Bohemian Rhapsody [Blu-Ray]

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee

Release Date: February 12, 2019

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

Bohemian Rhapsody is an enthralling celebration of Queen, their music, and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury (Malek), who defied stereotypes and convention to become one of history’s most beloved entertainers. Following Queen’s meteoric rise, their revolutionary sound and Freddie’s solo career, the film also chronicles the band’s reunion, and one of the greatest performances in rock history.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ tells the powerful story of the iconic band Queen and their unique front man Freddie Mercury (Malek) chronicling his joining of the band following the loss of their lead singer (while still going by another name) then diving deep into their success and up until their unforgettable performance at Live-Aid in 1985. Exploring the various ups and downs in between and those crucial moments that defined them both as a band and as individuals. You probably know their music, yet you may not know the whole story of the people behind it.

Directed (at least primarily) by Bryan Singer (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Superman Returns) from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything) which was based upon a story by McCarten and Peter Morgan, Singer does a great job with the majority of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ that he helmed prior to his firing, guiding along the story with constant style, although I won’t get into the behind the scenes mess here (you can easily look it up if you aren’t already familiar). The film features a well selected cast that includes Rami Malek (TV’s Mr. Robot), Lucy Boynton (Sing Street), Gwilym Lee (TV’s Midsummer Murders), Ben Hardy (X-Men: Apocalypse), Joe Mazzello (TV’s The Pacific), Aidan Gillen (TV’s Game of Thrones), Tom Hollander (A Private War), Mike Myers (the ‘Austin Powers’ franchise) and more, with the majority offering highly capable performances in each of their respective roles and significantly helping it work as well as it does. Nonetheless Rami Malek tends to constantly steal the show with his downright remarkable portrayal of Freddie Mercury which is a true wonder to behold in itself.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a powerful, gorgeous and moving film exploring the infamous band Queen that rarely falters throughout its course, courtesy in big part to its fast pace, slick style and perfectly placed soundtrack selections. Each of which is only tremendously complimented by the amazing performance by Rami Malek who captures Freddie Mercury better than we could have possibly imagined and really seals the deal, making this one something truly special that isn’t likely to be soon forgotten. It does take some liberties with the actual timeline by choosing to integrate moments and events that in reality occurred years after Live-Aid and place them prior to the concert, in addition to altering how some actually occurred, although much of this can be forgiven due to the careful manner in which its handled and the importance some of the events have in the larger scope of the band’s history. I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone who’s a fan of Queen’s music, actor Rami Malek or simply just intrigued by the film to make a definite point of checking this one out at the earliest opportunity. It’s a magnificent film that’s gorgeous, sleek and quite moving, with a performance by the talented Rami Malek that is certain to amaze. This is one pretty outstanding film that you probably won’t want to even consider missing out on.

Overall, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is an enjoyable, emotionally powerful and altogether well done exploration of the popular band Queen and their unforgettable lead singer who in particular is done justice thanks to an absolutely amazing performance by the talented Rami Malek whose portrayal of the legendary Freddie Mercury is so impressive that even he alone will likely keep you glued to the screen for the film’s duration. I can’t possibly recommend ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ highly enough. It’s a marvelous film in almost every possible way that’s beautifully crafted and moving, and of course featuring a soundtrack that can’t possibly disappoint. It should easily prove well worth a couple hours of your time and the price of a rental at the absolute least, but don’t be too surprised if you also find yourself wanting to purchase a copy not long after.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks outstanding and delivers an immaculately detailed presentation from start to finish with rich vibrant colors and no noticeable faults or issues of any kind to be found within. It holds up perfectly even during the various darkly lit and/or heavily populated and fast moving sequences, never allowing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a phenomenal high definition video presentation that looks clean and great every step of the way and should easily thrill fans and first time viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack is equally impressive and provides a rich, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It constantly embraces all seven available channels in order to immerse viewers within the music, in addition to sending other various audio activity including crowd chatter, screaming fans, bits of dialogue and more throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, and never conflicting with any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a wonderful 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that never disappoints and makes a splendid compliment to the overall viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ includes some fantastic bonus content that fans of the film should truly appreciate. Included on the release is ‘The Complete Live-Aid Movie Performance’ not seen in theaters (running approximately 22 minutes in length), along with a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore bringing the film to life and featuring interviews/comments with members of the cast and crew (as well as members of Queen), plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are: ‘Rami Malek: Becoming Freddie’ (running approximately 16 minutes), ‘The Look and Sound of Queen’ (approximately 22 minutes) and ‘Recreating Live-Aid’ (20 minutes). Also included are ‘3 Theatrical Trailers’ for the movie; the ‘Teaser Trailer’ (approximately 90 seconds), ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 2 minutes) and the ‘Final Trailer’ (2 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally 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.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by clicking on the Amazon Cart Icon immediately below!