Burnt appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a positive presentation.
Sharpness was solid. Only a smidgen of softness ever occurred, so the majority of the flick offered strong delineation. No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and the presentation lacked edge haloes. In terms of source defects, I witnessed no specks, marks or other issues; the Blu-ray gave us a clean transfer.
In terms of palette, Burnt went with Hollywood Standard teal and orange – with a heavier emphasis on blue-green. That seemed like a lackluster choice, but I couldn’t complain about the execution of the tones, as they seemed fine. Blacks appeared dark and dense, while shadows showed nice clarity. No notable issues occurred here, so we got a quality presentation.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it remained pretty low-key. General ambience ruled the day, as little more exciting than that appeared. Kitchen shots offered decent breadth, and music spread well to the side speakers. Nonetheless, nothing especially lively popped up here.
Audio quality seemed acceptable. Speech appeared natural and concise, as the lines always remained intelligible. Music seemed full and rich, while effects showed good accuracy. Nothing here stood out as particularly memorable, but the track was fine for a film of this sort.
As we shift to extras, we find an audio commentary from director John Wells and executive chef consultant Marcus Wareing. Both sit together for this running, semi-screen-specific chat. While Wells occasionally touches on filmmaking areas, mostly he and Wareing talk about cooking and the restaurant business.
That becomes both good and bad. On the positive side, I learned a lot about the realities of the high-end chefs and fancy establishments, so those parts became interesting. That said, I’d like to hear more about the movie itself, as we get only sporadic tidbits in that realm. I still think this turns into a good piece, but it’s not as broad as I’d like.
Five Deleted Scenes run a total of nine minutes, 59 seconds. The most substantial clip gives us more about Helene and her daughter Lily; a second sequence adds to this. These seem interesting but they also feel tangential for the main plot.
In addition, we see more goings-on at the restaurant. These are fun but inconsequential. A final clip depicts more of the Adam/Helene relationship and makes their situation explicit. It’s also decent but unnecessary.
We can view the deleted scenes with or without commentary from Wells. He tells us basics about the scenes and why he cut them. He gives us good notes.
In the Kitchen With Bradley Cooper lasts 23 minutes, 51 seconds and includes notes from Wells, Wareing, executive producer Kris Thykier, and actors Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl, Omar Sy, Riccardo Scamarcio, Matthew Rhys and Sam Keeley. “Kitchen” covers story/characters, cast and performances, and shooting the cooking scenes. A few minor production-related insights emerge, but this remains a fluffy promo piece.
Next we find Q&A Highlights. Taken from a few different sessions, this 23-minute, 45-second compilation features Cooper for the first 11:25. We get panels with Cooper, Wells, Miller, Bruhl and/or Keeley. We hear about cast, characters and performances, and cooking research/reproduction. More informative than “Kitchen”, the Q&A elements offer useful notes. I especially like Cooper’s discussion of how he approaches memorization and his roles.
The disc opens with ads for Carol and Southpaw. No trailer for Burnt appears here.
While Bradley Cooper does his best to redeem the film, Burnt winds up as a fairly lackluster tale. Though it remains watchable, it never overcomes all the clichés that it embraces. The Blu-ray provides satisfying picture and audio along with a decent set of bonus materials. Burnt winds up as a fairly average movie.