Secrets of Highclere Castle Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Secrets of Highclere Castle Blu-ray Movie Review

Imagine the mortgage.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 28, 2013

Located in the United Kingdom, Highclere Castle is an extraordinary country house teeming with pure majesty in worlds of art and architecture, constructed nearly two hundred years ago as a show of wealth. It’s also the current home and inspiration for the blockbuster television series, “Downton Abbey,” making its considerable history pale in comparison to its current rank as a popular tourist attraction, launching a million fantasies of elegance, order, and opulence.

Of course, a home such as Highclere doesn’t exist solely to shelter a family. It’s now a business overseen by George, the Earl of Carnarvon, and wife Lady Carnarvon, a couple dedicated to the preservation of the Castle and its 1,000 acre estate. Although once home to an army of staff tending to every need, economic changes have whittled the help down to a select few, with these highly trained individuals tasked with preserving tradition while embracing the future. The program greets butlers, cooks, and groundskeepers to learn more about the demands of such positions (it can take up to two days to clean one chandelier), gathering their perspective on the importance of Highclere and the labor required to bring it to life every day.

History plays a critical part of the show as well, delving into the generations that cared for the estate, exploring how wars and archeological discoveries have helped to shape the character of Highclere. Special attention is paid to George’s great-grandfather, who assisted in the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen, thus gifting the house one of its first surges in popularity, with replicas of artifacts arranged in the lower levels of the castle as tribute.

Secrets of Highclere Castle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded visual (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation here is enjoyable, accurately capturing the HD video look of the program, with only a few incidents of banding to remind viewers of BD limitations. Colors are stable and true, with compelling primaries and dominant shades of green to expose the natural vividness of the sprawling acreage. Golds are equally potent, especially when detailed in the Egyptian artifact section of the show. Detail is sharp and revealing, with engaging facial textures on interviewees and deep reveals of interiors, where background particulars are as fascinating as foreground action. Blacks are consistent and expressive. Skintones are spot-on.

Secrets of Highclere Castle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is expectedly simplistic, befitting a television endeavor. Narration is crisp and clean, always carrying itself with textured regality, while interview audio is deep and varied, exposing natural accents in full. Scoring is healthy and supportive, with fresh instrumentation. It's a basic track but satisfying, without any distortion.

Secrets of Highclere Castle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material found on this disc.

Secrets of Highclere Castle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While "Downton Abbey" is mentioned repeatedly, the squeak of fandom is kept to a bare minimum, with no effort made to share the extent of Highclere's current position as a top tourist destination. The lack of a contemporary perspective is disappointing, but the show remains a fascinating tour of luxury, walking viewers around amazing buildings and ornate rooms, cementing Highclere Castle's reputation as a time machine to a bygone era of wealth and class.