Bohemian Rhapsody - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Bohemian Rhapsody

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
There are legendary bands out there that have made their name in the rock music hall of fame, and then there are those who have transcended mere greatness and have become ICONS of an era. ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and of course Queen. The biggest, baddest, and most flamboyant British rock band of the 70s and 80, who have contributed countless songs to rock and roll history. I didn’t grow up with Queen like my older brothers did (I was an 80s kid, so by the time I was really into rock they were fading out after Freddie Mercury’s infamous death in 1991), but there songs are a part of our musical history, and have infused themselves into the modern world with countless covers, songs sung at sporting events (“We are the Champions” has been sung at more sporting events than we could possibly count) and the induction of the iconic band into the Rock n’ Roll hall of fame.

To say that Bohemian Rhapsody has been covered in controversy and setbacks is an understatement. The powers that be originally wanted Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury (a take I really would have liked to have seen, as the man can play wacky and serious with amazing dexterity), but eventually settled on Rami Malek. Then the set itself became a battle ground as director Bryan Singer (X-men, X-2, X-men Apocalypse, Return of Superman) supposedly raged and was a tyrant on set, and then was summarily fired after MORE reports of sexual misconduct surfaced (the man faced those same charges several years ago as well) and Dexter Fletcher was brought in to finish up filming for the last month (ish) of shooting. So you can bet your bottom dollar that I was a bit nervous when the film hit theaters. Well, after years of waiting, and months of nervous chatter the word of mouth was astronomical for the biopic. The $50 million budget was easily beaten with a MASSIVE $835 million (worldwide) box office haul, not to mention the Golden Glove and Academy award wins for Best Film and Best Actor (Rami Malek deserved every award he got) come awards time last month.

Not being able to see this in theaters due to a brain fart and some scheduling conflicts, I was super eager to watch the film, so once I got the 4K UHD edition for this review I found out that I was just as enthralled by the biopic as the word of mouth suggested. Rami Malek was jaw dropping as Freddie. I’ll admit that I was nervous about his casting at first, but from all the trailers he looked, sounded, and acted like Freddie Mercury so I was ecstatic and awestruck to see the mousy little actor from Mr. Robot and BoJack Horseman completely eclipse anything I’ve ever seen out of him before. He embodied the enthusiasm, chilling exotic flamboyancy, and nervous shyness of the Queen lead singer. While there are a number of great performances in the film, this is ALL about Freddie, and the film’s momentum dependent on Rami’s performance. A performance that was completely knocked out of the park and so enthralling that I really wanted to see more of the film just to watching Rami bring Freddie to life once more.

The plot is the one thing that really is the “downside” to Bohemian Rhapsody. I know this was a phenomenal experience, but in many ways the script follows the traditional biopic pattern. We see Freddie (Malik) as a young British Indian student from Zanzibar trying to become something different than what his Zoroastrian parents wanted for him. He joined a band, he got a lovely tagalong fiance named Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), and he rose to stardom in the blink of an eye. No one saw Queen coming, and with Freddie Mercury’s showmanship (along with the band’s skill) they rose to one of the most listened to British Rock n’ Roller’s of the 70s and 80s. However, with every rise comes a powerful fall. The old statement is “nothing good lasts forever” and ain’t that the truth. Queen’s rise was fraught with the typical pitfalls of the music fame wagon. Freddie’s engagement crumbled when he admitted his proclivity for the male sex (I could write an entire article on the ambiguity of Freddie Mercury’s sexual orientation, as he came out as Bisexual, but many others have theorized he was gay but trying not to out himself as THAT gay for fear of ostracizing his fans, but we honestly may never know as Freddie was a ridiculously private man who kept his lips sealed on that subject. A subject we can only theorize about), and his lavish party lifestyle consumed him. Drugs, sexual exploits that would shock even Wilt Chamberlain, and a gigantic ego led him down the path of proverbial destruction (and in some ways literal).

This destruction came in several forms. The first was that he decided to go off on a solo career (which according to many sources was highly fictionalized in the film, as Freddie was villainized for going off to start a solo album, while his band mates have said it was much more amiable) which ostracizes himself from his bandmates, and effectively kill’s Queen as a touring band. The second is his rabid sexual appetites (which was actually whitewashed a bit for the film, as you see his wandering eye for the same sex, but nothing is short but the brief kiss, despite the fact that the man was legendary for supposedly sleeping with literally HUNDREDS, if not over 1,000, different men and women over his career) as he becomes HIV positive in the mid 1980s. A literal death sentence at the time. Leached dry by fair weather friends, the middle aged rocker decides to go back to his one true family and love, Queen. It’s at the height of their career and they have a chance to come back BIG. The Live Aid concert of 1985, a legendary pro bono concert of dozens of big name bands raising money for starving children in Africa. A performance of only 20 minutes that become the largest, the most praised, and biggest moment of their entire career.

Bohemian Rhapsody is in many ways stereotypical of the biopic genre as stated above. It jumps from moment to moment in Freddie Mercury’s life, skipping over many parts, and giving us just enough of a taste of them before moving on to the next. There is no hugely in depth peeling back of Freddie’s life, and in a few small ways it gets some of them wrong (his solo career, and also the fact that Freddie was a very shy man off the stage, much shyer than they portrayed him here even), but what they did get right was soooooooooooooo much better than those flaws. Malek is absolutely incredible as Freddie, as he adopted so many of his physical mannerisms, his enthusiasm, and the genuine POWER that the real Freddie exhibited on stage. I was genuinely shocked at the vocals, as I didn’t know how much was actually Malek at first, and wondered if they had dubbed over him. Supposedly the singing is an amalgamation with Malek lip syncing as her performances, but it’s not what you think. The voices are part Malek, part Marc Martel (a Christian Canadian rock singer who sounds FRIGHTENINGLY like Freddie himself), and some of Queen’s actual work’s blended together. The end result is a voice that is so eerily like the original it actually takes work to differentiate actual Queen vocals and the sound alike made for the film.

The performances are great, the story is solid, but the best selling point of the movie is the music, and in that Bohemian Rhapsody excels with and brings in spades. The movie is interspersed with all sorts of practice, and live singing of the famous Queen songs, but the highlight of the movie is that final act. An act that really makes the film all the brighter over other biopics. I could have seen the film ending on a very bitter and sad note, as Mercury’s body wasted away from the effects of aids (most people guessed it during the 80s, but Mercury kept his lips sealed till Nov. of 1991 where he announced his battle with the terrible disease, only to die the very next day), but Singer and Fletcher ended the film with a powerful upswing, giving us a good 10 full minutes of the Live Aid concert with Freddie singing his heart out to almost 100,000 fans (watch the special feature of the Live Aid concert, as it truly is a sight to see).




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language




4K Video: Video:

Bohemian Rhapsody was filmed using a variety of Arri Alexa cameras and captured at 6.5K and 3.4K sources for the most part (a couple of scenes used 35 mm film), but I couldn’t find any definite answer whether this was finished at 2K or 4K for the home video master. Either way, if it’s an upscale or a native 4K master, Bohemian looks AMAZING on 4K UHD (and Blu-ray I might add) disc. The film’s heavily stylized near the beginning, imitating that hazy and slightly brownish tinge that most people associate with the 1970s. Details are great all the way around, showing off Freddie’s crooked teeth, intimate clothing details, and much more. The colors open up a good bit when the film gets to 1980s and takes on a more teal tinge to itself. Although, I must say that the teal tinge is very light and the film leans towards a more neutral look as time goes on. Black levels are deep and inky, with the night time “firing” of Paul near the end looking exceptionally silky and well detailed, despite the falling rain and near abject darkness. Colors are warm and vivid, well saturated when need be, but also slightly dim and murky for the 1970s portions (as well as the interior of his family home). It’s a great looking disc, and beats the stunning blu-ray with some richly colored use of HDR and textural details)






Audio:

I have never seen a film so carried by it’s score and included musical numbers than Bohemian Rhapsody. Even when points of the script were a bit dull and flat, the music simply swept the audience through those doldrums effortlessly, lifting the spirits, filling all the channels, and putting a blissful smile of indulgent nostalgia on this reviewers face. I make no falsehoods with this claim, but the Dolby Atmos track on the 4K disc is nothing short of perfection. The channels are filled to perfection with the swelling voice and tones of Queen, resplendent from every angle of the room with rock n’ roll tunes. Immersion is key to the track, and the whole soundscape is just enveloped with the score. Dialog is crisp and cleanly located up front, and while there some moments where the track is a bit front heavy, those front heavy moments are nothing but a flicker, as the music comes back with all the power and ferocity of that band’s rock n’ roll roots. Bass is deep and powerful, adding weight the music, whether that be the stomping feet of “We Will Rock You”, or the thumping of “Another one Bites the Dust”. Simply put, this is one awesome sounding Atmos track and a real treat to listen to.





Extras:

• The Complete Live Aid Movie Performance Not Seen in Theaters (featured in 4K Ultra HD HDR on the 4K Blu-ray Disc)
• Rami Malek: Becoming Freddie
• The Look and Sound of Queen
• Recreating Live Aid

Final Score:
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The Songs, the music, the man, Bohemian Rhapsody is a fantastic movie despite all of it’s set backs and controversies behind the scenes. There are some narrative hiccups and morays to sit through, but in the end this is a movie about a very flawed man. A man who was a LEGENDARY performance, one who rocked us all, but a man who was consumed by his own demons as well. It’s somber, exhilarating, and wistful all at the same time. But no matter what your opinions are on the man, these 4 men gave birth to an era of Rock n’ Roll that has not been surpassed to this day and their music has influenced so many others that it’s nearly impossible to gauge their influential reach. The 4K UHD disc looks and sounds amazing, and while the extras are a bit slimmer than hoped for, the Live Aid convert addition is worth the price of admission alone, and is the best part of the entire package. Highly recommended as a great watch.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aiden Gillen, Tom Hollander, Mike Meyers, Aaron McCusker, Meneka Das
Directed by: Bryan Singer (Dexter Fletcher)
Written by: Anthony McCarten, Peter Morgan
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 2.0, English DVS, Spanish DD 5.1, French DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 135 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 12th, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will definitely check this out. Rami Malek is amazing as Mr. Robot and I am sure he is just as good here if not better.

 

[Jack]

I was lucky enough to have seen this in theater, but the sound there was not good really. I cannot wait until tomorrow when mine arrives. I think your review Michael is very well done. Thank You

 

[Todd Anderson]

Ordered.

Thank goodness this film is 2.40:1... would have killed me to have it 16:9. (weird to comment on... but just being serious!)

 

[Jack]

Shoot, that will not be good on my awesome Emerson 13” television.

 

[Jack]

It just arrived, Yippie Aye Aaa.
I wonder what I will be watching tonight

 

[bkeeler10]

Thank goodness this film is 2.40:1... would have killed me to have it 16:9. (weird to comment on... but just being serious!)

There's a man with a scope screen - I'm always looking for that too now.

This one's on the list to watch for sure. Glad to hear that a music-centric film does not disappoint in the audio department.

 

[mechman]

I loved it!