Cyrano - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Cyrano



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
As a huge huge fan of period piece musicals and plays I was super excited to watch Cyrano. Peter Dinklage is a fantastic actor, and even though I have never seen the 1897 penned stage play (or written play) I HAVE seen the modern remake with Steve Martin that was Roxanne. As such I had a slight grasp of the storyline but feel shocked (in both directions) by a few things upon watching. The first was the fact that this was one of the most lavishly choreographed and costumed films I have ever seen. The dances and musical numbers were a work of art. Costumes are perfect, but then came the main character in the form of Roxanne herself (played by a beautiful Haley Bennett) who is so incredibly unlikable that I just wanted to scream.

Cyrano tells the tale of a love triangle (almost a 4 pointed device really if you include De Guiche) of star crossed lovers caught midst the backdrop of war in 1800s France. Cyrano (Peter Dinklage) is a guardsman in the King’s service, and in love with the beautiful Roxanne (Haley Bennett), who has been his best friend since childhood. However, when he is about to confess his love to her, the short of stature guardsman finds out that she has fallen head over heels in “love at first site” to a handsome new recruit of his named Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who is also smitten with her. Realizing he doesn’t have a chance at young love, Cyrano decides to secretly pen love letters for Christian (who can’t woo worth a whit) as his form of silent love.

Despite all of his dreamlike worship of Roxanne, she is head over heels for Christian, all the while staving off the lecherous gaze of nobleman De Guiche (Ben Menelsohn), all the while failing to realize that the words that she’s hearing from Christian’s wooing letters are from the one man who lacks the resolve to actually tell her of his love.

Cyrano is probably one of the most incredibly done up films that I have ever seen. It is just absolutely amazing to watch the period piece drama unfold. The dance choreography is stunning, and the music is well done, even if they use non period piece singing to do so. I thought it a bit strange that they were using modern songs and modern scores for the ancient period piece era, but it worked surprisingly well. Costuming is out of this world as well. The movie feels like it’s actually in a dream, with a lovely peach softness to it that just screams watercolors and gauzy dreamlike state (which is very allegorical to all 3 main characters being in their own internal fantasies).

However, there is a massive problem with the plot in this reviewers opinion. I can’t say whether this is a direct take from the 125 year old play, but Roxanne is so insufferably, painfully, EXCRUCIATINGLY loathesome. She and Christian both suffer from Romeo and Juliet syndrome in that they are both swept up in silly, childish, infatuation that you want to just SCREAM at the throughout the play. It’s melodrama to the extreme, and really dips the film into a true tragedy, not just for the main characters dying (duh, has to happen in a tragedy like this), but in the fact that their own stupidity and their own blindness is what lead them there.

Peter Dinklage is flawless as the short and stubby Cyrano (a change from Roxanne and the original play where he had a deformed nose instead of being a dwarf) whose way with words is nothing short of a revelation. He’s serious, stalwart, does fantastic at the duels and physical demands of the roll. Even Haley Bennett is incredible. The problem is that she’s so good at playing a brainless twit that you just end up hating her character all the more. Kelvin is good, if not a bit overly dramatic (I literally laughed out loud when he does his final scene to give Cyrano the edge. It was that hammy). Honestly, I wanted to love this movie, and in fact I loved so many parts of it that it’s hard to score the movie down. The problem is that while Cyrano himself is flawless, the other two mains are so unlikable that I ended up feeling this sense of frustration and anger whenever they were on screen. I guess it’s a curse of getting older, but it’s the same reason why I’ve always seen Romeo and Juliet as the villains of their own play.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, thematic and suggestive material, and brief language




Video:

Cyrano’s 2.39:1 framed AVC transfer is immaculate to the eye. Done with Arri Alexa cameras and finished at 4K (which makes the frustration of not seeing a 4K UHD disc all the most disappointing), this is nothing short of digital perfection. Everything is crystal clear, with lavishly sweeping colors for the costumes and set pieces, as well as a creamy peach tone to the hue that gives it a gauzy and dreamlike look, while still showcasing incredible detail. The opening scenes with Cyrano mocking the actor was so incredibly rich, vibrant and full of detail that you could see every bit of Dinklage’s facial hairs along with costuming threads etc. Some of the shots are intentionally amped up with that peach fuzz look that I mentioned before, and while it’s not “soft”, it still gives it a slightly watercolored look that almost makes you feel like it’s hazy. All in all, this is a superb transfer that is at the peak of Blu-ray’s capabilities.







Audio:

The 7.1 DTS-HD MA track is just as magnificent as the video score is, with a wonderfully immersive mix that thrives off of the musical numbers. The track is not exactly devoid of sound outside of the musical numbers though, as the theater hums with yelling and cries from all directions, and the battle scenes near the end reverberates with gunfire and the intricate crunching of footsteps upon the snow. That being said, the music is really the part that TRULY fills out this track to it’s fullest potential. The songs are rich, powerful, and just fill the sound stage with great fidelity. Vocals are crisp and clean as can be, and even the underscore has a way of just creeping into the mix and permeating every corner of the film’s sound stage. It’s a great mix and easily the best part of the film along with the video.












Extras:

• An Epic Adventure: The Making of Cyrano

Final Score:
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Cyrano is a wonderful mix of angst, period piece drama, and absolutely lovely musical numbers. I can’t say whether you’ll have the same reaction to Roxanne as I had, so your enjoyment may be a little higher than mine. Either way, it is a fascinating period piece romance/tragedy that stems from an award winning play and definitely should be checked out if you enjoy these types of movies. The Blu-ray from Universal is just flawless in the tech specs (minus the weak extras) and pure demo material. Check It Out.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ben Mendelsohn, Joshua James
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Erica Schmidt, Edmont Rostand (Musical, based on)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 7.1, French DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 124 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: April 19th, 2022

Recommendation: Check It Out.

 

[Epoxy1]

I'm going to have to give this a second viewing. Neither my wife or I enjoyed it the first time through, but we generally like movies like this. Maybe we were both in bad moods.

 

[Michael Scott]

I'm going to have to give this a second viewing. Neither my wife or I enjoyed it the first time through, but we generally like movies like this. Maybe we were both in bad moods.

it's definitely interesting. for me the big drawback was Roxanne herself. Drove me nuts

 

[Todd Anderson]

Hmm.

My gut says I wouldn't make it through this. BUT, might wife might enjoy it.

On the fence