Selena Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Selena Blu-ray Movie Review

Long Live the Queen.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 18, 2020

Murdered at the young age of 23, Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla had a brief but memorable career as "the Queen of Tejano music". Prior to her tragic death in 1995, she won a Grammy and performed extensively with her siblings in a band managed by her father Abraham, and her posthumous crossover album was the first mostly Spanish-language album to debut atop the Billboard 200 charts. Gregory Nava's Selena offers an authentic dramatization of her life and career: produced by her father (who had extensive creative control), it celebrates the talented singer's early years, pop culture impact, and legacy. For just over two hours we get to know Selena (Rebecca Lee Meza as a child, Jennifer Lopez as an adult) and her family including Abraham (Edward James Olmos), mother Marcela (Constance Marie), brother "Abie" (Jacob Vargas), sister Suzette (Jackie Guerra), and band mate-turned-husband Chris Pérez (Jon Seda) as they face the challenges of being accepted by Mexican and American audiences. Released just two years after her death, Selena was initially made to counteract the sensational media coverage surrounding her murder.

Selena does not carve out any new territory in the biopic genre but has strong fundamentals and terrific leads. Jennifer Lopez shines in her breakout role and is well-suited for the part: she's a natural performer and has more than enough stage presence and the right look, even though the Mexican press initially balked at her starring role (she is, after all, of Puerto Rican descent). More importantly, Lopez also handles most of the dramatic scenes very well. Edward James Olmos is even better as her father Abraham, whose controlling presence drives the band -- and the film -- further still. His obvious commitment to the role, which also required a weight gain of 40 pounds, is one of Selena's secret weapons. Another is the warm and inviting cinematography of Edward Lachman (Far From Heaven, I'm Not There), which evokes a lot of nostalgia for the family's early years, 1960s and 1980s culture, and a celebration of youthful energy.

Nonetheless, Selena occasionally dips into made-for-TV territory, as a few personal interactions -- mostly involving the younger actors, but occasionally Lopez and Jon Seda -- play out like a very special episode in true 1990s fashion. While this might contribute to some of its charm in the eyes of die-hard fans, the film also struggles a bit with pacing and the difficult tone surrounding its sensitive source material. There are several moments where on-screen events feel rushed or glossed over, while the climactic event hits somewhat awkwardly and is given very little resolution. (An obvious and probably appropriate attempt to focus on Selena's life instead of her murderer, but it still doesn't flow very smoothly.) Even so, the wide majority of Selena's 127 minutes is time well spent and the film as a whole has aged reasonably well, especially when viewed as a semi-authentic time capsule made only two years after its final events.

Selena was released at an unfortunate time for definitive home video packages: first as one of Warner Bros.' early "snapper case" flipper DVDs (and on VHS!) soon after its 1997 theatrical release, and then again for a 10th Anniversary DVD...but was snubbed for the fledgling Blu-ray format in favor of "higher priority" catalog titles like, uh, Swordfish. Luckily, picking up dropped balls is the unofficial mission statement of Warner Archive, who once again knocks it out of the park with a terrific A/V presentation and the same retrospective extras created for that 10th Anniversary DVD.

Much like that 2007 disc, WAC's new Blu-ray also includes an optional Extended Edition of the film available via seamless branching. It's not a drastically different experience overall, adding in just over six minutes of mostly small character moments, and has been the more common version shown on TV since 1997. A list of the extended scenes is available here, and this footage appears to be in the same great A/V condition as Selena's theatrical cut.

Selena Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As mentioned earlier, Selena was the victim of an 1997-era DVD master that, until now, hasn't been improved -- even the 2007 DVD was non-anamorphic. Luckily, Warner Archive Collection's exclusive 1080p transfer is a thing of beauty, wringing out a much more substantial amount of image detail. Although exact details were not available, this appears to be at least a fresh 2K scan of the interpositive with manual cleanup, which yields extremely impressive results that, as usual, stay very true to its analog source material. Film grain is present from start to finish, with the entire picture enjoying a very lush and smooth appearance that's free from edge enhancement, aliasing, compression artifacts, and other eyesores. Outdoor footage, which is overwhelmingly shot in warm and "magic hour" light, showcases excellent color saturation with terrific contrast levels and shadow detail. Even the (slightly) less attractive interior shots read perfectly fine and don't appear to suffer from black crush or excessive noise. More than most, these screenshots speak for themselves; Warner Archive's Blu-ray does indeed look that good, and perhaps even better in motion.

Selena Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Any film centering around pop music and live performances needs to deliver the sonic goods, and Selena does just that with a very strong DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. Live performances -- which famously featured Selena's real voice, capably lip-synced by Jennifer Lopez -- sound very good with a full, dynamic front presence that spills into the rears; crowd noise and echo levels can vary a great deal, depending on the venue. Of course, Selena isn't all huge concerts and the smaller gatherings sound great too, from intimate family moments to rowdy conversations on the tour bus, and even a fun detour at the water park. Channel separation is very distinct with plenty of panning effects and, while LFE is typically limited to music cues, it's there when needed to add lots of support. Dialogue is crystal-clear with no pops, hiss, distortion, or sync issues. Overall, it's a terrific lossless track that's every bit as good as the new transfer.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film; these are formatted perfectly and fit within the 2.39:1 frame. Unfortunately, no Spanish subtitles are offered -- a glaring oversight, considering Selena's audience.

Selena Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release arrives in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. A nice selection of vintage bonus features is also included, all ported over from Warner Bros.' 2007 10th Anniversary DVD.

• Selena: Queen of Tejano (18:56) - Selena's dad Abraham Quintanilla, brother Abie, sister Suzette, husband Chris Pérez, band mates Rick Vela and Joe Ojeda, singer/songwriter Pete Astudillo, and others speak candidly about growing up together, life on the road, struggling to make ends meet, "bird baths", the creative process, hitting it big, stage costumes, American and Mexican audiences, Selena's legacy, and much more.

• The Making of Selena: 10 Years Later (30:25) - This like-minded retrospective featurette expands on Selena's life and memory while also discussing the unexpected challenges and rewards of creating a celebratory biopic so soon after her unexpected death in 1995. Many of the previous participants return here, as well as director/writer Gregory Nava, actors Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos, producer Moctezuma Esparza, casting director Roger Mussenden, and others. Lots of candid footage from the set is also included.

• Outtakes (12:09) - This collection of deleted and extended scenes -- which include "Food Stamps", "Off to School", "Getting Some Exposure", "Payment for Performance", "Getting The Record Deal", "Bus Construction", "Worried Parents", "Selena Falls", and "Selena and Abie's Limo Ride" -- were reportedly taken from the best available source material, a standard definition tape master of lesser quality. Though Warner Archive Collection underwent an extensive vault search, no better elements could be located for this Blu-ray release.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:27) - Watch it in HD here, as well as a four-minute opening clip while you're at it.

Selena Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gregory Nava's Selena celebrates a life that unexpectedly ended now 25 years ago. Although it doesn't reinvent the biopic, this film is notable for offering a relatively authentic and candid portrait of the Mexican pop sensation -- just two years after her death, amidst a sea of sensationalized documentaries and books -- and launching the career of Jennifer Lopez. It's well-acted and features plenty of great musical performances, intimate moments, and a mostly chronological structure that feels right for the format, even if more than a handful of moments dip into "made for TV" territory. Still, it's a solid effort that's held up well during the last few decades, and Warner Archive Collection's Blu-ray offers a most welcome upgrade to previous home video releases: the A/V presentation is greatly improved and we even get a nice collection of vintage extras. An easy recommendation for die-hard fans and curious newcomers alike.