forces them into a long discussion that reexamines everything they believe in, and everything they should believe in at a supposedly crucial moment in time.

The above description reads like a pretty great concept for a film that has the potential to produce all kinds of different surprises like the ones that make Insignificance, Fatherland, and Time After Time so fascinating to behold. It really does. Clay has just been declared Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World and he is ready to party like there is no tomorrow. Brown’s future career in the film industry is about to take off big time. Cooke has already tasted real success because his songs have reached the top of the charts. And despite some personal intrigues, it looks like Malcolm X is well on his way to becoming a formidable political leader. These four young men have promised each other that they will have a good time in Miami, one of the greatest cities in the world, and they have the perfect excuse to go wild. Can you smell the excitement in the air? This writer definitely did.

Sadly, this is all that One Night in Miami... has to offer, a whiff of excitement, which disappears almost immediately after the four men enter a bland hotel room and one of them declares that they only have a bucket of ice cream in the fridge.

The rest of the film is about The Truth, which is seeing and deconstructing America through a very particular lens. So, instead of having a good time, the men begin questioning the nature of their success, their future goals, and their understanding and commitment to The Cause. Politics, money, sex, and especially race are the big topics that are used to flesh out The Cause so that they can eventually accept that they are all in favor of it.

Some interesting ideas are floating around in this film, definitely some real truths too, which have nothing to do with the political messaging that is placed in it to make it appear relevant at this very moment, but the crystal-clear vision that was needed for it to be coherent and engaging is missing. Indeed, large chunks of the dialog are so oddly loose and unfocused that any viewer that actually understands who the four men in the room are supposed to be would be instantly turned off. Also, even though the event that is depicted is fictional, it should not look staged, and yet its entire progression leaves the impression that it goes through pre-approved phases whose tone and drama have been carefully rehearsed.

The soundtrack is excellent. It utilizes original music by Terence Blanchard as well as some fantastic renditions of classic tunes. Odom Jr.'s Oscar nomination is well-deserved.

One Night in Miami... Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, One Night in Miami... arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The film was shot on ARRI ALEXA 65 and Alexa Mini LF camera and completed in a fully digital workflow. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original digital audio master files.

Colorist: Ian Vertovec/Light Iron, Hollywood."

The entire film looks gorgeous in high-definition, though some of the early outdoor from Georgia is a tad more impressive. Delineation, clarity, sharpness, and depth are as good as you can expect them to be in 1080p. I would say that there are some quite striking ranges of highlights as well. Fluidity is outstanding, and at least on my system it looked on par with I have seen top-notch 4K Blu-ray releases produce. Colors are very rich but not overwhelming, routinely boasting fine ranges of subtle nuances as well (see screencaptures #4 and 10). There are no traces of digital anomalies. Image stability is excellent. All in all, this is an all-around fantastic technical presentation of the film that in some ways matches the type of quality you would get from a solid 4K Blu-ray release. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

One Night in Miami... Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

• Trailer - an original trailer for One Night in Miami.... In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• An Essential Collaboration - in this new program, director Regina King and screenwriter Kemp Powers discuss their collaboration on One Night in Miami.... The program, which is moderated by critic Gil Robertson, was filmed in Los Angeles in August 2021 for Criterion. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Becoming a Director - in this new program, Regina King discusses her acting career and the conception of her directorial debut, One Night in Miami..., with filmmaker and actor Kasi Lemmons. The program was produced for Criterion in August 2021. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Regina King and Barry Jenkins - in this filmed conversation, Regina King and filmmaker Barry Jenkins discuss the genesis of One Night in Miami..., how the former's acting experience helped during the production process, some particular technical preferences (and specifically the positioning/movement of the camera), the nature of the characterizations, etc. The program was recorded for The Director's Cut - A Directors Guild of America Podcast in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (42 min).

• Building Characters - in this new program, Regina King and cast members Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr. discuss their approach to crafting the four characters in One Night in Miami.... The program was produced for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Making One Night in Miami... - in this new program, Regina King, Kemp Powers, producer Jody Klein, editor Tariq Anwar, cinematographer Tami Reiker, costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, and set decorator Janessa Hitsman discuss their involvement with One Night in Miami... as well as some of the reasons why the original material that inspired the film appealed to them. The program was produced for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (32 min).

• Sound Design - in this new program, producer Nick Baxter and industry veterans Andy Hay and Paul Ledford discuss the unique work that was required to prepare and finalize the original soundtrack for One Night in Miami.... The program was produced for Criterion in 2021. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring critic Gene Seymour's essay "In The Room" as well as technical credits.

One Night in Miami... Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. An audio descriptive track is included as well. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track handles the original soundtrack really, really well. Obviously, this shouldn't be surprising given that One Night in Miami... is a very recent film with a contemporary sound design, but I still thought that clarity, depth, sharpness, dynamic contrasts, and stability were exceptional. A few of Leslie Odom Jr.'s performances are what I would describe as 'reference material'. There are no technical anomalies to report in our review.

One Night in Miami... Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One Night in Miami... promises so much that I don't know how anyone can approach it with modest expectations. Unfortunately, I have to concede that the screenplay that was handed to Regina King does not provide the quality material that was needed for the film to impress. There are a few bits with Leslie Odom Jr. singing that look great, which is why his Oscar nomination is entirely deserved, but the rest I thought was instantly forgettable. Criterion's Blu-ray release offers a fantastic technical presentation of the film as well as a good selection of bonus features. RENT IT.