Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in the fictional 20th-century French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. With an all-star cast that includes Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, this vibrant film is a funny, moving celebration of journalism.
For in-depth thoughts on The French Dispatch, please see my colleague Cassie Brown’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Searchlight Pictures brings The French Dispatch to Blu-Ray with a really sumptuous 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 intricate details along with the fabrics of clothing which this presentation displays with crystal clear textural detail. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs dazzling splashes of bold colors within the production design, which makes for a very exciting image. The black-and-white portions of the film handle highlights well and are just as lovely as the color portions. 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, especially when heavy makeup applied. There is even an animated sequence in this film which pops off the screen and features strong line detail. This Blu-Ray is an excellent representation of this movie that should please fans.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this highly musical movie beautifully. The track is not as complex as what you would find with a traditional action film, but it impresses all the same with the environmental sounds of the world engaging the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. When the characters are walking through large crowds, there are some really nice ambient details that flesh out the setting. Dialogue is the key element of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. The score and certain effects engage the low end of the track in a way that provides a nice texture to the proceedings. The audio track is an excellent sounding presentation for this feature in all respects.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
The French Dispatch does not represent Wes Anderson at the peak of his abilities, but even a more middling effort from him is more delightful than most features we get in any given year. Just having the ability to spend a couple of hours in his complex, heightened worlds is very rewarding. The range of talent on display here is staggering, but due to the structure you sometimes do not get to spend as much time with some figures as you might want. The first full story with Benicio Del Toro proves to be the strongest, but each one has something to enjoy. Searchlight Pictures has released a Blu-Ray featuring a top-notch A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features. If you are a Wes Anderson fan, do not pass this one up. Recommended
The French Dispatch 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: Buena Vista 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.
