Biography Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Review: 'The Disaster Artist' Goes Beyond Laughs to Deliver an Underdog Story with Heart

April 3, 2018Ben MK



FEATURE: 
There are bad movies, and then there are movies that are so bad they're good. And if it wasn't for Tommy Wiseau, The Room would certainly be classified as the former.

As it stands, however, the writer/director/star's eccentricities are the reason why, almost a decade and a half since its initial release, The Room has endured as a cult classic. And now — thanks to director James Franco and an all-star comedic cast that includes Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Alison Brie and Ari Graynor — moviegoers finally have a chance to see how the film came together. Not to mention, how it almost fell apart.

Starring Franco as Wiseau, alongside his brother, Dave, as Wiseau's best friend and co-star, Greg Sestero, The Disaster Artist's look at The Room's behind-the-scenes bromance is expectedly hilarious. What's surprising, perhaps, is just how inspiring this unorthodox underdog story ends up being.

AUDIO & VISUALS: 
The Disaster Artist's Blu-ray technical presentation is anything but a disaster, thanks to a nicely detailed and well saturated 1080p transfer that does justice to the filmmakers' shot-perfect recreations of scenes from The Room, as well as all the behind-the-scenes drama and comedy that ensues. Similarly, the more than capable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix found on the disc handles the movie's dialogue-driven sound design with ease, offering up the odd bit of acoustic ambience in the form of background chatter at restaurants and bars and audience applause, not to mention the assortment of '80s and '90s songs on the soundtrack, such as Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's "Good Vibrations" and Faith No More's "Epic."

EXTRAS: 
Elevation Pictures' single-disc Blu-ray release includes an iTunes digital copy and the following Blu-ray extras:

  • Oh, Hi Mark: Making a Disaster (13:06) - A featurette that touches on the making of The Disaster Artist, from the inspiration for the film to the casting, as well as what makes The Room so endearing.
  • Directing a Disaster (7:06) - A look at James Franco's role as not only director, but also star.
  • Just a Guy Leaning on a Wall: Getting to Know Tommy (7:11) - The look at the real-life Tommy Wiseau, the mystery that surrounds him, and his relationship with Greg Sestero.
  • Audio Commentary - Director/Star James Franco, star Dave Franco and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber are joined by Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero to talk about how the movie compares to the real-life events, the inspirations for The Room, the relationship between Tommy and Greg, the performances from the rest of the cast, and more.

The Disaster Artist is available from Elevation Pictures as of March 13th, 2018. The Blu-ray features English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks and English SDH subtitles. The total runtime is 1 hr. 44 min.




* Reviewer's note: Portions of this Blu-ray review were adapted from my TIFF review of the film, published on September 4th, 2017.



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