Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. A native 4K product, this turned into a strong Dolby Vision image.
Sharpness worked great. No real softness emerged, so this left us with a tight, concise presentation.
Neither jagged edges nor shimmering impacted the movie, and I saw no edge haloes. Of course, print flaws failed to manifest.
Given that most of the film took place in sandy domains, the prevalence of amber and orange tones came as no surprise. Add some blue/teal and you get a pretty Hollywood Standard palette.
Still, like I said, most of those colors made sense for the locations, and the disc replicated them as intended. HDR added zest and power to the hues.
Blacks felt dark and deep, while shadows offered appropriate clarity outside of some dense “day for night” shots. Whites and contrast received a boost from HDR. I felt highly pleased with the picture.
No complaints greeted the terrific Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Furiosa. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix created a consistently involving setting.
Whether the movie opted for quiet or loud sequences, the soundfield used all the channels in an engaging manner. These filled the room in ways that helped immerse us in the material.
Of course, big action scenes fared best, as those threw the violence at us hot and heavy. All the information showed up in appropriate spots and meshed smoothly to form an excellent soundfield.
Audio quality impressed as well, with speech that appeared natural and concise. Music demonstrated solid impact and range.
Effects delivered a great impression, with clean highs and taut lows. Everything about the soundtrack succeeded.
Five video programs appear, and Highway to Valhalla runs for 57 minutes. It boasts comments from writer/director George Miller, producer Doug Mitchell, 1st AD PJ Voeten, production designer Colin Gibson, costume designer Jenny Beavan, associate costume designer Lauren Reyhani, prosthetics designer Larry van Duynhoven, hair and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, salvage artist Chris Marinovich, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, action designer/2nd unit director/additional story contributor Guy Norris, director of photography Simon Duggan, composer/re-recording mixer, orchstrator Tom Holkenborg, supervising sound mixer/sound designer/re-recording mixer Robert Mackenzie, and actors Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Lacky Hulme, Tom Burke, Ian Roberts, Quaden Bayles, David Collins, CJ Bloomfield, George Shevtsov, Josh Helman, and Matuse.
“Valhalla” looks at the film’s origins and development, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, stunts and action, costumes, makeup and various effects, photography, music and audio.
In other words, “Valhalla” offers a broad look at the film’s creation, and it does so well. Between the remarks from those involved to the ample behind the scenes footage, this turns into a pretty terrific documentary.
Darkest Angel goes for 10 minutes, 19 seconds. Here we find notes from Taylor-Joy, Miller, Vanderwalt, Mitchell, Burke, Hulme, Hemsworth, Mitchell, and actors Alyla Browne and Charlee Fraser.
“Angel” examines the Furiosa character as well as the two actors who play her and other aspects of her depiction in the film. Despite a little of the standard happy talk, we nonetheless get a useful view at the different domains.
Next comes Motorbike Messiah, a 10-minute, two-second reel. This one presents info from Miller, Hemsworth, Hulme, Beavan, Reyhani, hair designer Luca Vannella, makeup designer Matteo Silvi, and actor Elsa Pataky.
With “Messiah”, we get a look at the Dementus character as well as Hemsworth’s approach to the role and related topics. It follows the same vibe as “Angel”, so it works pretty nicely.
Stowaway to Nowhere spans 11 minutes, 13 seconds. It provides details from Miller, Mitchell, Norris, Taylor-Joy, Bayles, Gibson, Burke, edge arm technician Sam Bailey, rigger Norroa Poa , actor/stunt performer Sam Jones, stunt performers Jordan Bissaker, Karl van Moorsel, Eugene Ardensen and Corey Creed, stunt double Jesse Turner, fight choreographer Richard Norton, dummy supervisor Paul Hasell, and post-viz supervisor Graham Olsen.
We find an examination of the movie’s stunts and action. Expect another worthwhile reel.
Finally, Metal Beasts and Holy Motors fills 14 minutes, 42 seconds. We locate remarks from Miller, Taylor-Joy, Mitchell, Gibson, Fraser, Hemsworth, Norris, Burke, and monster truck designers Michael and Sam Xuereb.
This piece digs into the film’s vehicles. “Beasts” wraps this good collection of video programs on a satisfying note.
If you liked Mad Max: Fury Road, then you will probably enjoy Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga because it offers a close cousin of its predecessor. I find both to provide sporadic excitement but to come out as much more style than substance. The 4K UHD delivers excellent picture and audio along with a quality collection of supplements. Too long and too insubstantial, Furiosa doesn’t click.