Scoop Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Scoop Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 23, 2025

Woody Allen's "Scoop" (2006) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Great Splendini

On the way to The Other Side, the recently deceased journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane) figures out a way to reconnect with our world and appears in the magic closet of aging magician Sid Waterman, a.k.a. The Great Splendini (Woody Allen). In there, Strombel reveals to aspiring investigative journalist Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), who is visiting London, that he has the scoop of the century. Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), a notorious, very wealthy British aristocrat and bachelor, is the Tarot Card Serial Killer, a modern-day Jack the Ripper, who has been terrorizing London for months. Pransky can expose him, put him behind bars, and forever change her life. Choosing to trust her instincts rather than her rational mind, Pransky then begins collecting evidence that Lyman is indeed the Tarot Card Serial Killer.

But shortly after forcing Lyman to save her while supposedly drowning in a pool, Pransky begins to fall in love with the dangerous bachelor. And the more time the two spend together, the more she begins to doubt Strombel’s theory that Lyman is the man he has described to her. However, Waterman, who is not under Lyman’s spell and has been following Pransky around pretending to be her wealthy Jewish father from Palm Beach, ramps up his investigative work to expose the monster.

Scoop will meet the expectations of the most loyal Allen fans. Allen effortlessly revives his neurotic outsider and then promptly unleashes him to confuse the minds and hearts of those who dare to question how he thinks and behaves. Needless to say, there is always something funny happening around him.

Unfortunately, neither Johansson nor Jackman is properly tuned into the type of comedy Allen loves to create and excels in. Indeed, as soon as they are introduced to each other at the pool, the two become artificial characters that simply move through situations where they are expected to deliver various lines in a particular way. Some of this material can be somewhat cute, but virtually all of it is unfunny.

When Allen reappears, even when he remains silent or appears to be casually improvising, Scoop works. But there is not a lot of material where Allen is the main attraction. Usually, he is in Johansson’s company or trying to impress a group of strangers with his tricks. Plus, for some odd reason, his famous monologues are severely limited.

The best laughs are not concentrated in one particular area of Scoop. Only the finale feels a bit rough because the screenplay rushes to place a few entirely predictable developments in a proper context. Again, this is unfortunate because more of Allen, dominating with his brand of comedy, would have undoubtedly made Scoop a far superior film.

Allen shot Scoop with Oscar-nominated Remi Adefarasin, whose credits include such acclaimed films as Elizabeth and The House of Mirth, as well as the award-winning TV series Band of Brothers.

Scoop Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Scoop arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The master that was used to produce this release is old and, unfortunately, reveals some obvious limitations. For example, a lot of the brighter footage conveys average highlights and even blown-out whites. Unsurprisingly, some finer details are either unconvincing or lost. The darker indoor footage tends to look much better. However, trained eyes will notice that different types of nuances are also not convincing here. The best news is that there are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Nevertheless, grain exposure can be more convincing, and if it is, the dynamic range of the visuals will benefit as well. Color balance is stable. However, this is another area where various meaningful adjustments and improvements can be made. Currently, there are some primaries and supporting nuances that veer off in odd places. (See screencapture #16). Image stability is good. I did not see any distracting surface imperfections to report in our review. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).

Scoop Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless 2.0 track is very healthy. However, it is a bit surprising to see that there isn't a 5.1 track, though I am aware that a lot of Woody Allen films have only 2.0 tracks. Regardless, all exchanges are very clear, stable, and easy to follow. I did not notice any troubling anomalies in the upper register, where older masters tend to reveal weaknesses, or elsewhere to report in our review.

Scoop Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is an original trailer for Scoop. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Scoop Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scoop will meet the expectations of the most loyal Allen fans. Allen effortlessly revives his neurotic outsider and then promptly unleashes him to confuse the minds and hearts of those who dare to question how he thinks and behaves. Unfortunately, Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman are not a good match for Allen and his brand of comedy. Both look very, very artificial, and a lot of what they do that is supposed to be hilarious isn't. Kino Lorber's release of Scoop is sourced from an old and mostly decent master. However, a new 2K or 4K master will easily make the film look significantly better. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.