Motherless Brooklyn appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Across the board, the transfer looked good.
Sharpness was fine. A little softness occurred in some interior shots, but those didn’t become a concern. Overall definition seemed solid.
I noticed no jagged edges or moiré effects, and the presentation lacked apparent edge haloes or other artifacts. I also saw no print flaws, as the movie always seemed clean.
In terms of palette, Brooklyn heavily emphasized teal, with some amber tossed in as well. The colors didn’t dazzle but they worked fine given stylistic parameters.
In addition, blacks were dark and tight, while low-light shots were good. Some could be a bit dense, but they were usually appealing. This was a positive presentation.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it added breadth to the experience. The movie didn’t deliver a consistently rock-em-sock-em soundscape, but it managed to open up well.
A few louder sequences – usually connected to gun or car-related action beats – made more dynamic use of the spectrum, but those didn’t pop up with great frequency. Instead, the emphasis on general environment remained, and that was fine, as I felt the soundfield fit the material.
Audio quality always pleased. Speech remained natural and concise, with no edginess or other flaws.
Music sounded full and dynamic, while effects came across as accurate and clear. All of this suited the film and earned a solid “B”.
As we shift to extras, we find an audio commentary from writer/actor/director Ed Norton. He provides a running, screen-specific discussion of the source and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, period details, music, editing, photography, influences and connected domains.
Norton brings us a thoughtful, informative commentary. He touches on an appropriate array of topics and does so with insight through this solid chat.
By the way, Norton alludes to Star Wars way more than you’d expect given his own film’s orientation. I love the realization that Norton’s a nerd like the rest of us.
With Edward Norton’s Methodical Process, we get a nine-minute, 38-second featurette that offers notes from Norton, producers Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Michael Bederman and Bill Migliore, director of photography Dick Pope, composer Daniel Pemberton and actors Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, Bobby Cannavale, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Cherry Jones.
“Process” examines the novel and its path to the screen, story and characters, cast and performances, the movie’s style, music, sets/locations and Norton’s multiple roles. We get a decent array of insights, but expect a lot of praise for Norton along the way.
Five Deleted Scenes fill a total of five minutes, 19 seconds. Only the fourth of these offers anything substantial, as it gives us exposition from Gabby to Lionel.
This scene seems too much like Morris the Explainer and falls flat. The others bring brief snippets that add small narrative moments but nothing especially useful.
The disc opens with ads for The Way Back, The Good Liar and The Goldfinch. No trailer for Brooklyn appears here.
Despite a strong cast, Motherless Brooklyn doesn’t really connect. The story fails to catch fire, and the characters don’t become complex enough to compensate. The Blu-ray brings strong picture and audio as well as supplements highlighted by a good commentary. Given the talent behind it, Brooklyn disappoints.