You can read our full thoughts on director Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born in our review of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray HERE.
Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Warner Home Video brings Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born to Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack with a flyer code for a Digital Copy. The Region Free, BD50 disc sits opposite a DVD-9 copy inside a blue, eco-cutout case with glossy slipcover. After a couple skippable promos, the screen changes to the usual menu with options along the bottom of the screen, full-motion clips and music playing in the background.
The musical romance takes center stage in dramatic fashion with the support of a spectacularly gorgeous 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode. Within the first few moments, the freshly-minted transfer shows razor-sharp detailing in the clothing, the intricate design of some of the instruments and various objects in the background of interiors. Each individual hair of Jack's matted hairdo and each whisker in his scruffy beard is distinct from the rest, and we can plainly make out every pore, wrinkle and negligible blemish in the lifelike complexions of the cast. There are a couple moments when overall definition and resolution dips slightly, mostly related to the stage performances with lots of bright lights, but the presentation nonetheless maintains excellent clarity.
During these same moments, contrast and brightness noticeably loses some of its luster compared to the rest of the photography where whites are brilliantly crisp and balanced. The concert scenes on stage, however, run hotter and more intensely due to the lighting, creating some mild blooming. This is turn affects black levels, which tend to look somewhat flat, murky and dark grey while crushing some of the finer shadow details. On the other hand, blacks are rich and accurate during better-lit sequences. The palette is also more consistent and stable, favoring warmer earth-tones and yellows in its orange-teal cinematography, displaying lots of vibrant ambers, oranges, cyans and various browns. Still, the 2.40:1 image boasts richly-saturated primaries throughout, especially the reds and blues washing over the stage concerts, making this presentation a beauty to behold. (HD Video Rating: 92/100)
The film debuts on Blu-ray with the same fantastic and wonderfully engrossing Dolby Atmos soundtrack as its Ultra HD counterpart. For a more in-depth take on the audio quality, you can read our review of the 4K Ultra HD HERE. (Dolby Atmos Audio Rating: 88/100)
Starring Lady Gaga in her first leading role, Bradley Cooper steps into the director's chair in A Star Is Born, a love story about one artist's sudden rise to superstardom while the other's spirals downward. Demonstrating the plot is a timeless tale that can be retold for every generation, this fourth remake charms audiences with excellent performances, catchy tunes and some highly talented filmmaking. The musical romance debuts on Blu-ray with a dazzlingly gorgeous HD video and a splendid Dolby Atmos presentation that beautifully complements the visuals. Although the selection of bonus features are on the lighter side of things, the overall package is nonetheless highly recommended for music fans everywhere looking to rock the house.
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