Moonrise Kingdom (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-Ray] 
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward,Bruce Willis
Release Date: Available On Criterion Collection Blu-Ray & DVD September 22, 2015
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 10/10
Disc Rating: 10/10
Plot Summary:
A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out to find them.
From acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson, comes his beautiful, unique and relatable 2012 film ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ about young love and the lengths some are willing to go to in order to preserve it. Taking place in a small town called New Penzance during the 1960’s, the film follows two young lovers who run away, one from home and the other from scouts, taking off together on the adventure of a lifetime, while everyone and everything else seemingly attempts to thwart them at every turn.
Expertly directed by Wes Anderson at the helm guiding a screenplay he co-wrote with Roman Coppola, this heartwarming tale of young love and rival classes is also greatly complimented by the incredibly talented individuals who comprise the cast including the young leads Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, in addition to Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton and a number more, all of whom are at the top of their game and deliver notable performances in each of their respective roles.
Fans of the wonderful film ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ as well as the incredibly talented Wes Anderson’s work in general will all want to make certain to pick up a copy of the Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release of ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ to add to their collection. This absolutely phenomenal release is easily one of my favorite BD releases of the year. Not only does it include a beautifully detailed and sturdy slip case with some beautiful artwork, it delivers impressive high definition video and audio presentations (both supervised and approved by Anderson himself) along with a stellar collection of extras including a new Audio Commentary track recorded in 2015 with Wes Anderson, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, plus a great deal more great bonus goodies (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) making this an absolute must own.
VIDEO:
The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray release of ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The following is a quote from inside the releases’ included booklet regarding the video transfer for those who would like some additional information:
Supervised by director Wes Anderson, this new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution from the original camera negative.
The video presentation (personally supervised by Wes Anderson) looks phenomenal, delivering a rich, detailed presentation with the warm, vivid colors always present in the film beautifully represented and on gorgeous display. Everything looks flawless from start to end, the darker and fast moving sequences always holding up without issue and with no noticeable faults small or large to be found within. Overall, this is an absolutely gorgeous high definition video presentation that will easily please the fans.
AUDIO:
The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray release includes a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. As with the video details above, the following is a quote from inside the releases’ included booklet regarding the audio transfer for those who would prefer some additional information:
The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original digital audio master files using Pro Tools HD.
This lossless multichannel soundtrack delivers in every way required of it and without any issues whatsoever throughout, delivering a consistently crisp, clean and discrete audio presentation. While the majority of the film doesn’t require a great deal of activity from the surround channels, all five available channels are utilized on occasion when fitting, such as fully immersing the viewer in the storm occurring in the conclusion and with the films wonderful score, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is a top notch 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers in every way necessary and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray release of ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ contains no shortage of wonderful extras that fans definitely won’t want to miss out on. Included on the release is a new Audio Commentary recorded in 2015 featuring Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Bill Murray, Edward Norton and Jason Schwartzman. Also included is ‘The Making of Moonrise Kingdom’ which is broken down into four separate sections that explore various aspects of bringing the film to life, these four segments are ‘Exploring the Set’ (running approximately 17 minutes in length), ‘Storyboard Animatics and Narrator Tests’ (approximately 9 minutes altogether), ‘Auditions’ (5 minutes) and ‘Miniatures’ (2 minutes). We are also treated to a number of fun videos, most from around the time of the films theatrical release including Behind the Scenes footage, fun bonus content with the cast and crew of ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ and more, they include ‘Welcome to New Penzance’ (4 minutes), ‘Set Tour with Bill Murray’ (3 minutes), ‘Benjamin Britten’s “Noye’s Fludde”’ (2 minutes), ‘Animated Books’ (4 minutes), ‘Cousin Ben’ (2 minutes), 11 iPhone videos by Edward Norton, including an introduction by Norton recorded for this release (approximately 21 minutes altogether) and the films Trailer. In addition to the content included on the disc, this absolutely gorgeous Criterion release also includes some notable physical extras, such as a beautifully crafted and solid slip case complete with some marvelous artwork, and included inside are the usual full color booklet, this time featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and more, in addition to a detailed map of New Penzance Island and a post-card sized group picture.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.
Film Rating: 10/10
Disc Rating: 10/10
‘Moonrise Kingdom’; Available to own on Blu-ray & DVD September 22, 2015 from The Criterion Collection
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