A gallery of dynamic characters clash over the possession of a rare Native American artifact in this wildly entertaining modern-day western. After the artifact falls onto the black market, a shy waitress with big dreams (Sydney Sweeney) teams up with a lovelorn military veteran (Paul Walter Hauser) to gain possession of it, putting them in the crosshairs of a ruthless criminal (Eric Dane) working on behalf of a Western antiquities dealer (Simon Rex). Bloodshed ensues when others join the battle, including the leader of an Indigenous group (Zahn McClarnon) and a desperate woman fleeing her mysterious past (Halsey).

For in-depth thoughts on Americana, please see my colleague Cody Allen’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

Americana arrives on Blu-Ray with an impressive 1080p presentation in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio that looks quite good in high definition. Color saturation is favorably executed with the earthy color palette presenting moments exactly as intended. Skin tones are natural with some exposed skin showing off blood and grime as the narrative develops. The clarity throughout is consistent with exquisite textures in the rustic production design and costumes coming through perfectly. Black levels showcase a robust amount of depth and do not fall victim to significant digital noise or banding outside of intermittent shadowy moments. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered a premium HD presentation here.

Audio Quality

The Dolby Atmos track brings this story to your home with the appropriate complexity and immediacy. Dialogue emanates clearly as it balances well with the music and the sound effects. This story allows for moments of quiet characterization, which emphasizes the sounds of the rural locations, which the soundscape disseminates from numerous directions. The addition of height channels expands things out quite assuredly without stealing focus. This narrative delivers powerful hits when the moment calls for it which the low-end handles with the proper aggression. This track accomplishes everything it needs to with ease. Optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are provided.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Tony Tost provides a commentary track in which he discusses his real-life inspiration for certain story beats, working with the performers, the structure of the film, the location shooting, and more.

A Western Fairy Tale – The Making of Americana: A nearly 11-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team explore the process of making this film, the casting, the themes of the film, and more.

Theatrical Trailer (2:07)

Final Thoughts

Americana has a lot of individual elements that are entertaining or at least hold your attention with the promise of something better than we get. The strongest aspect of the endeavor is the ensemble, and while we enjoy what we get from the likes of Sydney Sweeney and Zahn McClarnon, there is a squandering of talent here that goes back to the unbalanced script. There are many choices made within the story that seem manufactured to make the movie worse, which is especially frustrating when you see the better movie it could have been peeking through. It is far from a total misfire, but it could have been something really special with a bit of finessing. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with a terrific A/V presentation and a couple of worthwhile supplemental features. If you are a fan of crime dramas, this is still worth a look. Recommended

Americana is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.