Wildlife Blu-ray - Jake Gyllenhaal

We have started a Patreon page with the hopes that some of our followers would be willing to donate a small amount to keep DVDBeaver alive. We are a tiny niche, so your generosity is vital to our existence.

We are talking about a minimum of $0.10 - $0.15 a day, perhaps a quarter (or more) to those who won't miss it from their budget. It equates to buying DVDBeaver a coffee once, twice or a few times a month. You can then participate in our monthly Silent auctions, and have exclusive access to many 'bonus' High Resolution screen captures (in lossless PNG Format) - both 4K UHD and Blu-ray (see HERE).

To those that are unfamiliar, Patreon is a secure/verified third-party service where users can agree to a monthly donation via credit card or PayPal by clicking the button below.

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Paul Dano
USA 2018

The directorial debut of actor Paul Dano reveals a filmmaking talent of remarkable intelligence and restraint. Adapted by Dano and Zoe Kazan from the novel by Richard Ford, this meticulously crafted portrait of the American nuclear family in crisis charts the rift that forms within a 1960s Montana household when the father and breadwinner (Jake Gyllenhaal) abruptly departs to fight the forest fires raging nearby, leaving his restless wife (Carey Mulligan, in a performance of fearless emotional honesty) and teenage son (Ed Oxenbould) to pick up the pieces. A deeply human look at a woman’s wayward journey toward self-fulfillment in the pre-women’s-liberation era and a sensitively observed, child’s-eye coming-of-age tale, Wildlife poignantly illuminates the complex ways in which families function, fall apart, and find their way.

***

14-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry a housewife and a golf pro in a small town in 1960s Montana. Nearby, an uncontrolled forest fire rages close to the Canadian border, and when Jerry loses his job (and his sense of purpose) he decides to join the cause of fighting the fire, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves.

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 20th, 2018 (Sundance Film Festival)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Already on Blu-ray in the UK from Icon Films:
Distribution	Criterion Spine #1031 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:45:03.130
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,562,441,557 bytes Feature: 32,098,455,552 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.29 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 3408 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3408 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,562,441,557 bytes Feature: 32,098,455,552 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.29 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • New interviews with director Paul Dano, screenwriter Zoe Kazan (24:54), actors Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, cinematographer Diego García (16:13), production designer Akin McKenzie, and costume designer Amanda Ford (44:52) • New conversation on the film’s postproduction with Dano, editor Matthew Hannam, and composer David Lang • Film at Lincoln Center conversation from 2018 between Dano and novelist Richard Ford about the film’s source material (26:36) • PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris Blu-ray Release Date: May 19th, 2020 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (April 2020): Criterion have transferred Paul Dano's Wildlife to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 2K digital master". It certainly has some teal-leaning (even in Gyllenhaal's eyes) and the image is intentionally 'cast' to represent the time period. So, it wasn't meant to be heavily contrasted with deep black levels. Pastels look prominent and the art direction, depicting 60's Montana, is impressive. The 1080P image is consistent and, predictably, clean.

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are a few sharp separations but not many as the film doesn't require it. Dialogue is clean and the only aggressive effects involve fire. There is a subtle score by David Lang (Requiem For a Dream), that supports the film well. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers four new supplements. In the 25-minute "From Script to Screen" produced by the Criterion Collection in 2020, screenwriter-director Paul Dano, screenwriter Zoe Kazan, and actors Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal discuss adapting Richard Ford's novel for the screen and their collaborative film-making process. Under the menu title "Paul Dano and Richard Ford" we have a conversation with screenwriter-director Paul Dano and novelist Richard Ford who discuss the book on which the film is based and each of their autobiographical ties to the story. The conversation, moderated by film critic Eric Hynes, was recorded at Lincoln Center in New York in 2018. "Post Production" is a conversation, recorded by the Criterion Collection in New York in 2019, features screenwriter-director Paul Dano, editor Matthew Hannam, and composer David Lang discussing the choices and changes they made to Wildlife in postproduction and "World of Wildlife" has screenwriter-director Paul Dano, cinematographer Diego Garcia, production designer Akin McKenzie, and costume designer Amanda Ford explain how the visual components of Wildlife inform its narrative.

I don't think I've seen a film with Jake Gyllenhaal that I haven't liked (End of Watch, Enemy, Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, Jarhead, Prisoners, Zodiac, Brokeback Mountain) and I also tend to enjoy Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine and Prisoners with Gyllenhaal) and Wildlife is his directorial debut. He's only 36 and this is a great start to his career behind the camera. What we have is restrained, intelligent filmmaking, rich evocative cinematography and outstanding performances by all but special mention to Carey Mulligan. Wildlife is a wonderfully realized film. I am very happy to have it on Criterion Blu-ray. Recommended!