Star Wars: The Last Jedi appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Overall, this became a strong image.
My only complaints related to a handful of interiors, as a few of those seemed oddly soft. Nonetheless, general definition seemed solid, with a presentation that usually appeared accurate and concise.
I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked edge haloes. Of course, the image failed to display print flaws.
The palette of Jedi tended toward the usual orange and teal, though not to an obnoxious degree. Those hues dominated but a mix of other colors popped up as well, and the disc reproduced them nicely.
Blacks came across as dark and dense, while shadows offered fairly good clarity, though they could seem slightly thick at times. While this wasn’t a killer presentation, it seemed more than satisfactory.
Star Wars movies always boast excellent audio, and Jedi continued that tradition via its involving DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack. We got an engaging affair, and the soundscape’s emphasis on action used all the channels on a frequent basis.
The various speakers provided lots of information that filled out the movie and blended together in a seamless manner. This formed a dynamic soundfield with a lot to offer.
In addition, audio quality seemed strong. Music was bold and full, and even with a lot of looped lines, dialogue remained crisp and natural.
Effects appeared rich and vivid, with clear highs and deep lows. I felt pleased with this impressive soundtrack.
As we head to extras, we find an audio commentary from writer/director Rian Johnson. He brings us a running, screen-specific look at story/character areas, cast and performances, connections to other films, various effects, sets and locations, music, costumes, editing and deleted scenes, and connected topics.
In other words, Johnson touches on pretty much every topic you could
hope, as he delivers a terrific commentary. He even digs into little
"Easter eggs" during this engaging and informative chat.
On a second disc, we find a documentary called The Director and The Jedi. It fills one hour, 35 minutes, 23 seconds and offers info from Johnson, producer Ram Bergman, director of photography Steve Yedlin, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, 1st AD/associate producer Jamie Christopher, unit production manager Tom Karnowski, creature and special make-up effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlan, production designer Rick Heinrichs, supervising art director Christopher Lowe, special effects supervisor Chris Courbould, crowd 2nd AD Jane Ryan, stunt coordinator Rob Inch, hair/makeup designer Peter Swords King, and actors Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Laura Dern, Daisy Ridley, Frank Oz, and John Boyega.
“Director” looks at pre-production and Johnson’s approach to the project, sets and locations, creature design and execution, and various effects. We also learn about cast and performances, characters and story, stunts and action,
This means we learn a lot about the film’s creation, and the ample footage from the production adds a lot to it as well. I love this sort of “behind the scenes” material and find plenty to enjoy here, such as a charming interaction between Hamill and a creature-costumed actor who accidentally bumps into him. In addition, the sight of Hamill and Fisher as they shoot a scene together seems likely to inspire tears among those of us with a lifelong attachment to the franchise.
“Director” might benefit from a more concise “A to Z” orientation, as it skips around a little more than I’d like. Still, that’s a minor quibble, as the documentary works very well as a whole.
14 Deleted Scenes take up a total of 23 minutes, two seconds. Some don’t work – like a painful, interminably long version of the “Fathier Chase“ – but a lot seem surprisingly good.
I like the “Alternate Opening”, and a sequence in which Luke challenges Rey to not save the day offers intrigue. Most of the clips could’ve worked in the final film, so they’re fun to see.
We can view the scenes with or without commentary from Johnson. He gives us basic notes about the sequences as well as why he omitted them. Once again, he proves to be engaging and informative.
We also can check out a 49-second intro from Johnson. He doesn’t add much in this quick clip but it’s a painless affair.
A featurette entitled Balance of the Force goes for 10 minutes, 17 seconds. It includes notes from Johnson, Ridley, and actor Adam Driver.
As implied by the title, “Balance” looks at the film’s depiction of the Force and some production details. It becomes a pretty insightful overview.
Three Scene Breakdowns follow: “Lighting the Spark” (14:23), “Snoke and Mirrors” (5:40) and “Showdown on Crait” (12:56). Across these, we hear from Johnson, Yedlin, Fisher, Corbould, Bergman, Heinrichs, Dern, Lucasfilm VPs Janet Lewin, Candice Campos and Jason McGatlin, supervising sound editor Ren Klyce, design supervisor Kevin Jenkins, assistant sound editor Coya Elliott, animation supervisors Michael Beaulieu and Stephen Aplin, concept artist James Klyne, visual effects supervisors Mike Mulholland, Dan Seddon and Ben Morris, computer graphics supervisor Andrew Booth, sound effects editor Bonnie Wild, visual effects producers Danielle Legovich and Daniel Booty, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, senior modeler Benjamin Flynn,
and actors Kelly Marie Tran, Andy Serkis and Oscar Isaac.
As expected, these featurettes offer details about the creation of various scenes, so they dig into a mix of elements. All prove to be insightful and informative.
Andy Serkis Live! takes up five minutes, 49 seconds and features an intro from Johnson. He leads us into raw footage of Serkis’s performance as Snoke on the set pre-animation. This turns into an enjoyable look at the original footage.
A continuation of the new trilogy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi offers a largely satisfying adventure. It doesn’t bring quite the impact of Force Awakens, but it still advances the overall narrative in a rich, exciting manner. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture as well as excellent audio and short but informative collection of supplements. Bring on Episode IX!