Yesterday - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Yesterday



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
There is almost no band on earth that is widely regarded as the father of Rock n’ Roll as “The Beatles”. Sure, Elves started everything off rocking and rolling back in the day, but “The Beatles” were the inspiration for everything rebellious and “rock n’ rolling” during the 60s after Elvis had faded from sight. Hundreds upon hundreds of bands have taken inspiration from their songs, ranging from the light and fluffy “Beach Boys”, up to “Black Sabbath” and “The Foo Fighters” themselves. You have to ask yourself just one question though. If “The Beatles” had never existed in this world, how would this world have turned out (musically speaking), and what difference would that make to us today? The harsh and true answer is probably very little would have changed, as there are so many facets and aspects of the music industry of that time, that we can be almost assured somebody else would have stepped up and taken in their roles to a certain extent, and continued on the path we’re on now. However, for one man, it could mean their entire world.

Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is that one man I’m talking about. He’s a struggling musician in Suffock, England, who’s barely able to get by with his part time big box store job and the few gigs his manager Ellie (Lily James) can get him. He’s bound and determined to give up his attempts at making a music career for himself when fate intervenes in a big way. After a strange power outage inadvertently causes a bus to run into Jack’s bicycle, the musician wakes up to find out that he’s in an alternate timeline, or at least in an “altered” timeline, because no one knows who “The Beatles” are. Dumbfounded and shocked, Jack realizes he has an opportunity. “The Beatles” were one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and NO ONE but he can remember they existed.

Seeing his big chance, Jack begins to sing their songs and crafts a rough studio demo album, actually drawing the attention of Ed Sheeran (played by Ed Sheeran) himself, who gives him the break he’s been looking for. Remembering the songs as best he can, Jack turns his Beatles knowledge into a smash hit success, as he navigates the pitfalls of the music production industry, and tries his very best to not get caught at his musical theft, or worse yet, make a mockery of the most iconic rock band in world history.

Yesterday is a smash hit by director Danny Boyle, and a magical blending of multiple genres. At first it may seem like a musical biopic, but upon closer inspection is a Hallmark movie that actual WORKS, a sci-fi film with time alternate reality elements, a love story, and most importantly, a love story to “The Beatles”. It’s a charming little flick that doesn’t overdo a single one of the multiple facets to the story, exploring themes like staying true to yourself (the most common and obvious one), finding out what’s important to you, and absolute adoration and love of a band beyond belief. By all accounts this film shouldn’t work as well as it does, but somehow Danny Boyle managed to pull it off amazingly well.

Boyle’s photography style is magnificent here, heavily utilizing repetitious material with copious amounts of dutch angles, not to mention the magical music that just permeates the entire film. Himesh is perfect as the awkward Jack Malik, and Lily James is so adorable as Ellie you just want to reach through the screen and give her a big hug. Honorable mention goes out to Kate McKinnon, who just revels in the hilariously droll and semi evil manager that he employs, and literally steals every scene she’s in.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for suggestive content and language




Video:

Yesterday was filmed with 8K resolution digital cameras and then transferred to a 4K digital intermediate for the home video release, giving us a very nice looking Blu-ray image. Colors are warm and crisp, details are nice and revealing, but there is one major flaw (well two). The image is plagued with some swarming digital noise during dimly lit scenes, and some color banding is noticeable in said dimly lit scenes. It’s never so much that it’s heavily detrimental, but it is there and rather easy to spot. Still, the image is a striking one, with brilliantly lit English scenes, and the colors from the various clubs that Jack travels to is bright and shiny with lots of pop. Black levels are generally strong, but he swarming noise and banding are most likely to strike during these shots. It’s a good looking transfer, and very pleasing to the eye, but the noise is a bit frustrating at times.







Audio:

Yesterday’s Dolby Atmos track is a wonderfully rounded track that really excels on all fronts without bringing attention to any one piece of it. It survives not by standing out as something different and unique, or loud and aggressive, but by being evenly balanced and simply perfectly rounded. Dialog is crisp and clean as can be, and the surrounds are actively engaged with all of the music that just saturates the mix. The mains are airy and light, with sharp dialog and lilting music, while the LFE pulsates and hums throughout the movie, sometimes lifting up and full on roaring with sheer power (such as during the last 20 minutes of the film). There’s nothing to say about the track except that it is PERFECT! There’s some ambient use of the overheads during some of Jack’s concerts, and during the train station, but even with mild overhead usage this is still such a light and airy track that I can’t fault it in any way.








Extras:

• Feature Commentary with Director Danny Boyle and Writer/Producer Richard Curtis
• Alternate Ending
• Deleted Scenes
• Live at Abbey Road Studios
• Alternate Opening
• Gag Reel
• A Talented Duo
• Playing for Real
• Soul Mates
• Ed Sheeran: From Stadium to Screen
• Agent of Comedy: Kate McKinnon
• A Conversation with Richard & Ed

Final Score: ​

Yesterday shouldn’t work as well as it does, but as I said earlier in the review, Danny Boyle just pulls it off somehow. The flick is charming, sweet, completely intoxicating as a Beatles fan, and just so enjoyable for multiple viewings. I initially wrote the film off as a cheap Beatles wannabee movie from the trailer, but I was sucked in nearly immediately and couldn’t stop watching until the credits stopped rolling. The Blu-ray is a great looking and sounding disc, and the extras are full and rather robust for today's releases. The audio is simply stellar, and the video quite good as well. One of my favorite films of the year.. Highly recommended.


Technical Specifications:


Starring: Himesh Patel, Sophia Di Martino, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ed Sheeran, Ellise Chappell, Meera Syal, Joel Fry
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Jack Barth, Richard Curtis
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, French DD+ 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 116 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 24th, 2019

Recommendation: Highly Recommended

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I do like the Beatles so will have to check this out.

 

[Asere]

I will watch this one soon. Thanks for the review.

 

[Asere]

I just finished watching this movie with my wife and we both liked it. It's always nice hearing the Beatles music but I had to watch it with subtitles because I have always had a hard time with the British accent. It can be so heavy at times.