The uproariously funny film stars Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a hell-raising guitarist with delusions of grandeur. Kicked out of his band and desperate for work, Dewey impersonates a substitute teacher and turns a class of fifth grade high-achievers into high-voltage rock and rollers. The film boasts a sensational ensemble cast, including Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, Amy Sedaris, Mike White, and a host of talented young actors, including Miranda Cosgrove, who made her feature debut in the film.

For thoughts on School of Rock, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/LyoMrkNRyV4?si=3qgpCwS07GUlt7h5&t=2803]

Video Quality

School of Rock comes to Blu-Ray from Paramount Home Entertainment with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 that is the same disc that was first put out over a decade ago. At the time, the disc was pretty excellent in terms of quality, but we are now past the point when any new release should be a 4K UHD Blu-Ray upgrade. Given Paramount’s recent trend of Blu-Ray SteelBook re-releases followed by a new 4K UHD, we are crossing our fingers we don’t have to wait long for an actual upgrade.

Even with this first being released a while ago, the transfer looks clear and detailed with only a couple of shots exhibiting a bit of excessive softness. The transfer is naturally filmic with some lovely detail in the production design and texture of clothing. Colors are a highlight throughout with bright, vivid hues leaping off the screen either in terms of the aforementioned production design, the environment, or lighting such as at the final concert. Black levels hold up fairly well in their depth with not much in the way of crush present. There are no specks of print damage present in the transfer. Overall, it is nice to see this hold up well, but we will not know peace until we get that sweet 4K UHD Blu-Ray upgrade this movie deserves.

Audio Quality

Paramount Home Entertainment brings us this Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix that does everything it needs to do quite well. From the opening moments, the sounds of the gig at the club along with a slew of other sounds bring nuanced life to the rear speakers. The movie features many classic rock songs along with some originals which sound great within the mix. Dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming through clearly without being overshadowed by the music or sound effects.

The environmental effects are delineated nicely and given a dynamic placement throughout the speakers. The film is not incredibly action-oriented, but the low end gets to show off when it comes to the music. This film could potentially be opened up quite nicely in the future with a Dolby Atmos track, but there are no major complaints about what we have. There are optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles provided.

Special Features

The main reason for this new release is to get the film in a sleek new SteelBook that is quite fetching in person. The burnt red SteelBook features front artwork with Dewey rocking out surrounded by the kids, and the rear features the School of Rock insignia. The interior sports a still photo of Dewey teaching at the chalkboard. Video of the SteelBook can be found at the top of this review.

Audio Commentary #1: Actor Jack Black and Director Richard Linklater deliver an excellent commentary track in which they discuss the development of the film, the opening title sequence, the desire to keep the film grounded in some kind of believable reality, working with the kids, how the character is portrayed, how the film utilizes music, the sets and production design, the various comedic talent in the film and more.

Audio Commentary #2: The “Kids’ Kommentary” brings together Joey Gaydos, Kevin Clark, Maryam Hassan, Rebecca Brown, Miranda Cosgrove, Caitlin Hale, and Robert Tsai to provide a cute and fun commentary track in which they offer their own background details about the production of the film and their experiences on set.

Lessons Learned on School of Rock: A 25-minute making-of featurette that details the origins of the film, bringing together all of the cast members, creating the music, moments together on set, the epic final concert, and much more.

Jack Black’s Pitch To Led Zeppelin: A nearly four-minute piece that shows Jack Black amusingly begging Led Zeppelin to use their music in the movie.

School of Rock Music Video: A nearly four-minute music video is provided here featuring clips from the film and new footage with the performers.

Kids’ Video Diary – Toronto Film Festival: An eight-minute look at what it is like to be a kid going to a major film festival with their new movie.

MTV’s Diary of Jack Black: A nearly 17-minute look at the life of Jack Black from August 16, 2003, as the performer goes about his day in Los Angeles rocking out, getting tasty food, and getting naked.

Dewey Finn’s History of Rock: An interactive chalkboard that gives you a crash course on some of the major figures in rock music with brief text-based descriptions.

Theatrical Trailer: The two-and–a-half-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

School of Rock is a classic family film that can be enjoyed by kids and adults in equal measure. Director Richard Linklater takes the clever Mike White script and treats it with respect, never framing the movie as something disposable or that betrays his independent beginnings. Jack Black is dialed into the perfect level of madman energy without losing the thread of believability. The kids are perfectly cast in their roles, never coming off as too precious or cloying. Every element simply works together to create a truly joyous viewing experience. Paramount Home Entertainment recycles their old Blu-Ray in a pleasing new SteelBook packaging. The film could use a 4K UHD upgrade, and some additional features would not hurt, but this is still a pretty solid disc. It is one that deserves to be in all collections, and this is the best option for collectors at this time. Recommended

School of Rock is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, Steelbook and Digital.

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

Disclaimer: Paramount 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.