Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

A woman who has committed suicide is given a baby’s brain by a brilliant but demented surgeon (Willem Dafoe) before being reanimated using traditional mad-scientist electrical feats. Thereafter, Bella (Emma Stone) must gradually learn everything — walking, talking, sense, and behavior — from scratch, just as a child must. In this unique film (nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning four), a Frankenstein-like tale is told in unique episodes as Bella conquers various stages of understanding people, books, and the ways of the world while experiencing new adventures as she travels from Victorian London to Lisbon, Africa, and Paris.

The first of many beautiful visuals has a woman clad in a rich blue dress, seen against a moody, blue-gray sky, creating the look of a lush surrealist painting. Her subsequent plunge off the bridge — shown in an extreme long shot — puts the story in motion as we cut to monochrome scenes with the look of a 1930s Universal horror film. The ever-changing style and palettes cinematographer Robbie Ryan uses to shoot Poor Things — ranging from naturalistic to saturated images, smeary overlit tones and deep blacks, bright whites, and a wide range of grays with fisheye lens or iris shots suddenly imposed — reflect the new and strange things Bella experiences on her quest for knowledge. It’s all very striking with excellent contrast, often in a deep focus that simultaneously reveals sharp detail in close, mid, and distant objects or the bizarrely wonderful Oscar-winning costumes by Holly Waddington.

The mostly string score often swells into all channels, with instruments separated across the channels. At other times, a plucked or bowed string instrument bounces back and forth or a booming horn echoes in the surrounds. The soundtrack is exceptionally clear and full without distortion in the lower and higher ranges, though notes are occasionally bent completely out of shape, adding to the film’s off-kilter mood, or you find yourself immersed in a glorious wash of Jerskin Fendrix’s otherworldly music. Surrounds are also used for convincing atmospheric effects, as when a bird flaps from behind or fireworks explode from one direction or another.

Three deleted scenes don’t add much to the film’s many glories, but there’s a decent making of featurette with the amazing cast talking about characters (and, of course, admiration for one another). Meanwhile director Yorgos Lanthimos and crew discuss the specially made Eastman film stock that gives the film its unique look as well as the award-winning production design, costumes, and prosthetics, all of which contribute to a fantastical dream world.

ULTRA HD 4K BLU-RAY
STUDIO: Fox/Disney, 2023
ASPECT RATIO: 1.66:1
HDR FORMAT: Dolby Vision, HDR10+
AUDIO FORMAT: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
LENGTH: 141 mins., R
DIRECTOR: Yorgos Lanthimos
STARRING: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Suzy Bemba