‘Another Body’ Blu-Ray Review – A Disturbing Look At The Dark Side Of Deepfake Technology

Follows a college student’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

For in-depth thoughts on Another Body, please see my colleague Tia Fabi’s review from its theatrical debut here.

Video Quality

Another Body comes to Blu-Ray from Utopia with a strong HD master which presents this documentary exactly as it is intended. This feature primarily consists of newer interviews that have been put through a layer of digital manipulation to protect the identities of the subjects. There are also sporadic bits of older footage, social media recreation, digital cut scenes, and more to help round out this experience. Due to the way in which this documentary had to be constructed, interview segments do not look incredibly crisp and clear, but everything looks as consistent as the source allows. 

Some material is sharp and detailed with only a small amount of variance to account for the source. All footage seems to be derived from the most stable sources possible, most of which look pretty good overall. The colors featured in the footage have a decent sense of vibrancy to them. The transfer does not feature anything in the way of compression artifacts or digital nuisances of the sort that is not baked into the source. This is not a film that thrives in high definition, but we are grateful to have it in its most faithful state.   

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray disc comes with a perfectly solid DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that captures the material as well as can be. This is largely interview and recreation focused with plenty of dialogue up front in the center channel as you get these anecdotes coming through clearly. The score comes through with a natural fidelity that settles the mood of the journey. This is not a particularly ambitious soundscape, but everything accomplishes what it intends to. There were no digital anomalies or other issues experienced. This track delivers for the film. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided. 

Special Features

• Audio Commentary: Directors Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn provide a thoughtful commentary track in which they give additional background to how this movie was created, the efforts taken to protect the identity of the subject, the structure of the film, how they worked with technology, and more.

• FilmFest Munich Director Interview: A nearly ten-minute interview with the directors in which they discuss what drew them to the subject, the history of deepfakes, how they got in touch with Taylor, and more. 

• IDA FallDocs Q&A Panel: A nearly 36-minute panel with the two directors moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Mia Galuppo in which they discuss their history together, how they decided to tell a story on this subject, what they wanted to convey to the audience, how they feel about the technology, the potential benefits they see with the technology, and more. 

• SXSW Panel – Deepfakes & Documentary: An hour-long conversation at SXSW with the two directors, Adam Dodge (EndTAB), and Mia Galuppo (The Hollywood Reporter) in which they have a fascinating discussion about deepfakes, how it can be used in the documentary space, the concern over journalistic practices, and more.  

• Q&A Moderated by Actress Juno Temple: A 53-minute conversation moderated by the Ted Lasso actress with directors and the film’s producer as they dive deep into various aspects of making this film following a screening of the film. 

• Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here. 

Final Thoughts

Another Body is an engaging and upsetting documentary that explores a rapidly pervasive issue through a personal lens. While one can intellectually understand the dangers of deepfake technology, it is the real-life experiences that underline truly how traumatizing such an act can be and how little is being done about it. The filmmakers rightfully use this technology to protect the subjects from further exploitation in a nice bit of journalistic integrity. There is still much to learn as this technology evolves, but this film provides a real wake-up call to anyone who has had their head in the sand. Utopia has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and some amazing special features. If the subject is not too upsetting for you, do not skip out on this one. Recommended 

Another Body is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome/OCN Distribution. 

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

Disclaimer: Utopia & OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.