BLU-RAY REVIEW — “20th Century Women”

2016 was an exciting year for cinema. 20th Century Women was one of the best films of 2016, so I was very excited when I received the Blu-Ray to review. If you don’t know anything about the film, it’s a coming of age story about a boy named Jamie and how the wonderful women in his life shape him and help him grow. We examine Jamie’s journey through the lens of his mother Dorthea. It was a truly awe-inspiring film with so many fleshed out perspectives, it was a pleasure to tear up the Blu-Ray to see what it had to offer.

Packaging- The copy I received was a single Blu-Ray disc with a VOD code. The slipcover was really just a copy of the disc case, however, I will admit that it was very sleek and it was nice to peep a Certified Fresh on the bottom so people know to give this movie a watch (I felt this movie went under the radar, so visual confirmation of its aptitude is awesome).

Audio/Visual- This film is an example of sonic and visual excellence. So it was no surprise that the Blu-Ray makes both aspects pop. Watching the visual style that director/writer Mike Mills made on the small screen made me feel like I was seeing it in theaters again. The Blu-Ray excels the most in rendering the technical aspects so if you’re into great sound and visuals, this is the disc for you. I heard the film in a 7:1 set up and the sound truly did mimic the experience of watching this story again in theatres.

Bonus Features- The only part that let me down is how sparse the bonus features are. I felt as though the bonus features could have been expanded in a project with so much flair from everyone.

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Mike Mills- The commentary reinforces how personal this feature is for Mills. He goes in-depth into stories in his life and how he translated them to screen. It makes the film feel much more personal, therefore making it a more intimate view. Which is hard to achieve in a format where someone talks over a movie.
• “Making 20th Century Women” Featurette- Of course, the classic behind the scenes featurette. It doesn’t really go out of its way to do something new and it really just sticks to the cast and the director. I would be lying though if I said I didn’t enjoy this featurette, and it was pretty well-made for a simple BTS video.
• “20th Century Cast” Featurette- This featurette I found to be really interesting. The actors talk about their characters and what they mean to them. They talk about their stories and how they felt so real, that they tried even harder to do the characters justice. It does make the performances feel more grounded and relatable upon re-watching.

This Blu-Ray is fun. This picture is fun. So if you like fun, you should get this. Sure this isn’t the Blu-Ray of the century (Get it?) but it does add to an already tremendous film, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Go catch it on shelves March 28th.