Selena appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie boasted a mostly solid transfer.
Though wider shots could lean a bit soft, these didn’t turn into a major distraction. While I’d prefer more consistent accuracy, the majority of the film appeared well-defined.
No shimmering or jaggies appeared, and I saw no edge haloes or noise reduction. Print flaws seemed absent.
Colors seemed positive. With an emphasis on warm ambers and reds, the film opted for a fairly peppy palette that seemed rich and full.
Blacks were deep and dark, while shadows showed nice clarity and delineation. Despite a few iffy spots, this became a generally satisfying presentation.
Given the subject matter, I felt pleased with the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Selena. As with most character films, the soundfield largely remained anchored to the forward channels, but the mix spread out the audio to a satisfying degree.
The front speakers showed fine stereo separation for the music, and they also offered a clean and accurate sense of spatiality and ambience. Sounds blended together well, and they moved neatly between channels.
The surrounds usually presented general atmosphere, but they came to life nicely at times. This occurred mainly for concert performances, where the soundfield to a good degree.
Audio quality seemed to be fairly positive. Dialogue occasionally sounded somewhat thick, but, most of the speech appeared to be fairly warm and natural, and I heard no signs of edginess or problems related to intelligibility.
Effects replicated the material with acceptable accuracy and depth. Music showed nice dynamic range as well, though the concert scenes could go a little crazy with reverb. Still, this became a fairly appealing representation of the source.
This disc includes both the film’s theatrical version (2:07:26) as well as an Extended Cut (2:13:53). The longer edition provides some minor additions but nothing particularly impactful, so the film plays about the same either way.
A few extras appear here, and Queen of Tejano goes for 18 minutes, 56 seconds and includes comments from father Abraham Quintanilla, brother AB Quintanilla, sister Suzette Quintanilla, musicians Joe Ojeda, Rick Vela, and Pete Astudillo, Univision Music Group CEO Jose Behar, radio program director Ed Ocanas, and husband Chris Perez.
“Queen” looks at the Quintanilla family band and Selena’s musical career. It proves inoffensive and moderately informative, if more than slightly on the fluffy side.
10 Years Later lasts 30 minutes, 25 seconds and features AB Quintanilla, Abraham Quintanilla, Suzette Quintanilla, Astudillo, Perez, writer/director Gregory Nava, producers Robert Katz and Moctesuma Esparza, casting director Roger Mussenden, choreographer Miranda Garrison, costume designer Elizabetta Beraldo, and actors Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Jackie Guerra, and Jon Seda.
“Later” examines the movie’s roots and development, casting and performances, and other production notes. While not the deepest overview, “Later” gives us some decent thoughts about the film.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we get a collection of Outtakes. This presents nine deleted scenes and fills a total of 12 minutes, nine seconds.
These tend toward minor exposition and a little more from supporting characters. One that hints at Yolanda’s true nature seems interesting, but the rest feel superfluous.
With Selena, we get a cotton candy love letter to its subject. The movie lacks almost any real drama and becomes a bland collection of music and clichés. The Blu-ray offers pretty good picture and audio as well as a decent set of supplements. Too close to its lead character, the film fails to become more than a puff piece.