News of the World - 4K Bu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

News of the World



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


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Movie
The western has certainly fallen from grace over the last several decades. At least it holds nowhere near the cultural sway it did back in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s. But there are still a few good entries out there besides the low budget trash that tries to milk something out of the beleaguered genre. Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips, The Bourne Identity) tries his hand at making a sweeping epic drama Western, and while it really doesn’t forge any new ground, or make an amazing mark on the genre, Greengrass manages to make a compelling piece of dramatic fiction.

Basing his story off of the novel by Paulette Jiles, Greengrass tells the story of a lone newsman by the name of Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks), who travels the old west countryside bringing with him news from other parts of the country. On one of his latest trips he runs across an orphaned girl, who was on her way to a local township when she was found with a dead group of Kiowa Indians, only for her transportation ending up lynched. Taking it upon himself to transport her, Captain Kidd soon finds that it’s more difficult to get rid of his ward than he thought. The agent in charge of waif’s like her is gone, and there’s no one around who can properly care for her. So, the aging war veteran turned news story teller puts her in a wagon and seeks to take her to the only living relatives she has left.

As with most stories, there is a bit more to the story than just traveling west meet the young girl’s parents. Johanna (Helena Zengel) is still as wild as a Kiowa arrow, and really isn’t up for being taken where she doesn’t want to go. Not to mention roving bandits who cheerfully will sell her to a brothel, or murder them in their sleep for a few coin. But along the way the two diametrically opposed people begin to form a bond. Johanna slowly starts to trust once more, and Captain Kidd’s internal conflict over the loss of his wife while he was away during the war between the states is brought to the surface.

The movie is very laid back and slow moving. It’s not meant to have a traditional 3 arc story, with the typical bland middle and exciting end. While the tale of Kidd and Johanna come full circle at the end of the run time, the tale is really about watching both of them grow together, and heal from their respective wounds. The movie doesn’t exactly forge any great new storytelling tales, nor does it push any boundaries, but at the end of the day it’s an entertaining dramatic western that pulls at just the right heart strings, and features Hanks doing what he does best. Personally I felt that while Hanks was just naturally doing what comes easy to him, Zengel really stole the show as the half wild Dutch girl who grew up with Kiowa. There’s a sort of rawness and wildness to her character that goes above basic acting. Zengel plays the character with a perfect balance of timidity, ferocity, and fear all at once. A move that makes her instantly relatable and pairs well with Hanks warm and gruff character that he can do in his sleep.

Greengrass may not forge any new trails with News of the World, but the man has a masterful hand at building a successful movie. The cinematography, the set pieces, the focus on Kidd and Johanna, it’s all done expertly, which helps transcend the movie from a bland western to something that actually works well, despite some basic genre generalizations (movie can feel like True Grit at times). It’s not perfect, but Greengrass does a great job of putting all the basic pieces together to make something rather delicious.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, thematic material and some language




4K Video: Video:

Shot on Arri Alexa films and finished at a native 4K master for home video, News of the World really shines on 4K UHD. The Blu-ray is excellent as it is, but the 4K UHD steps it up a notch to truly breathtaking. The dusty western wilderness setting is lovingly detailed, with dusty wood side walks, horses with mud crusting onto their haunches, and amazingly detailed facial shots. A few shots here and there are a bit soft, but those seem to be intentional (such as when Captain Kidd goes and visits his old home with his wife’s belongings. Stepping through that door has an almost dreamlike look to it). Close ups are amazing, with razor sharp clarity and pinpoint precision with the color timing. Long, lazy, backdrops of the frontier are just as good, showing individual buffalo moving in the distance as well as almost no signs of artifacting (some VERY mild banding flickers at the beginning scene of the film). HDR makes for a very solid presentation, deepening and adding a sense of richness to the normally dulled colors. Blacks show the most advancements, as you can see all sorts of details not visible in the 1080p version.







Audio:

News of the West isn’t one to go full Godzilla on us with dramatic use of overheads, or intense action sequences (well, outside of the one gun battle halfway through the film), but the movie is spot on with fidelity, and makes great use of the ambient noises of the prairie to thicken out the mix. Vocals are spot on perfect up at the front of the room, and the ambient prairie noises whirl and swirl around the duo as they make their way across the old west. Crackling camp fires, or the screaming of yelling settlers make it a very airy and direction oriented mix. You can pick out voices from background characters emanating from the sides and rear, and the overheads get a bit of a workout with the gun battle when Kidd and his opponent are facing off from above/below each other. Great mix.







Extras:

• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR PAUL GREENGRASS
• DELETED SCENES
• PARTNERS: TOM HANKS & HELENA ZENGEL - Witness the successful (and very fun) working relationship of movie veteran Tom Hanks and newcomer Helena Zengel.
• WESTERN ACTION - Explore the creation of NEWS OF THE WORLD's most exciting and challenging scenes.
• PAUL GREENGRASS MAKES NEWS OF THE WORLD - A look at how director Paul Greengrass assembled the very best filmmaking team to realize a lifelong ambition of making a western.
• THE KIOWA - Filmmakers explain why the authentic representation of the Kiowa was so important to them.

Final Score: ​

News of the World slid under my radar theatrically (well, a lot did during 2020 I must say), but I was pleasantly surprised by the film. The western period piece drama is well laid out, but has a few flaws as it copies other movies and feels a bit “been there, done that” at times. The 4K UHD by Universal is breathtaking, with amazing video and audio, and even a few solid extras. Well worth checking out at the very least, if you’re a western fan.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, Tom Astor, Travis Johnson, Andy Kastelic, Ray McKinnon, Marie Winningham
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Written by: Paul Greengrass, Luke Davies, Paulette Jiles (based off the novel by)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core) French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 119 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 23rd, 2021

Recommendation: Solid Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

I watched the trailer for this a while back and something about Hanks' character made me cringe. It felt like Tom Hanks, not a character he's portraying.

Did you catch that vibe?

 

[Michael Scott]

I watched the trailer for this a while back and something about Hanks' character made me cringe. It felt like Tom Hanks, not a character he's portraying.

Did you catch that vibe?

I can see where you're coming from. over the last 10-15 years he's kinda settled into one standard persona, and that persona bleeds through here as well.

 

[Sonnie]

I am up in the air about it. Past Forrest Gump, I've never really been a fan of Hanks.

You have a way of enticing me with your reviews though, so I'll likely end up watching it.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check this out.