The Phoenician Scheme [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Wes Anderson

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera

Release Date: July 29, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda is ruthless, unscrupulous, and one of the richest men in Europe. During the final stages of a vast, decades-long, career-defining business project, Korda survives a sixth assassination attempt and must appoint a successor: his long-estranged daughter Liesl—a nun. With personal tutor Bjorn in tow, the trio set off on a globetrotting adventure to achieve Korda’s epic mission.

‘The Phoenician Scheme’ joins rich, determined and ruthless businessman Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda, a wealthy yet often despised man who after miraculously surviving yet another assassination attempt against him (the sixth) decides it’s time to solidify an heir just in case. Enlisting his estranged daughter, a nun named Liesl to serve as his successor, the pair along with a new personal tutor named Bjorn head out to try and finalize the plans for his most ambitious project, a massive scheme that will require some help, financing and a great deal of care, but whether the relationship between father and daughter will survive the ordeal may be an entirely different matter.

Directed by notable filmmaker Wes Anderson (Asteroid City, The Royal Tenenbaums) from a screenplay written by Anderson and a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola; Anderson does a marvelous job at the helm of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ guiding along the fun tale with his usual unique style and tone throughout. The film’s star-studded cast includes Benicio Del Toro (The French Dispatch), Mia Threapleton (TV’s The Buccaneers), Michael Cera (Sacramento), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Tom Hanks (Here), Bryan Cranston (TV’s The Studio), Mathieu Amalric (A Brighter Tomorrow), Richard Ayoade (Paddington 2), Jeffrey Wright (The Batman), Scarlett Johansson (Jurassic World: Rebirth), Benedict Cumberbatch (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Rupert Friend (Companion) and Hope Davis (TV’s Succession), with nearly all offering memorable or at least solid performances in their respect roles.

‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a splendidly silly, colorful and consistently funny look at a ruthless business man and the course of events that occur amid trying to pull off the biggest scheme of his life while also trying to build a relationship with his estranged daughter who he intends to turn away from her planned life as a nun in favor of becoming his successor. The film largely feels like a stage play throughout, a unique approach that Wes Anderson has always excelled at and it just adds a certain style and complement that allows his films to feel so unique, particularly in today’s world. The dry and over the top humor always keeps things interesting and this is certainly no exception here with plenty of goofy gags and comments that are difficult not to laugh at, such as the polite interactions and responses every time a free hand grenade is offered during meetings simply because he had extras. It also has a bit of heart at times and the humor, heart, as well as zany violence and assassination attempts all perfectly balance together into a wildly enjoyable and clever ride.

I’ve always been a big fan of Wes Anderson’s unique style and approach and can still vividly recall my first introduction to his films when catching ‘Rushmore’ during its theatrical debut as a teenager and I’ve certainly always found plenty to love about his films. While I even enjoyed ‘Asteroid City’ more than many, there’s no question that ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is superior, yet notably different as well. Populated with a truly impressive and star-studded cast led by the immensely talented Benicio Del Toro and embracing the almost dry silliness he manages to capture so marvelously, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a hilarious, ridiculous and meticulously crafted tale that keeps the fun and humor coming at every turn, right up until the appropriately fitting conclusion.

Overall, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is another wonderfully strange, gorgeous and hilarious outing from filmmaker Wes Anderson that benefits all the more from a clever and intriguing story as well as an impressive, star-studded cast. ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is highly recommended for any fans of Wes Anderson’s unique filmmaking style who should find a great deal to love about this latest offbeat offering. Any fans of the spectacular cast and those intrigued by the trailers or promos are also encouraged to give it a shot, especially if you’re a fan of curious, dry humor and a unique approach that often has the tale feeling more like a stage production than a film. It should be well worth the price of a rental for those would like to give it a chance and it’s also available to stream on Peacock for subscribers as of the time of this writing.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 1.47:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole and offers a nicely detailed presentation that’s clean and sharp from start to finish and never suffers from any unexpected troubles to be found along the way. Detail is tremendous on character specifics along with interior and exterior settings and just about everything else appearing onscreen, while the Dolby Vision HDR nicely enhances many of the already rich and vibrant colors throughout and black levels are deep, clean and absent of any problems. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that looks sharp and gorgeous throughout and should easily excite first time viewers and fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack delivers a clean, crisp and at times immersive audio presentation throughout that complements the zany onscreen fun. It takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, crowd chatter and nature effects along with more throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate; with much of the film largely contained yet featuring bursts of aggression such as the whipping of the wind and interior items when the plane is breached. It always makes certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously with others never causes any clashes or issues. Overall, this is a very nice Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that does its job well throughout and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ features a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing the film to life and featuring interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The ‘Behind The Phoenician Scheme’ Featurettes include ‘The Cast’ (running approximately 7 minutes in length), ‘The Airplane’ (running approximately 1 minute), ‘Marseille Bob’s’ (approximately 2 minutes) and ‘Zsa-Zsa’s World’ (4 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and 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 the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD July 29, 2025 & is Now Available on Digital from Focus Features & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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