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Home Entertainment: ‘Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood’ Blu-ray review

Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film arrives on the home formats just in time for the Christmas period following a massively successful cinema run and promising awards season buzz; it is an absolute must for fan of Mr. QT and cinephiles alike.

Image courtesy of Sony

The film revolves around Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton, a seasoned veteran of the film and television world whose star is fading. A near career-best Brad Pitt is his career stunt double Cliff Booth, a man who is more like a brother than a ‘friend from work’, and it’s clear from the start that they share a close bond. Dalton is being wooed by the Italian film industry, Al Pacino’s Hollywood big shot Marvin Schwarzs, tempting him with a move to Rome (ala Clint Eastwood in his Sergio Leone period). Dalton has been confined to playing bad guy roles in westerns in Hollywood, and Schwarzs advise that the move to Europe for six months could alter the direction of his career. There’s also Sharon Tate, here played by Margot Robbie, whose fate was sealed in the August of that year when she was brutally murdered by members of Charles Manson’s ‘family’, along with Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch), Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger (Samantha Robinson). All are depicted here, but Tarantino approaches the subject matter with delicacy and good taste – but there’s tons of fun to be had too.

All of Tarantino’s hallmarks are present, from the excellent soundtrack (with solid classical accompaniment), wonderfully recreated L.A. scenes at the end of the 1960s, along with many pop culture references and outstanding performances, particularly from the duo at the centre of the movie, DiCaprio and Pitt.

[Full theatrical review]

Bonus materials:

The DVD and Blu-ray share the additional 20 minutes of extended scenes which are interesting enough, while there are also a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes on the Blu-ray version. The best of the bunch is a look at the outstanding production design by Barbara Ling and the cinematography of Robbie Richardson. The others are good too, though all would have benefited from being assembled in one big featurette. It becomes a little annoying to press play after every one and would have been so much more involving if they could have been watched as a single, decent-length supporting feature. The lack of anything else – not even a theatrical trailer, let alone director’s commentary, make this a rather lacklustre affair, but what is on offer is definitely worth checking out. We suspect a more definitive collector’s edition could be planned for the future.

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is released on digital on 7th December and on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on 9th December.

 

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