News of the World

From a ship captain held hostage by pirates on the open ocean in Captain Phillips to a newsreader in the 1870s who helps a young orphan girl find a new family in the wild west with News Of The World, Tom Hanks and filmmaker Paul Greengrass have teamed up again for an equally fun and emotional outing that highlights even more nuances in Hanks' acting armoire while introducing the new German actress Helena Zengel to the spotlight. News Of The World is an entertaining western film both with violent grit, heart, and some funny moments that never feels overly played or cheesy, making it one of the better films of Greengrass and Hank's later career.

Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Paulette Jiles and adapted to the screen by Greengrass himself, the News Of The World focuses on an older man and Civil War veteran named Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who travels from town to town, reading different newspapers to the townsfolk for a few coins, which is similar to the Coen Bros.' "Meal Ticket" segment in The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs that had Liam Neeson carting around a man with no arms and legs do the same thing in the old west until a chicken showed up. On his journey, he comes across a dilapidated covered wagon and a few dead bodies where a young girl named Johanna has managed to survive a vicious attack.

Read the Full Theatrical Review Here...

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray

News Of The World reads its way to Universal Home Video with exquisite technical specs. This set includes the Blu-ray Disc, a DVD copy, and the Digital Code. Both discs are housed in a hard, blue, plastic case with a cardboard sleeve featuring the artwork of the two main leads, including Hanks looking off into the frontier, which is the same as the 4K release. There is an insert for a digital code as well.  

News Of The World delivers an almost equally impressive video presentation in 1080p HD as it does in 4K. The color palette is still fantastic with all of the oranges, browns, and yellows of the wild west desert popping brightly and vividly. This rustic landscape mixes perfectly with the green grass, cactus, and shrubs that are littered throughout the sandy desert. The natural blue sky above is a welcome addition to this earthy setting and the brown and black outfits look incredible in most lighting situations. This is still a true marvel to look at.

The detail always shows its sharpness with excellent closeups that reveal specks of dirt, blood, and sweat droplets on the actor's faces, wrinkles, age lines, and individual hairs nicely. Wide shots never go soft either, always showcasing that natural and amazing detail in the background that gives the film some phenomenal visual depth. Black levels are mostly deep and inky and the skin tones are natural. The only issue that was encountered was some video noise, particularly during the nighttime sequences where candlelight seemed to dominate the light source. Other than that, this is a top-notch video presentation. 

This release comes with a fantastic Dolby Atmos track that lights up the soundstage every chance it gets. The sound is full, lively, and wildly atmospheric in this old-time western setting.

Sound effects are rich and boisterous on all levels here, creating a fantastic immersion in each setting. When outside in the middle of the wild west, the smallest nuanced sounds of shrubs rustling in light wind, insects singing and flying around, outdoor fire crackling, and footsteps on the many textures underneath all sound flawless. Even when these sound elements happen, there is a clear and smooth transition from one speaker to the next that places the viewer in the center of the action. Bigger sound effects, such as thunderclaps and the shootout are both loud and provide a remarkable low end of bass that has a wonderful rumble to it without getting rocky and overly chaotic.

The height speakers give way to birds flying overhead, a gun blast or two, and the intense rains that or down for a lot of the film. In these rainy sequences, the squeaks of the carriages and footsteps in the water are well-balanced and robust, providing different audio elements in sub-optimal weather conditions. The music score by James Newton Howard is one of the best scores in years and always adds that necessary dramatic element to key scenes, which flows smoothly through the speakers. Dialogue is always clean and clear and free of any audio problems. 

There are about 42 minutes of bonus material here, including interviews, behind the scenes, deletes scenes, and a commentary by the writer-director. 

• Audio Commentary - Filmmaker Paul Greengrass discusses making the film, while exploring and talking about the tone, themes, working with the veteran and new actors, shooting on location, and more. Greengrass is a bit dry and non-energetic, but he does give some excellent information on the production. 
• Paul Greengrass Makes News Of The World (HD, 11 Mins.) - This little feature covers Greengrass's direction of the film, how he shot it, along with the historical elements of the story. 
• Western Action (HD, 8 Mins.) - Here, Hanks' performance is discussed, along with the bigger stunts of the film, including riding horseback, gunplay, and the big sandstorm are looked at.
• Partners: Tom Hanks And Helena Zengel (HD, 7 Mins.) - This extra explores the bond between the two main characters and what it was like for these two actors to work together on screen. 
• The Kiowa (HD, 4 Mins.) - This all-too-brief bonus feature covers the real Native American tribe that appears in the film. 
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 12 Mins.) - A few fully produced and edited deleted scenes make their way here, none of which add a big impact to the theatrical cut, but are nonetheless worth the view.

News Of The World is a wonderful little film and a fantastic addition to the western genre and might be perhaps Tom Hanks' best role in years. It's light-hearted, while at the same time extremely thrilling and poignant about people evolving and journalism. The 1080p HD video presentation and the Dolby Atmos audio track are simply amazing without being a big-budget action vehicle, and the bonus features, while short, are informative. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!