20th Century Women appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The visuals held up fairly well.
Sharpness looked appropriate. Delineation remained satisfying, so the image seemed accurate and concise. No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes or source flaws.
In terms of colors, the movie opted for orange and teal, though it kept these subdued, so they didn’t go crazy. The low-key palette seemed satisfactory. Blacks were pretty dark and tight, and low-light shots displayed reasonable clarity, though I thought they could be a smidgen murky at times. While not excellent, the visuals appeared positive.
I wouldn’t anticipate fireworks from the audio for a gentle character piece like Women, and itsDTS-HD MA 5.1 track gave me the expected subdued affair. Music became the most prominent aspect of the soundfield, as the score and songs used the five channels fairly well.
Effects had less to do. Ambience ruled the day, so not much more gave the track pop. This seemed appropriate, though, as the chatty flick didn’t come with obvious opportunities for sonic sizzle.
Audio quality appeared fine. Music was full and rich, while effects came across with appropriate accuracy, even if they lacked much punch due to a lack of ambition. Speech came across as distinctive and concise. Nothing here excelled but the soundtrack fit the material.
A handful of extras flesh out the set, and we find an audio commentary from writer/director Mike Mills. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, autobiographical elements, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, influences, cinematography, period details and related components.
Mills delivers a pretty terrific commentary. He delves into how the film reflects his life as well as a variety of cinematic techniques/choices. Mills makes this an engaging, informative track.
Two featurettes follow. Making 20th Century Women runs nine minutes, 31 seconds and offers notes from Mills, producer Youree Henley, production designer Chris Jones, costume designer Jennifer Johnson, cinematographer Sean Porter, and actors Annette Bening, Lucas Jade Zumann, Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning, and Billy Crudup.
“Making” covers story and characters, period details, costumes and production design, cast and performances. “Making” offers a short but moderately effective overview.
20th Century Cast lasts 10 minutes, 49 seconds and features Mills, Bening, Gerwig, Zumann, Fanning and Crudup. As expected, this one talks more about cast, characters and performances. It’s less interesting than “Making” but it adds some useful notes.
The disc opens with ads for Moonlight, La La Land, American Honey, The Lobster and Morris From America. No trailer for Women appears here.
A combination of coming of age tale and period piece, 20th Century Women delivers a mostly engaging character drama. While it falters at times, it still manages a good mix of honesty, wit and heart. The Blu-ray brings us largely positive picture and audio along with a few supplements. Women mostly succeeds.