The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie Review

Another voyage of Peter S. Beagle.

Peter S. Beagle’s charming fantasy The Last Unicorn was released about four years ago on a generally well received Blu-ray from Lionsgate. In what is perhaps an unexpected development, this title is now back for another high definition gambol through enchanted woods, this time courtesy of Shout! Factory, with an advertised new 2K scan which also provided the master for another somewhat unusual tactic, a global screening event at various movie theater venues which has been accompanied by Beagle himself.

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Unicorn is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The Lionsgate release received generally high marks for its video presentation (including by me here at Blu-ray.com), which begs the question as to whether a "new, improved" version was absolutely necessary. There's already quite a bit of internet debate about this release (what else is new?), with some calling it revelatory and others decrying what they perceive as unbridled (sorry) DNR. Having now watched the Shout! version and then reacquainting myself with the Lionsgate Blu-ray, I have to say (to paraphrase a certain well known writer) rumors of the demise of The Last Unicorn's grain field are at least somewhat exaggerated. There is still rather abundant and noticeable grain in this presentation, at least generally speaking, and indeed it falls prey to occasional resolution issues, something that seems to attend Shout! releases. I've mimicked a few of the screenshots from the first release here on this review for comparison's sake (see especially screenshots 1, 6 and 18), but I also included several where the grain field is completely obvious. All of this said, it does look like some high frequency filtering has been applied, but to my eyes, things are never overly problematic, with line detail remaining crisp and stable and no troubling signs of waxiness or smearing. What actually seems to be the case here is that this was perhaps sourced off an element closer to the original negative than the Lionsgate release, something that would in and of itself at least marginally, and perhaps materially, minimize the grain field. Interestingly, grain tends to be most apparent in blue tinged scenes. It becomes less visible in, for example, the red bathed scenes once the Red Bull shows up. Some of the optical effects, including the multi-plane sequences, show a rather dramatic spiking in the grain field, as should be expected. In all of the internet chatter about noise reduction, there has been relatively little said about the marked color difference between these two releases. The Shout! release is quite a bit brighter, with more vividly saturated hues. The Lionsgate release, while looking perfectly fine in its own way, is just a bit more drab and tends to skew slightly toward the gray side when thrust up against the more robustly saturated Shout! release. The bottom line as far as I'm concerned is this: you can't really go wrong with either of these releases, even though they're quite different in appearance. Claims of whole scale indiscriminately applied DNR on this release just don't hold water, as any number of the screenshots accompanying this review should detail. For me, the color space difference is much more notable than the finer (and somewhat variable) grain field on the Shout! release. Having never seen this film theatrically, I can't opine as to which is more "accurate," but they both offer enjoyable viewing experiences.

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This new Blu-ray offers both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (the Lionsgate release's 2.0 mix was in lossy Dolby Digital). There's not any huge difference between the two versions' 5.1 mixes, with both offering good, full bodied support for the film's really charming score (by the iconic Jimmy Webb, and sung by America). Dialogue is also very cleanly presented. Occasional ambient effects are well placed in the surrounds, and a couple of sequences like the marauding Red Bull offer good low end, but this is more of a gentle track that tends to lull rather than upbraid, sonically speaking. Fidelity is just fine and dynamic range, when taking the entire film into consideration, is relatively wide.

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Author Peter S. Beagle, Associate Producer Michael Chase Walker, Connor Cochrane, Terri Kempton and Travis Ashmore. This is a new commentary featuring several more participants than the commentary on the Lionsgate release. Cochrane acts as putative host, and the participants are all very enjoyable to listen to. Probably unavoidably, this tends to cover some material that was discussed in the original commentary.


• True Magic: The Story of The Last Unicorn (1080p; 43:29) is a well done retrospective featuring good interviews with Beagle and others.


• Highlights from The Last Unicorn Worldwide Screening Tour with Peter S. Beagle (1080p; 11:18) is a travelogue of sorts with Beagle touring along with the film, which has screened at venues around the globe.


• Animated Storyboards (1080p; 7:23)


• Original Trailer (480i; 2:48)

The Last Unicorn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of those rare releases whose different versions may well belong on many fans' shelves. The video here is certainly different looking than on the Lionsgate release, but I personally saw no signs of hugely problematic DNR, and in fact the grain field encounters some of the same compression issues we've seen on other Shout! releases. Colors are quite a bit brighter on this release, something that I found more immediately "obvious" than any manifest reduction of grain. New supplements on this release are probably one of the most obvious calling cards, but that said, the Lionsgate release also boasts superb supplements. One way or the other, this Shout! release comes Highly recommended.