Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful, warm-hearted girl named Ella, whose happiness is shattered when her mother dies. Her father later remarries to a stern widow, who moves in with her two cruel daughters and…

Unless you lived a deprived childhood, you already know the Cinderella story. The story goes back centuries, but to most of us today, it’s the 1950 Disney animated version that comes to mind when we think of it. Gone was the truly grim Brothers Grimm version, where the stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to try to fit into that glass slipper! Disney’s animated Cinderella was fiercely kid-friendly and certainly well done, though it suffered a bit in comparison to the genuine Disney masterpieces that preceded it: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi.

Disney has now re-imagined the story as a live-action feature. While its plot closely follows the 1950 version, it’s superior in every respect to that earlier effort and a genuine treat for audiences of all ages. The production design is breathtaking, and director Kenneth Branagh gets the best from his standout cast. Cate Blanchett feasts on her role as the cruel stepmother, and while other familiar faces also grace the film, the star-turn here is a luminous Lily James in the title role (some readers will recognize her as the fun-loving and rebellious Lady Rose in Downton Abbey).

The video transfer could hardly be better. The detail is crisp, the colors radiant, and the black levels solid. Please, Disney, release this film on UHD Blu-ray as soon as that format launches, including 4K, wide P3 color, and HDR.

As for the sound, this isn’t a “stuff blowing up real good” mix. But there’s plenty going on, particularly in the coach/pumpkin transformation scenes. And as for Patrick Doyle’s sweeping score, all I can say is, “Wow.” Combine the Blu-ray’s striking visuals and its clean, majestic soundtrack, and you have one of the best system show-off discs of the year—and a treat for those action-phobic friends who ran screaming from your house when you dropped The Avengers: Rage of Godzilla into the Blu-ray player.

The extras include several making-of documentaries, an alternate opening sequence, and Frozen Fever, the animated short that accompanied the film’s theatrical release. All of them are fine, but short and not particularly compelling. A commentary track would have been welcome.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Disney, 2015
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Length: 105 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden