It’s time for the Dunkirk blu-ray review, Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors bringing a sense of style lacking from many of the modern filmmakers. One film that I missed reviewing on blu-ray was Dunkirk, so it’s time to right that wrong.
- Dunkirk (2017)
- Genre: War / Action Drama
- UK Rating 12
- Discs 2
- Released By Warner Bros
- Blu-ray Released: 18 December 2017
Plot
Dunkirk is based on the true story of the unlikely yet successful evacuation of over 300,000 British troops from the beaches in France at a placed named Dunkirk against all odds during WWII. The Germans had the British and French troops trapped with only the sea at their backs. The Luftwaffe were then sent in to wipe them out but an unlikely set of heroes consisting of a flotilla of small ships and vessels set sail from England to rescue the troops and keep Britain and the world in the fight against the Germans.
The film is directed by Christopher Nolan with the cinematography side of things that’s taken care of by Hoyte van Hoytema. Nolan also wrote the film’s screenplay which sees him tell the story from three distinctly different perspectives, Land, Sea and Air. This works brilliantly and really gives a feeling of the whole story rather than just a few characters perspective. That said each perspective of courses focuses on a few individuals but when stitched together make the film more about the larger picture. Filmed largely on IMAX cameras that involved mounting them to planes and ships along with plenty of handheld action from director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, the film really does look and feel amazing.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is by Hans Zimmer and it works exceptionally well, it’s not a score that you will necessarily remember outside of the film but it builds the tension between several different visual stories using the ticking of a watch as the rhythm to the score. He somehow manages to use the same score to fit all of different stages and emotions of each scene/story.
Acting / Characters
Dunkirk has several well known faces but the film works more because most are not huge stars and therefore don’t get in the way of the story. I think this is a very clever way of going about conveying the story and emotion without following one big star through the journey.
That said Kenneth Branagh as Commander Bolton adds a strong presence whilst Mark Rylance as Mr Dawson adds the human / amateur story of the brave folks who braved the sea and the Luftwaffe to rescue the British troops stranded on the beach at Dunkirk.
Other familiar faces include Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Harry Style.
Cast
- Fionn Whitehead as Tommy
- Tom Glynn-Carney as Peter
- Jack Lowden as Collins
- Harry Styles as Alex
- Aneurin Barnard as Gibson
- James D’Arcy as Colonel Winnant
- Barry Keoghan as George
- Kenneth Branagh as Commander Bolton
- Cillian Murphy as Shivering Soldier
- Mark Rylance as Mr Dawson
- Tom Hardy as Farrier
Conclusion: Dunkirk (2017) Film Review
Christopher Nolan delivers a moving and brilliant vision of a true story close to everyone that is British. He manages not to bring the big Hollywood style to the story choosing rather to respect all that took part in this amazing evacuation.
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Conclusion: Dunkirk Blu-ray Review
The film released in 2017 and therefore looks perfect so I’ll move on to the special features. The special features come on their own disc and last over 100 mins. That said you really do get a pretty extensive look at just how the film was made and the challenges they faced. Like most Christopher Nolan films he insists on doing pretty much everything for real with minimal CGI. He also insists on using those unwieldy IMAX cameras which produce incredible detail but can be almost impossible to use in tight and tricky locations. All of this is explained be Christopher Nolan and director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema along with many of the cast and crew.
I would recommend watching these extras if you really want to know what it really takes to do a film like this for real as opposed to most other films that use CGI for everything.
Extras
- Creation (22 mins)
- Land (17 mins)
- Air (19 mins)
- Sea (37 mins)
- Conclusion (15 mins)
Dunkirk (2017) Blu-ray
Dunkirk (2017) blu-ray is available now from Amazon.
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Popcorn Cinema Rating: Dunkirk (2017)
MOVIE RATING: MUST SEE
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
Dunkirk (2017) Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip may not be representative of the blu-ray version
That’s Dunkirk blu-ray review, if you have any thoughts on this film you can leave a comment over on our Facebook page.
Summary: Dunkirk (2017) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Dunkirk (2017)
Duration: 107 mins
Director(s): Christopher Nolan
Actor(s): Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan
Genre: War, Action, Drama
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Picture Rating
- Extras
Summary
Christopher Nolan delivers yet another masterpiece that is both gripping and respectful.
