Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Post-war Belleville, New Jersey—an impoverished suburb of the impoverished city of Newark—offered few opportunities for upward mobility. The hottest tickets to the middle class were joining the army or joining the mob—either of which could get one killed—or becoming an entertainer. Francis Castelluccio (John Lloyd Young) and his friends were fortunate and talented enough to choose the latter. Adapted from the wildly successful Broadway play, Jersey Boys is the mildly embellished story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the most popular rock group until The Beatles, who thrived despite the personal tragedies, prison sentences, and personal excesses that attended stardom. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t translate well to the big screen. The carefully calculated dramatic scale that works so well as a stage play is disproportionate here, as both dialogue (especially the jokes) and acting seem bloated and forced.

Production values fare much better, featuring lavish set design, authentic wardrobe, and standard-setting sound and image quality. The beautifully balanced color palette avoids saturation, with natural reds that yield perfectly rendered fleshtones. Even during concert scenes, the harsh stage lighting never imparts contrived pallor to skin. Whites are meticulously reproduced, while at the opposite extreme, black levels are deep and detailed. Shadow detail is impressively layered, and contrast is vast. Most impressively, fine textural details—fabrics, hair, chrome trim on vintage Cadillacs—are razor-sharp.

Audio, though lacking much in the way of hard surround effects, is the equal of video. Dialogue articulation is almost flawless, and center fill is both consistent and generous. Musical numbers issue forth with the detail and tonal balance of a good CD, and there’s plenty of low-frequency extension to keep your subwoofer occupied. The soundtrack is cannily blended into the surround channels, keeping the Jersey Boys experience enveloping and immersive. From both audio and video standpoints, this is a superb Blu-ray transfer.

The disc’s three extras are well produced and worthwhile, though insufficient. Although it doesn’t live up to its considerable hype, Jersey Boys is essential viewing for music history buffs. Broadway meets Hollywood for two hours of escapist fun.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Warner Bros., 2014
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Length: 134 mins.
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda