Dear Evan Hansen appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an appealing presentation.
Overall definition looked positive. Softness never became a problem, as the film appeared consistently well-defined.
No issues with moiré effects or jaggies materialized, and I witnessed no signs of edge haloes or source flaws.
Expect a distinct slant toward amber/teal, so the movie went with subdued tones. Reds popped up at times to add a little flair to the proceedings as well. Though not memorable, the disc reproduced the hues as intended.
Blacks seemed dark and dense, while low-light shots offered good smoothness and clarity. Ultimately, the image came across as pretty terrific.
In addition, the movie’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack suited the material. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, music dominated the proceedings, and the many songs used the various channels in an involving manner.
Effects had less to do, as they focused mainly on ambience. Given the emphasis on music, that was fine, and the sides/surrounds provided enough material to succeed.
Audio quality also pleased. Again, music became the most dominant aspect of the mix, and the songs/score boasted fine range and impact.
Speech came across as natural and concise, whereas effects seemed accurate and realistic. Nothing here dazzled, but the track worked for the movie.
Some featurettes show up, and Songs to Be Seen runs a total of 43 minutes, 17 seconds as it examines 11 of the movie’s tunes. Across these clips, we hear from executive music producer Alex Lacamoire, director Stephen Chbosky, choreographer Jamaica Craft, and actors Ben Platt, Amy Adams, Daniel Pino, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Liz Kate, DeMarius Copes and Julianne Moore.
Here we learn a bit about the film’s musical numbers – but not a whole lot. While we get a few decent details, much of “Seen” just provides gushing praise about the tracks and performances, so it lacks much informational value.
Looking Through the Lens spans eight minutes, 36 seconds and involves Chbosky, Platt, Ryan, Dever, Stenberg, Moore, Adams, Craft, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Sekinah Brown, co-composer Dan Romer and vocal supervisor Ben Cohn.
“Lens” offers some basics about the cast and the production. Like “Seen”, it tends more toward fluff than substance.
With Sincerely, Ben Platt we get a four-minute, 57-second reel that offers comments from Platt, Lacamoire, Ryan, Adams, Chbosky, Dever and Stenberg,
Unsurprisingly, “Sincerely” looks at Platt and his performance. Unsurprisingly, this amounts to lots of praise and not much more.
Finally, Stars In Our Eyes goes for three minutes, six seconds and brings info from Platt, Dever, Adams, Dodani, Ryan, Mickle, Brown, Moore, Copes,
“Eyes” discusses shooting in the age of COVID. Inevitably, it offers more happy talk.
The disc opens with ads for Respect and Roadrunner. No trailer for Hansen appears here.
A second disc presents a DVD copy of Hansen. It provides “Lens”, “Sincerely” and five of the 11 clips from “Seen”.
An adaptation of a massively successful Broadway show, Dear Evan Hansen fails to make a good transition to the movie screen. While some aspects of the film work fine, too much of it falters, with the main issue the use of a much too old actor as the ‘teen’ lead. The Blu-ray offers very good picture and audio but bonus materials feel superficial. Maybe this production works on stage, but it doesn’t give us an appealing film.