Fury appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. All parts of the image looked strong.
Sharpness was always positive. Nary a smidgen of softness appeared, as the movie demonstrated nice clarity and accuracy. I witnessed no instances of jagged edges or shimmering, and edge enhancement appeared absent. Source flaws also failed to interfere.
Colors stayed extremely subdued. For all intents and purposes, this was a monochromatic presentation, with a chilly teal orientation on display. All of this fit the desaturated sensibility typical of modern war films; the colors didn’t have much to do, but they were fine within the visual constraints.
Blacks were dark and deep, while shadows showed generally positive delineation. Some low-light shots seemed slightly murky, but not to an extreme, and these came as part of a high-contrast visual design. In the end, the image was pretty terrific.
Similar praise greets the excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Fury. With the level of bombast expected from a movie with many scenes of combat, the soundfield used the various speakers well.
Obviously, battles proved the most involving, as they engulfed the viewer with the sounds of the setting. That side of things worked best, but other sequences also seemed quite good; even quieter sections placed the viewer in the action and consistently satisfied. Surround usage was pleasing throughout the film, as the back speakers bolstered the various settings well.
Audio quality was also good. Speech appeared natural, and the lines never demonstrated intelligibility problems. Music was quite dynamic and lively, as the score showed excellent range and delineation. Effects were also bright and bold, with nice low-end to boot. Across the board, this was an excellent track that deserved a solid “A-”.
As we shift to the set’s extras, we get a mix of featurettes. Blood Brothers runs 11 minutes, eight seconds and offers notes from writer/director David Ayer, senior military advisor Kevin Vance, WWII veterans George Smilanich, Don Evans, Paul Andert and Ray Stewart, military advisor David Rae, and actors Jon Bernthal, Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, and Michael Pena. “Brothers” looks at the actors’ training and preparation as well as reflections on WWII experiences. A few good insights occur but “Brothers” seems too unfocused to become as memorable as it should be.
With the 17-minute, 32-second Director’s Combat Journal, we find statements from Ayer, Lerman, LaBeouf, Pitt, Pena, Bernthal, producers John Lesher and Ethan Smith and director of photography Roman Vasyanov. This acts largely as a production diary that highlights footage from the set. It lacks depth but still brings us a decent overview.
Armored Warriors: The Real Men Inside the Shermans lasts 12 minutes, 11 seconds and includes info from veterans Evans, Smilanich, Anderts and Stewart as well as Ayer. Mostly we learn of the veterans’ experiences during WWII. I wish this offered a longer piece, as we find some good stories here.
For the final featurette, Taming the Beasts: How to Drive, Fire and Shoot Inside a 30-Ton Tank goes for 12 minutes, 48 seconds and presents info from Smith, Ayer, Pitt, Bernthal, Pena, tank supervisor Jim Dowdall, production designer Andrew Menzies, tank production assistant Thomas Turner, and Bovington Tank Museum curator David Willey. “Beasts” examines the tanks used in the film as well as how the actors worked in them. It becomes a fairly solid look at the subject.
16 Deleted and Extended Scenes fill a total of 56 minutes, 13 seconds. That’s a whole lot of added material – heck, this area equals more than 40 percent of the final product’s running time!
Do we find anything memorable across those 56 minutes? Yes, though most of it wouldn’t have fit well in the final film. The added footage offers lots of character exposition, and those moments become enjoyable – in a “Blu-ray bonus feature” way, that is.
While it’s cool to learn more about various backstories, a lot of the movie’s impact comes from the absence of this information. I like the clips on their own but feel glad they got left on the cutting room floor.
Finally, we locate a Photo Gallery. This shows 60 images, with a mix of publicity stills and shots from the set. It offers an average collection.
The disc starts with ads for The Equalizer, Whiplash, Foxcatcher, Predestination and Powers. No trailer for Fury shows up here.
With Fury, we get a moderately effective World War II story. While it gives us the requisite “war is hell” action and spotlights an unusual aspect of combat, it tends toward clichés and doesn’t bring much new to the genre. The Blu-ray presents excellent picture and audio as well as a fairly useful batch of bonus materials. Fury turns into a generally good war film but not one that stands out in a crowded field.