Victoria & Abdul appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie offered a fine transfer.
Overall definition seemed positive. Virtually no softness materialized, sof the movie appeared accurate and concise.
I noticed no signs of jaggies or edge enhancement, and shimmering was absent. The film lacked print flaws and seemed clean.
Many period pieces opt for subdued palettes, and that was true here. The colors tended toward teal tones, with some amber along for the ride as well. These appeared fine within the film’s stylistic choices.
Blacks seemed dark and tight, and shadows demonstrated good clarity. This added up to a satisfying presentation.
A character drama wouldn’t seem to be a candidate for a whiz-bang soundtrack, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of Abdul fell into expected realms. A few scenes – mainly related to foul weather. – used the various channels well. Usually the track remained oriented toward ambience, though, so don’t expect lots of sizzle from the mix.
Audio quality satisfied. Although didn’t get much score, the music was full and rich, while effects showed nice clarity and accuracy.
Speech – obviously an important factor here – appeared concise and crisp. Nothing here soared, but it all seemed perfectly adequate for the project.
We find two featurettes here. Judi and Ali goes for four minutes, 55 seconds and offers comments from director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Lee Hall, and actors Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard, and Olivia Williams.
“Ali” looks at characters, cast and performances. It becomes a fairly perfunctory overview, with a bent toward the promotional side of the street.
With The Look of Victoria & Abdul, we get a six-minute, 46-second piece with Frears, Dench, Fazal, Hall, producers Tracey Seaward and Beeban Kidron, supervising location manager Adam Richards, chargehand standby prop Campbell Mitchell, and costume designer Consulata Boyle.
“Look” discusses sets and locations, costumes and period details. This one offers more depth than “Abdul”, but its length restricts its impact.
The disc opens with an ad for Darkest Hour. Previews adds clips for The Danish Girl, Suffragette, A Monster Calls, Hyde Park on Hudson, The Zookeeper’s Wife and The Theory of Everything. No trailer for Abdul appears here.
A second disc provides a DVD copy of Abdul. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.
A tepid drama about an improbable friendship, Victoria & Abdul suffers from too many clichés. These make it a lackluster journey. The Blu-ray brings us excellent visuals along with adequate audio and minor supplements. Despite a strong story at its core, the film never breaks free and prospers.
