With advancing Alzheimer’s and a determination to do things his way, Jimmy has decided to throw himself a fabulous FUNeral before his intentional death, teaching his guests, estranged brother, salt-of-the earth caretaker, sharp-witted death doula, a novice obituary writer, and an ethereal cosmic being — that sometimes the art of living just may be the art of dying. (Inspired By A True-ish Story)

For thoughts on Moon Manor, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/_kS59oZ32jE?t=2671]

Video Quality

Moon Manor comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is truly a wonder. This is a visually rich film with roaming shots of Jimmy’s house where you can see an incredible amount of detail in the production design. The film is bursting with vivid colors to match the bold personality that we are celebrating, and there are various moments that really pop from some shots of nature to some striking moments of vibrant clothing. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. The skin tones and makeup look very detailed and natural all around. With this being a new film, there are no issues with damage or anything of the sort. This presentation is a winner for the format.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track that conjures a very specific mood that transports you to this celebration of life. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is very precise with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really nice soundscape of nature and the din of the gathering. The film uses music in really moving ways that fill the room, especially as we approach the final moments of the story. This is by no means an action-heavy film, but activity in the low end provides some base texture which serves the movie well. This is a rock solid audio presentation that does everything it needs to do well.

Special Features

Director’s Cut Of The Loonartics Infomercial: A three-and-a-half minute uncut commercial for Jimmy’s “celestial real estate agency” is provided here.

Rare Footage Of Jimmy As Cruise Ship Director In The 1980s: A four-minute piece which functions as described. This is a pretty amusing glimpse at a past life.

Trailers: This two-minute trailer for Moon Manor is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Cosmic Dawn, Double Walker, Ma Belle My Beauty and Summertime.

Final Thoughts

Moon Manor is a very moving portrayal of choosing to go out on your own terms and appreciating life while you still have time. The “true-ish” nature of the story adds a layer of poignancy as you begin to understand Jimmy on a deeper level, ultimately realizing that there is this vivacious force genuinely out in the world. The film is not without its flaws, especially when it comes to some of the performances and narrative cohesion, but largely the emotions of the story allow you to overlook some of the bigger nitpicks. Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber have released a Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and a couple of special features. If you want to explore the more enriching side of death, this film is worth knowing. Recommended

Moon Manor is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.

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

Disclaimer: Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber 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.