Rating summary
Movie | | 4.0 |
Video | | 5.0 |
Audio | | 4.5 |
Extras | | 2.5 |
Overall | | 4.0 |
Westworld: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review
These Violent Delights
Reviewed by Michael Reuben November 12, 2017
Westworld is the latest watercooler series from HBO, the pay cable network that brought us The
Sopranos, Six Feet Under,
Deadwood and
Game of Thrones. A
re-imagining of Michael
Crichton's 1973 thriller of the same
name, the series is
lavishly mounted, impeccably cast and
produced with all the benefits of the latest in both digital and practical effects. According to
HBO, Westworld was the highest rated inaugural season in their history of original programming.
The creators of this new vision are the husband-and-wife team of Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.
Nolan, who also directed the pilot and season finale, is the brother of director Christopher and the
author of the story that inspired Memento
, one of the
twistiest puzzle films ever made.
Nolan/Joy's Westworld is also a puzzle—more accurately, a series of puzzles, one after another
and one inside another. Fans and newcomers alike can now revisit (or discover for the first time)
the season's many mysteries in a handsome Blu-ray set from Warner Brothers Home
Entertainment. For those who have made the leap to 4K, Warner is also releasing Westworld in a
UHD version, which makes it,
as far as I know, the
first TV drama to be presented in that format.
Like many contemporary TV series,
Westworld is loaded with twists and reveals, some small and
some enormous, so that it's effectively impossible to discuss the show in depth, or even to offer
episode summaries, without straying into spoiler territory. For those new to Nolan/Joy's
inventive creation, let me offer a general introduction that will be, to the best of my ability,
spoiler-free.
As in Michael Crichton's
original film,
Westworld envisions a high-tech theme park where
visitors can plunge themselves into an alternative world more immersive than any virtual reality
simulation. For the low, low price of $40,000 a day, the "guests" (as they're known to the park
staff) assume alternate identities as visitors to a Western landscape that's equal parts John Ford
and
Deadwood. Both the towns and the expansive surrounding territory contain a huge
population of android "hosts", who are indistinguishable from humans and have been
programmed with elaborate narrative "loops", which they repeat over and over. Guests interact
with the hosts however they please, whether through gun battles on the street, brawls in smoky
barrooms or pornographic sex in the brothel run by Maeve (Thandie Newton)—or any other
adventure that strikes a particular guest's fancy. Weapons have been engineered not to injure the
guests, but they can "kill" a host, who will be quietly retrieved and repaired by the staff, then
returned to his or her loop. Hosts' memories are routinely wiped, so that they have no recall of
the countless acts of violence committed against them, whether by the guests or by each other in
loops of mass host-on-host pillage and murder staged for the guests' amusement.
All of these elements have been taken from Crichton's film, but Crichton was writing in an
analog age. Nolan/Joy have reinvented his scenario for the digital world of the 21st Century.
Their robots have been programmed to improvise, within narrowly defined parameters, so that
they can adapt their behavior to changing circumstances and provide the guests with a more
realistic experience. The parks' technicians control the hosts through voice commands and
powerful iPad-like tablets that would have been unimaginable in the original
Westworld's era.
The interactions between staff and hosts are conducted through self-diagnostic conversations that
routinely blur the line between human and host. The park is monitored not only through video
feeds, but also through a real-time miniature digital simulation housed on one of the many levels
of
Westworld's subterranean headquarters. Other levels contain the sophisticated 3D printing
operation that creates the hosts and the antiseptic glass cubicles where the robots are
repaired—and where, when no one is looking, the staff sometimes takes liberties that are
supposed to be reserved for paying guests.
While tracing the contours of this minutely realized environment,
Westworld unwinds several
key narrative strands. One is the essential question of what differentiates an A.I. from sentient
life. When do robots acquire independent consciousness and a "soul"—and therefore the
possibility of rebelling against the masters who have enslaved them? Crichton's film posed this
question in the form of a thriller, as the machines seized control of the theme park and began
slaughtering the human staff and guests, but the new
Westworld takes a longer and more
thoughtful route, tracing gradual awakenings and glimmers of consciousness. Central to this
evolution is Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), the oldest host in the park, who has spent countless
days playing a sweet rancher's daughter and a damsel in distress. The series opens with Dolores
undergoing evaluation by Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), the head of the programming division,
but it quickly becomes clear that his interest in her programming extends beyond maintenance.
(Hosts are typically interviewed and "diagnosed" in the nude, but Bernard talks to Dolores
fully clothed.) It is Bernard who first spots early signs of change in the hosts, and his interest in
exploring the phenomenon will bring him into conflict with his boss, the visionary Dr. Robert
Ford (Anthony Hopkins), founder of the park and creator of the hosts—who always seems to be
holding back a secret.
A second narrative strand focuses on the guests and the effect of their being released from any
consequences for their actions. Two of the key players are William (Jimmi Simpson) and Logan
(Ben Barnes), who arrive in Westworld for a sort of bachelor party before William marries
Logan's sister. Logan is a returnee, who plunges enthusiastically into the park's indulgences, but
William is clearly uncomfortable with the very concept of Westworld. When he is greeted upon
arrival by a comely host named Angela (Talulah Riley) who declares her immediate availability
for sex, William declines, while Logan emerges from a similar changing room zipping up his fly.
But William too will eventually be sucked into one of the park's many narratives, because
Westworld offers something for all tastes. As one guest observes, the park reveals who you really
are—for better or for worse (usually worse).
A third narrative strand involves control over Westworld, in multiple forms. Control of Delos,
the company that owns Westworld and in which Logan's family is poised to make a sizeable
investment. Control over the park's operations, which Dr. Ford zealously guards from
interference by operations director Theresa Cullen (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and the Delos board
of directors. Control over the hosts' many loops, which are constantly being revised and tweaked
by Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), the park's narrative director, who is frustrated when his
proposed flights of fancy are overruled by Dr. Ford, who is privately is developing a secret "new
narrative". And, of course, control over the hosts, which is the special concern of Elsie Hughes
(Shannon Woodward), a rising star in the programming department who specializes in tracking
aberrant behavior. Any behavior that can't be explained or eliminated results in a host's being
pulled from duty and shipped to the cold storage level, where row upon row of inert bodies are
lined up as if waiting for something (or someone).
At the core of
Westworld's many mysteries is a puzzle known as "the maze". It's the special
obsession of a mysterious Man in Black, who is played by Ed Harris with a knowing nod to the
deadly robot gunslinger portrayed by Yul Brynner in Crichton's original film. Little can be said
about the Man in Black except to stress that he is one of Nolan/Joy's most interesting and
original creations. After entering the series with a vicious assault in the pilot episode, the Man in
Black embarks on a relentless quest for self-awareness encapsulating everything that makes
Westworld both fascinating and infuriating.
Westworld has its flaws. Some of the character development doesn't quite line up by the time we
reach Episode 10, where many (but not all) of the season's riddles are answered. Nolan/Joy have
acknowledged that they had to shut down production for several months while they worked out
the intricacies of the last few episodes, which suggests that they began filming without a
complete set of narrative blueprints—and it shows. Also, the creative team too often succumbs to
the temptation to indulge their fantasies almost as much as the Westworld guests, gratuitously
exploiting the freedom of premium cable to fill the screen with explicit sex and violence. In
Episode 5, the production stages an orgy resembling a frontier version of the masked party in
Eyes Wide Shut—but without
the digital figures
discreetly blocking one's view that Stanley
Kubrick had to add to get an R rating. The sequence is eye-catching but contributes nothing to the plot.
The same can be said of the violent train shootout in Episode 7, which is little more than an
alternate version of the bloody saloon robbery in the pilot. The earlier sequence is an apt
introduction to the theme park's embrace of excess, while the later one is just more of the same.
In the post-
Game of Thrones era, it seems that showrunners feels the need to keep topping each
other (and themselves), but maybe they should take a lesson from Lisa Joy's rueful comments
about a particularly gruesome scene in the series finale, which Joy admits she can't bear to
watch. As she then acknowledges, some things are better left on the page.
Westworld: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Westworld's cinematography has been widely covered in industry publications, because the show
is among the increasingly rare projects shot on film (though, admittedly, the negative was
immediately scanned for digital post-production). Nolan/Joy wanted the series to evoke the
visual style of classic Westerns from John Ford, Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone, and they
turned to director of photography Paul Cameron (a frequent collaborator of director Tony Scott)
to establish Westworld's cinematic vocabulary in its pilot episode. High-resolution stills of
Cameron's work were kept on the set for reference by the revolving team of DPs who
photographed the remaining episodes, thereby ensuring a consistent look and feel.
Westworld shifts back and forth between softly warm earth tones in the fantasy park above (much
of it photographed against the striking Utah locations where Ford shot The Searchers) and the
steely blues and grays of the management and manufacturing facilities below. The staff's chilly
environments are punctuated by bright swaths of red, notably on the sleeves and aprons of the
repair techs, on the walls leading to and surrounding the observation room where the park's
activities are monitored on a miniature real-time simulation, and, of course, in the blood flowing
from injured hosts. The reds are a colorful contrast to the rest of the underground facilities,
providing stimulation in otherwise visually sterile surroundings.
Warner has spread the ten one-hour episodes of Westworld's first season over three 1080p, AVC-encoded BD-50s.
(The pilot and the
season finale both run over an hour.) The image is
consistently superb, with excellent sharpness, detail, colors and densities, solid blacks and a
complete absence of noise or distortion. The combination of modern film stocks and digital post-production has rendered the
film's grain pattern
almost invisible, but it's there if one looks
closely (very closely). The more notable indication of the series' filmic origins is the refined
textures of the image, in both panaromic views of the expansive park and cavernous workshops
and in tight closeups on faces. The visuals of Westworld provide a convincing demonstration of
the continued vitality of film as a cinematic medium, achieving the many virtues of digital
capture without sacrificing the warmth of celluloid. The creative team's accomplishment has
been effectively transferred to Blu-ray despite average bitrates that consistently hover around
19.8 Mbps, a figure that might raise a red flag, but superior compression and authoring appear to
have avoided any issues.
Westworld: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Westworld was shown on HBO with a 5.1 soundtrack, which is encoded here in lossless DTS-HD MA. The mix is full
of atmospheric
surround cues, effectively re-creating the vast outdoor
spaces of the park as well as the industrial whispers of the maintenance and management areas.
Dynamic range is broad, lending authority to gun battles and other sonic accompaniments to
violence. (The Gatling gun in Episode 7 is particularly thunderous.) Discrete rear channel effects
occur routinely, while the dialogue remains firmly anchored to the front, clearly articulated and
well-prioritized. The track is especially effective in reproducing the mixture of instrumental and
electronic sounds employed by composer Ramin Djawadi (Pacific
Rim and Game
of Thrones), whose haunting theme opens each episode and whose use of a tinkling player piano is one of the
series' recurrent motifs. The soundtrack also employs the occasional contemporary selection
repurposed by Djawadi's arrangements, which can be jarring—and that is presumably the point.
When an Old West shootout is set to an instrumental version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It
Black", the collision of time periods makes you sit up and take notice.
Westworld: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Some of these extras appeared on HBO's streaming service during the show's initial broadcast,
notably "The Big Moment" featurettes, which are quick takes by the cast and creators on several
of the series' major twists (and, for that reason, contain major spoilers). Some features on the
streaming service have not been carried over, notably the trailers and previews.
- Disc 1
- About the Series (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:12): This brief introduction includes short
interviews with actors Thandie Newton, Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden,
as well as executive producers Nolan, Joy and J.J. Abrams.
- An Invitation to the Set (1080p; 1.78:1; 2;16): Despite the title, this is really just
an alternative introduction to the series, with many of the same interviewees and
few new ones.
- The Big Moment
- Teddy Versus the Man in Black (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:55)
- A Host Self-Sabotages (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:55)
- Welcome to Westworld (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:43): This is a somewhat longer
introduction to the series, and it includes behind-the-scenes footage of the cast and
crew at work.
- Realizing the Dream: First Week on the Set of Westworld (1080p; 1.78:1; 11:22):
On location in Utah, where many of the exteriors were filmed.
- Imagining the Main Title (1080p; 1.78:1; 14:08): Nolan, Joy, composer Ramin
Djawadi and graphic design executive Jennifer Hall discuss the creation of the
foreboding title sequence.
- Disc 2
- Reality of A.I.: Westworld (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:30): Thoughts on the reality of robots
by Nolan, Joy, J.J. Abrams and cast members.
- The Big Moment
- Maeve Gets an Answer (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:38)
- Bernard Faces an Unlikely Saboteur (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:23)
- Dr. Ford's Blood Sacrifice (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:38)
- Gag Reel (1080p; 1.78:1; ): Brief but memorable.
- Disc 3
- The Big Moment
- The Truth About Bernard (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:25)
- Dr. Ford's New Narrative (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:53)
- The Key to the Chords (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:05): Nolan, Joy and composer Ramin
Djawadi discuss the series' recurring use of a player piano as both symbol and
musical accompaniment.
- Crafting the Narrative (1080p; 1.78:1; 29:16): Nolan and Joy provide
commentary for select scenes from the season finale.
- Corporate Guidebook: This booklet is a mock "handbook for new employees" of Westworld. (Since Warner did not
provide a separate
copy of the standard Blu-ray, I cannot verify that this item is included, but I am told that it is.)
Westworld: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
A remake of Westworld was already under discussion when I reviewed the original film's Blu-ray
four and a half years ago. It was a long time in development, but Nolan/Joy have delivered
something complex, multilayered and ideally suited to multiple viewings. Warner's Blu-rays
provide an excellent rendition of the series' sound and visuals, which, like the titular theme park
itself, combine a retro sensibility with the latest technology. Highly recommended.