Big Picture Big Sound

Selma Blu-ray Review

By Rachel Cericola

The Film

For the most part, Selma is downright painful to watch. There's just no other way to put it. Oh, it's not because it's a bad movie. It's actually quite the opposite. It's because all of that on-screen injustice isn't just some ancient history lesson or even fake movie-acting. In fact, it seems pretty darn real, considering today's social climate. That's the painful part. It's not in the past; it's as current as ever.

Forget all of the controversy surrounding the film, including the Oscars and the talk of historial inaccuracy. Selma should be required viewing. In fact, Paramount made the film available to every high school in the U.S. Yes, it was a publicity stunt, but one that should be appreciated and utilized.

Selma shows some very scary, very real pieces of American history. It also shows how wonderful, strong and unique Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (played to perfection by David Oyelowo) really was. Just know that this is not a biopic, but a small piece of what Dr. King did in his short time here on earth -- a very important piece.

This particular slice of life takes place the early 1960s, at a time when black voters were being deprived rights in the South. More specifically, they were being threatened, beaten and left for dead. With little support from Alabama Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth) and even President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), Dr. King works towards a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately, it's not met with much enthusiasm. The heartbreaking death of Jimmie Lee Jackson (Keith Stanfield) is the last straw, causing Dr. King to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches that led to the Voting Rights Bill in August 1965.

Whether you choose to believe that the film is 100-percent fact or taken with a dash of artistic license, the allure of Selma is not just its subject matter. To say that it's a difficult event to portray in one film is an understatement. However, Ava DuVernay's direction, Bradford Young's wonderful cinematography and the many great performances (most notably Oyelowo, Lorraine Toussaint, Tessa Thompson and Oprah Winfrey) are just a few of the reasons that Selma should be celebrated.

Want a lengthier look at the film? Check out David Kempler's theatrical review of Selma.

The Picture

Selma.jpg
The most surprising thing about Selma is not the controversy, the acting or even the subject matter. It's this film's 2.40:1 image -- and what a massive disappointment it is. While it definitely conveys the time period and circumstances very nicely, it's not what you'd expect from a newer film. Most of the indoor scenes are dark, both when it comes to the lighting and the color palette. Very little pops in these scenes. Everything looks a bit on the flat side and even the black levels are blah. The outdoor scenes fare much better. Although they aren't as bright as they could be, they do offer more a much richer color scheme. I never saw Selma in the theater, but just from viewing the film, you have to assume that everything here is intentional. It's not really supposed to be an attractive film; the image pretty much matches the subject matter.

The Sound

Selma is a dialogue-heavy movie, which sounds excellent in this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. There are a lot of characters in the film and each one sounds crystal clear throughout the entire 128-minute runtime. However, there are a lot of surprising moments here, which make use of every speaker. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing will send a boom through the soundfield and chills down your spine. Gunshots, punches, horses, screams, crowd chatter and general chaos are all as they should be. The score is also very bold, but never drowns out the dialogue or the action.

The Extras

If you're impressed with this movie (and you should be), you will be thrilled with the number of extras that Paramount has included on the Selma Blu-ray. There are two feature-length commentary tracks, deleted and extended scenes, a music video for the Oscar-winning song "Glory," and even a "Selma Discussion Guide." However, there's also about an hour's worth of other extras that are more than worthy of your time, most notably the "Historical" collection of newsreels and images, the 13-minute making-of featurette, and almost 27 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage tied into interviews and clips of the film.

Final Thoughts

Selma will strike a nerve with viewers because of the current climate. However, it's not the type of movie that will go away once the headlines change. It's a shame that the film doesn't have a better image, but I have to speculate that it's all part of the experience. That said, the performances and the subject matter certainly make Selma one to own.

Product Details

  • Actors: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo, Giovanni Ribisi, Alessandro Nivola, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tim Roth, Oprah Winfrey
  • Director: Ava DuVernay
  • Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Spanish), DVS 2.0 (English)
  • Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Rating: PG-13
  • Studio: Paramount
  • Blu-ray Disc Release Date: May 12, 2015
  • Run Time: 128 minutes
  • List Price: $39.99
  • Extras:
    • Commentary by Director Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo
    • Commentary by Director Ava DuVernay, Director of Photography Bradford Young and Editor Spencer Averick
    • The Road to Selma
    • Recreating Selma
    • Deleted and Extended Scenes
    • "Glory" Music Video
    • Historial
    • Selma Student Tickets: Donor Appreciation
    • National Voting Righs Museum and Institute
    • Selma Discussion Guide
    • Standard-Def DVD
    • Digital Copy
    • UltraViolet Digital Copy

What did you think?

Overall
Video
Audio
Movie
Extras
View all articles by Rachel Cericola
More in Blu-Ray and DVD
Big News
Newsletter Sign-up
 
Connect with Us