Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 19, 2018

Winner of Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" (2017) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon/Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; filmed Q&A session with the director and cast members; and production featurette with additional interviews. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

A lot like therapy

For detailed analysis of the film, please see my colleague Jeff Kauffman's review of the North American Blu-ray release that Lionsgate Home Entertainment produced earlier this year.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer 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, Yorgos Lanthimos' The Killing of a Sacred Deer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon/Artificial Eye.

I am fairly certain that there is only one digital master that the film's rights-holders have and it is the same master that is being offered to different labels around the world. So excluding minor encoding discrepancies, the basic characteristics that we scrutinize in our reviews should be identical on all releases.

Depth and clarity are frequently quite striking, and even when there are some unique lensing choices there are no drastic alterations in the dynamic range. In fact, the most noticeable shifts that affect the film's dynamic range occur only when light is captured in specific ways. Delineation is terrific, but given the contemporary nature of the project this is hardly surprising. Colors are warm and natural, with only a few ranges of enhanced nuances that are used to enhance the desired atmosphere. Image stability is excellent. There are no serious compression anomalies, but a few minor tweaks could have been made for optimal results. All in all, this is a great presentation of the film. My score if 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit) and English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The soundtrack is fully digitized so what is on the disc is basically what came out of the studio. I viewed the film with the 5.1 track and my impression was that depth, clarity, and overall fidelity were exceptional. Also, this is a film that places a serious emphasis on silence and space and in terms of balance and separation it is quite easy to tell that the audio was very carefully mixed. In other words, folks that appreciate nuances will surely be impressed. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Killing of a Sacred Deer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Q&A with Director and Cast - presented here is a filmed Q&A session with Yorgos Lanthimos, Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, and Raffey Cassidy. The bulk of the information addresses the origin of the story and some particular references that are made in the film, the shooting process, the qualities of the main characters and their relationships, the camera as a different entity within the narrative, the film's ambience, etc. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).

• Featurette - in this featurette, producer Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan, and Nicole Kidman discuss the production of The Killing of a Sacred Deer and explain what makes it unique. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The entire buildup in The Killing of a Sacred Deer is so artificial that it is virtually impossible to care for any of the dilemmas that its characters face. On top of this, the film tries so hard to highlight different aspects of its creator's stylistic choices that it actually hurts their efficacy. Frankly, it is anything but surprising that so many viewers that loved The Lobster have found The Killing of a Sacred Deer to be unbearably unfocused and pretentious. If your take on the film is completely different, you should be pleased to know that Curzon/Artificial Eye's technical presentation is excellent, and that this release also has additional bonus features that are not found on the North American release.