VERDICT
SEPTEMBER 2019 HOME CINEMA CHOICE'I saw a peanut stand, heard
a rubber band...'The Aftermath Batman: Hush
Set in the ruins of
Hamburg in 1946, this
post-war drama stars
Keira Knightley as
Rachel, wife of a Brit
colonel overseeing
the city's rebuilding.
Moving into the house her distant
husband shares with its original German
occupants, Rachel fi nds herself falling for
Alexander Skarsgard’s brooding widower.
Dogged by the feeling you’ve seen it all
before, The Aftermath does at least hold
attention with its crisp 1.85:1 Full HD
image. A commentary, deleted scenes,
VFX showreel, gallery, trailer and promo
featurette make for adequate extras. AvB
The 13th instalment
in the DC Animated
Movie Universe, this
adaptation of the
acclaimed comic
book storyline takes
a few liberties with
its source material, downplaying the
whodunnit elements in favour of an
increased focus on the Batman/
Catwoman romance. Still, the result is
one of the animated DTV franchise’s
strongest instalments in some time. This
BD also delivers the sort of polished AV
punch fans have come to expect, and
extras include an informative chat-track
and a brilliant new Sgt. Rock short. AvBPachyderm fails to take off
Burton’s remake is so forgettable even an elephant would struggle to remember it
Clocking in at a little over an hour, Walt Disney’s 1941
animated classic Dumbo tells the heartwarming tale
of a baby elephant with oversized ears who discovers
his confi dence when he fi nds he can fl y. Clocking in
at almost two hours, Tim Burton’s live-action remake
is a very diff erent beast.
Set in 1919, the new Dumbo focuses on a
struggling circus troupe coming to the attention of
a scheming theme park entrepreneur after he learns
about their fl ying elephant. Oddly, the digitally-
realised Dumbo is almost a supporting player in his
own fi lm this time around, with the focus shifting to
amputee war veteran-turned-elephant handler Holt
Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his cute kids Milly (Nico
Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins).
Despite the circus settings giving Burton the
chance to indulge in some dazzling visual fl ights
of fancy, Dumbo feels utterly anonymous, much like
Burton's lacklustre Alice in Wonderland do-over. And
is there something odd about a Disney movie warning
about the dangers of allowing a giant entertainment
corporation to swallow up the competition?
Picture: Shot digitally at 5.1K and 3.4K resolutions,
but fi nished as a 2K digital intermediate, Dumbo
swoops onto Blu-ray with a delightful 1.85:1 1080p
encode. The amount of fi ne detailing present is
simply astonishing, and while colours start off rather
muted, once the action moves to the Dreamland
theme park they become intensely bold and vibrant.
Black levels are also deep, although the very darkest
scenes can exhibit a noticeable spike in digital noise,
preventing the encode from attaining top marks.
Audio: According to the IMDb, Dumbo was mixed
in Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and even Auro 11.1 for its
theatrical release. While the fi rst of those also graces
the 4K platter, for this Full HD Blu-ray Disney opts for
a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track. Unfortunately, this is yet
another of the studio’s releases that will have you
reaching for the volume control to lift it close to your
usual listening level. Even then, it’s never quite as
dramatic as you might expect, lacking in bottom-end
heft. Surround ambience fares better, making solid
use of the entire speaker array.
Extras: The days of Tim Burton recording
commentary tracks seem to be long gone. Instead,
Dumbo makes do with three short featurettes
covering the cast, the creation of the digital Dumbo,
and the production design; nine deleted scenes;
a guide to some of the Easter Eggs squeezed into
the fi lm; a gag reel; and an Arcade Fire music video.
It all feels pretty lightweight. AvB« Dumbo
20th Century Fox « Region B BD
£25
Warner Bros « All-region BD
£17Fisherman's Friends
Based on a true story of a
group of Cornish fi shermen
who made a hit album of
sea shanties, this Brit-fl ick
centres on the brash young
London record exec who
fell for both their music and their way of life. Perfectly amiable
in a formulaic sort of way and shot like a BBC TV drama,
Fisherman’s Friends washes up on Blu-ray with a fi ne 2.40:1
Full HD encode and modest DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio that is at its
best when the singing starts. Extras are limited to a brief Making
of... promo featurette and the real group’s Cannes Film Festival
video diaries. AvBEntertainment in Video « Region B BD
« £20Dumbo
« Walt Disney Home Entertainment
« All-region BD « £25
WE SAY: Not even a handsome
1080p encode can help this
disappointing live-action remake.Movie:
Picture:
Audio:
Extras:
OVERALL:PLAYBACK 87