HOUSE OF GUCCI is inspired by the shocking true story of the family behind the Italian fashion empire. When Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately…murder.
For in-depth thoughts on House of Gucci, please see my colleague Cassie Brown’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings House of Gucci to Blu-Ray with a really lovely 1080p video presentation. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design is bursting at the seams with period-appropriate details along with the fabrics of clothing which this presentation displays with crystal clear textural detail. The image is clean with the subdued color palette presenting a pleasing nuance. The film employs nice splashes of bold colors within the production design, which makes for a very exciting image. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky with no major instances of compression detected. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups. This Blu-Ray is an excellent representation of this movie that should please fans.
Audio Quality
This disc comes equipped with a magnificent DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio presentation that absolutely dazzles from beginning to end. From the very beginning narration, the soundscape is set to deliver an expansive experience suitable for an examination of such an empire. Sounds are appropriately rendered with precise directionality from the more kinetic numbers to interpersonal moments of dialogue. Ambient details are plentiful and quite satisfying in the rear and surround channels which adds a nice sense of space to the mix. Music is one of the pillars of this film, and it envelopes the room with an urgency befitting the narrative. Dialogue is presented perfectly clear without ever being overwhelmed by any of the competing sonic elements. The low end is engaged in a really solid way that will have your house moving in the best way. The mix offers up the best experience for those with the home theater system to support it.
Special Features
- The Rise Of The House Of Gucci – Making Of: A pretty decent 10-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss the source material, the care taken to bring this story to life, the family dynamics, the Shakespearean nature of the story, the traits of different characters, the physical transformations within the film and more.
- The Lady Of The House: A nearly six-minute featurette which puts a spotlight on Lady Gaga as it shows how she prepared to inhabit the character, the admiration she has from her fellow performers, the way she poured herself into the character, her collaboration with Ridley Scott and more.
- Styling House Of Gucci: A nearly six-minute featurette which takes a look at the makeup, wardrobe, production design and more that allowed this story to be brought to such vivid life.
Final Thoughts
House of Gucci is a film with potential which is marred by a lack of focus or strong direction. There are some really strong, committed performances in this film, especially from Lady Gaga and Al Pacino, but nobody seems to be acting in the same film. The feature lacks a cohesion that a director like Ridley Scott should have guided the performers toward. When you can get past whatever Jared Leto is doing, there are some intriguing plot elements, but there are just as many unnecessary tangents that grind the film to a screeching halt. The film could have easily lost 45 minutes and would have been a more exciting experience for it. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and a couple of basic special features. With a film as successful and flashy as this one, it would have been nice to see this one on 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
House of Gucci 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: Universal Pictures 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
