Wild America Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Wild America Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 3, 2020

Wild America tells the story of young adventure filmmakers Marty, Mark, and Marshall Stouffer, the former of whom is best known as the man behind the wildly successful PBS nature documentary series that bears the same name as this film. That show aired for 12 seasons, throughout most of the 1980s, and PBS also ran several specials in conjunction with the series. Marty's name has become synonymous with the wildlife documentary genre. Wild America serves as something of an origins story for the filmmaker, exploring his passion for adventure filmmaking and risk-taking, as well as his relationship with his brothers and his mother and father. The film is an agreeable adventure that follows daring escapades in a relatively family-friendly framing.

The setting: Fort Smith, Arkansas, 1967. Marshall’s (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) two big brothers -- Mark (Devon Sawa) and Marty (Scott Bairstow) -- conduct “character building exercises” that would probably get them slapped with hard time in juvie today. It was a different time when danger and adventure were not just a calling but an everyday part of life. All of the boys, and Marhsall in particular, are dreamers. The boys have always been around animals -- the family cares for all variety of them -- but they are most comfortable putting themselves in danger and filming their adventures for posterity, and for their own enjoyment later on. When the brothers spot a fancy camera at a local photo shop, they dream of combining their passion for animals, their love of photography, and their insatiable craving for adventure, hoping to go out into the wild; photograph rare, exotic, and endangered creatures; and make a name for themselves in the documentary arena. With a little nudging from their loving but concerned mother Agnes (Frances Fisher), their tough-loving father (Jamey Sheridan) agrees to loan them the money (with interest) to buy the camera. Mark and Marty devise a business model and, with their father’s blessing, and Marshall in tow, set out on a Summer-long adventure to put the camera to use and live their dreams of making true-life adventure films.

Director William Dear (Harry and the Hendersons, The Rocketeer) assembles the film in a classic three-act structure, opening by establishing the boys’ identity, both individually and collectively, and their love for adventure, photography, and for one another, culminating with the camera purchase and earning their father’s permission to head out and set their dream in motion. Act two follows the boys on the adventure, relying on one another and finding their footing as filmmakers, missing some shots, getting others, and gaining experience both behind the camera and in life’s ups and downs. The film’s final act grows in intensity as the boys face their greatest personal and professional challenge, risking everything for once-in-a-lifetime footage that will literally make or break their aspiring careers.

Throughout the film, both at home and on the road, the boys find themselves in a whirlwind adventure of manhood and majesty, growing up and growing together along a rather incredible journey of inward and outward discovery. Their adventure begins with missing a shot of a soaring eagle catching its lunchtime prey and continues to see them face down an angry alligator and, later, working on a live fire Air Force training ground. They eventually begin to track the rumor that there is a cave where multiple bears hibernate together; but bears sleep alone, they are told repeatedly. It’s a very dangerous but very lucrative proposition. The boys must weigh personal safety and the bonds of family against doing what they set out to do, even after they encounter a scarred widow who lost her husband to the very same den. The boys persist and have no choice but to grow together in the midst of their greatest challenge of their burgeoning careers. The young men who play them do so with effortless chemistry and a sense of togetherness; they are believable as brothers in both the physical and emotional arenas, and it is that bond that allows the movie to rise well above what might have been a flat motion picture even in high adventure.

Wild America Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wild America's 1080p transfer is adequate but hardly much of a looker. The picture is flat and lifeless, lacking intense detail and bold color. Indeed, the palette appears rather faded, pedestrian at best and generally taking on a dull selection of natural tones, whether earthen browns or natural greens. Mr. Stouffer's red big rig offers the most intense color splash in the movie. While bright, it lacks finesse. Skin tones are manageable if not mildly pasty. Black levels appear raised in critical moments, notably inside a cave in the third act. Details are, like colors, rather flat and unassuming. The picture finds acceptable facial detail but forget about studying characters or animals in close-up. Likewise, environments -- whether inside the Stouffer home and garage or out in the wild -- fall relatively flat as well. The 1080p resolution offers more stability than it does exceptional texturing, a shame considering both the movie's shot-on-film roots and the visual diversity and points of interest throughout. A few other issues creep in, too. Compression artifacts are visible in darker corners, such as in the aforementioned cave, and there are some stray fibers, vertical lines, and a few pops and speckles, all infrequent in screen time and light in density. This is a watchable presentation but audiences will be left wanting something a bit more visually robust.

Wild America Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wild America adventures onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The 2.0 track carries the material well enough, but the lack of a larger sound field obviously limits opportunities for greater engagement. Ambient effects around the Stouffer homestead present with good, natural width and pleasant clarity. Action scenes, such as a race in chapter two with Marhsall being dragged behind, increases energy but at the expense of clarity as boisterous music intermixes with the sounds of cars running through the mud. The track finds its footing as the film progresses, however, with impressive detail to growling bears or a buzzing plane late in the film. Music solidifies, too, featuring high quality engagement across the front and strong fidelity at the same time. Dialogue images nicely to the center. It is well detailed and prioritized. Despite a few minor shortcomings along the way, the track carries the material quite well in the aggregate.

Wild America Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Wild America Blu-ray includes a single supplement: the film's Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:14). No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Wild America Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wild America might not be riveting cinema, but its adventurous spirit, a tangible bond between the characters, and a serviceable bit of heartfelt family drama add up to a fairly agreeable, and relatively family-friendly, affair. It's a refreshing slice of accessible, sincere adventure that works because it's spirited and true to itself rather than slave to any razzle dazzle wizardry. Sony's nearly featureless pressed MOD (Manufactured on Demand) Blu-ray struggles in the technical department, offering acceptably lackluster video and but decent two-channel lossless audio. Recommended if the disc falls to a price that's more in line with the value it provides, which is around the $10 price point.