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Geek Vibes Nation
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'A Knight's Tale' 4K UHD Blu-Ray SteelBook Review - A Propulsive Popcorn Spectacle
The 14th century takes a rocking new twist in A Knight's Tale, a stylish, music driven, action packed adventure starring Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, The Patriot), with heroic performances from Mark Addy (The Full Monty, Down to Earth) and Rufus Sewell (Dangerous Beauty, Dark City). Ledger plays William Thatcher, a peasant squire who breaks all the rules when he passes himself off as a nobleman and takes the jousting world by storm. The only thing that stands between William and his dream of becoming the World Champion of the most extreme of sports is the bad boy of the sport Count Adhemar. And when the two rivals go lance to lance at the world finals, you'd better arm yourself and hang on tight for the ride of your life! For thoughts on A Knight's Tale, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required: Video Quality The 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut of A Knight's Tale offers a sterling presentation for this adventure courtesy of a 4K restoration of the Original Camera Negative approved by director Brian Helgeland for both the Theatrical and Extended versions of the film deployed through seamless branching. The previous Blu-Ray was first released in 2006, but we have never been able to view that disc. By all accounts, it was a major disappointment, and luckily this new release comes with a fresh Blu-Ray derived from the new 4K restoration. As nice as it is to get a stronger Blu-Ray, the 2160p Dolby Vision/HDR master is what allows the film to look the best it ever has on home entertainment. This new release preserves the filmic origins of the feature to unleash a world of pleasing texture and detail. The Dolby Vision presentation brings nuance to the rich period aesthetic with a commendable saturation. Highlights offer a great stability without veering into blooming. Black levels are deep which allows this transfer to provide a notable level of fine detail in darker environments. Skin tones look natural and the clarity of the transfer gives you a wonderful amount of facial detail. You can effortlessly distinguish specific details within the makeup, backgrounds, and production design that have otherwise been murkily defined before on streaming and Blu-Ray. The interiors of various structures are given more depth which makes for a more compelling exploration of the world. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity are a standout aspect of the disc, especially when wading through shadowy corridors. This is another top-tier effort from Sony, and fans will delight in watching it. Audio Quality This 4K UHD Blu-Ray gets an audio upgrade in the form of a thrilling Dolby Atmos track that gives the film a dynamic soundscape with a suitably intense and immersive quality. The new disc also offers up the original soundtrack in lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. Both of these tracks are tremendous in their own ways, but we are glad Sony is continuing the trend of giving fans a choice. Those who choose to embark with the original track may not get the cutting edge in audio, but you will be served a perfectly formidable track without any age-related flaws. The Atmos track conjures atmospheric sound effects appropriately within the mix so that directionality is unrelentingly precise. The track yields the expected emphasis on the front channels for dialogue and other distinct sounds while additional activity flows to the surrounds, rears and overhead speakers to make the world feel more three-dimensional. The height channels are implemented flawlessly as they fully transport you into the journey. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting overshadowed by the music or sound effects. The low end effects from the subwoofer deliver the desired extra weight to enhance the action sequences. Every single sound feels natural and energizing in a way that lifts up every moment. The film shines when it comes to the anachronistic rock soundtrack which complements the narrative really well. Sony has delivered a bombastic audio experience for fans. Optional English, English SDH, and a vast array of other subtitles are provided. Special Features Sony has provided A Knight's Tale with a sleek new SteelBook featuring artwork that is pleasing in person. The front artwork is William in his armor with a sword, and the rear features the whole gang with their arms around one another. The interior is a photo still from a joust. Video of the SteelBook can be found at the top of this review. Audio Commentary: Director Brian Helgeland and Actor Paul Bettany provide a very thorough archival commentary track in which they discuss the production of the film, the Carter Burwell score, the characteristics of the performers, the tricky choreography of certain sequences, the location shooting and much more. Gag Reel: A new two-minute collection of flubbed lines, goofing around, and more. Deleted & Extended Scenes From Tape Dailies: A new nine-minute selection of unused footage is provided in fairly rough quality. Quill & Quarterhorse – 2nd Unit Photography: A new nearly nine-minute look at some of the 2nd unit photography including horses launching off of their mark and a hand writing on parchment. Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes: A 33-minute selection of featurettes is provided here in which the cast and creative team provide the details about the creation of various moments including the complicated stunt work, the music, props, and more. Deleted Scenes: Six unused scenes are provided that didn't make the final cut of the movie. This footage totals 21:40 by itself, or 48:43 if you select to watch it with the optional video introductions from the creative team. HBO Making-Of: A 15-minute archival promotional video in which the cast and creative team discuss the creation of the film. Robbie Williams & Queen: 'We Are The Champions' Music Video (4:08) Trailers (5:03) Final Thoughts A Knight's Tale is a crowd-pleasing action outing that leans heavily into popcorn sensibilities with its aggressively modern soundtrack, its gorgeous (and talented) ensemble, and its sleek, propulsive editing. Those coming for something painstakingly accurate to history or narratively complex are not going to be the most nourished here, but those looking to have a lot of fun will be feasting. This is the definition of a good time. Sony Pictures has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a fabulous A/V presentation and a worthwhile collection of special features. If you only own this one on Blu-Ray or not at all, this package is by far the best way to view the film. Recommended A Knight's Tale is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray SteelBook. Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray. Disclaimer: Sony 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.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
PATRICK MARMION reviews The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at Minerva Theatre, Chichester: A tearjerking musical trek...go armed with Kleenex
Easy mistake to make. You pop out to post a letter in south Devon and wind up walking all the way to Berwick-upon-Tweed by the Scottish border. That of course is the set-up of Rachel Joyce's highly emotional 2012 best-seller which has now become a musical about Harold Fry and his unlikely pilgrimage to make up with an old friend dying in a hospice 500 miles away. Starring big huggable Mark Addy as the teetotal brewing rep who's devastatingly bereft, it takes time to, shall we say, 'find its feet' and spends a heart-warming first half massaging its plausibility. But it does so with buckets of good cheer, sending Harold off with a big gospel number in a petrol station, before attracting an evangelical mob after his journey goes viral on Instagram. He even gets a shaggy dog puppet to go with his seeming shaggy dog story. But the second half fairly knocked me out with a series of emotional roadside bombs. Nor will knowing they're coming protect you from their impact. Go armed with Kleenex. With a rich seam of folk running through music and lyrics by Passenger (aka indie singer-songwriter Michael David Rosenberg), our hearts are stirred with barn dancing when Harold meets his wife (Jenna Russell) as a young man, but they're also broken as we learn the truth about their son (Jack Wolfe). And it avoids mawkishness with robust wit, including a Slovakian doctor cursing her ex-husband: 'I'd no idea he was a father, when we left from Bratislava'. Katy Rudd's production is prone to youth theatre excesses and outré flower-power choreography. But wearing its heart on its sleeve and keeping faith with Harold's bizarre mission is very much the point. Russell as Harold's wife gets to censure him but also croon about her own bottled agonies with touching remorse. And where Addy's Harold looks like a leathery old rugby ball that's been kicked around a little too much, he too grows in stature as a character – step by step, song by song. Shucked, by contrast, is a musical with little more than smutty jokes at its core, where it really needs a proper, pumping cardiovascular system. A camp hit on Broadway, the remorselessly silly story about failure of the corn crop in Hicksville USA is non-stop gags. 'A grave mistake is burying grandma on a slope' is one of the best. 'A paper plane that doesn't fly is just stationery' is another. But writer Robert Horn is more interested in Carry On film sniggers. The stand-out moment in Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally's music and lyrics is Somebody Will, gloriously sung by Ben Joyce as jilted farmer Beau. It's a rare moment fusing humour and pathos with originality and verve. And as his inevitably named errant girlfriend Maizy, Sophie McShera is a pleasing cross between Ariana Grande and Dolly Parton, who falls for a devious 'corn doctor' podiatrist (Matthew Seadon-Young) who, in turn, owes money to the mob. American director Jack O'Brien's production runs like a lusty threshing machine in a tilting barn, fringed by drooping maize stalks. And Sarah O'Gleby's choreography, from the corn-tapping opener to the We Love Jesus hoedown, is inventive and energetic. The trouble is it's empty spectacle cheapened by a slew of facetious gags. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry runs until June 14.
Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry — a pitch-perfect musical version
★★★★★In 2012 Rachel Joyce achieved unexpected literary success with her miraculously ordinary, defiantly down-to-earth novel about a man who goes out to post a letter and ends up walking the length of England. This humane, wryly funny musical is the latest art form to celebrate the fictional Harold Fry — a retired man who measures out his life in lawnmowing sessions until a message from a dying former colleague inspires an odyssey from Devon to Berwick. Mark Addy plays Harold just two years after a film of the book, starring Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton, opened to mixed reviews. Why risk a musical then, sceptics might ask. Yet this assured, pitch-perfect production — with a ravishing indie-folk score by Passenger — quickly dispels any
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry review – life-affirming musical reckons with death
There is nothing like impending death to concentrate the mind on life. Certainly not for Harold Fry, the Bunyanesque modern-day everyman who goes out to post a letter to his terminally ill, long-lost friend and ends up hiking 500 miles to say goodbye to her in person. Harold (Mark Addy), middle-aged and mournful, leaves his Devon home and his distant, disenchanted wife, Maureen (Jenna Russell), to go to the post office. But he is inspired by a petrol station attendant (Sharon Rose, twinkling as Garage Girl) to begin his secular pilgrimage to the Berwick-upon-Tweed hospice where Queenie (Amy Booth-Steel) lies dying. The development of this musical follows a familiar trajectory: it is an adaptation of a best-selling novel (by Rachel Joyce), which has already been turned into a film starring national treasures (Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton). If sentiment laced the story in its original form, then schmaltz led the latter incarnation. The same syrupy, unabashed sentimentality roves through this show, adapted by Joyce herself. But its winning twist lies in the music, composed by singer-songwriter Michael Rosenberg, otherwise known as Passenger, which blasts the story through with folksy heart and foot-stomping soul. One belter follows another from the first song, Rise Up, to the last, Here's One for the Road. The tunes are twinned with vibrant choreography by Tom Jackson Greaves and director Katy Rudd's imaginative staging fuels the show's idiosyncratic spirit. It is performed within a luminous circle on Samuel Wyer's playfully lo-fi set, an abstract back-screen reflecting the changing landscape, with actors standing in for trees, sheep and washing lines. Some scenes break out into fantasy, garish and whirling at times, witty at others. Together, it has the makings of a quirky West End transfer, in the mould of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Jack Wolfe is compelling, first as the Balladeer and then as Harold and Maureen's dead son. He has an uncanny resemblance to Earl Cave (his counterpart in the film) and is an almost ubiquitous presence, first benign, then agitating and angry. Russell is slowly, icily magnificent as a woman estranged from herself, while Addy's Harold, stolid and unremarkable, comes alive slowly, as if thawing back into feeling all of life's pain and joy that he has thus far held at bay. Harold's unlikely Instagram stardom attracts a band of pilgrims/outcasts and they bring broadness and warmth albeit earnestness too. In fact, the stray dog – an exquisite puppet – outshines them all. The book's discussions around faith are muted and emotions come in primary colours, while the script abounds with wholesome mottoes for life. Yet still it does not pull its punches around the messiness of grief and the anger around loss. It pulls you irrepressibly in with its rousing message that life is not for regret but for kindness, gratitude – and most of all for living. At Minerva theatre, Chichester, until 14 June
