Arrival Steelbook Movie Blu-ray

Dr. Louise Banks: If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?Ian Donnelly: Maybe I'd say what I felt more often. I-I don't know.This Steelbook is sheer beauty. Like the movie. One of the best human sci fi movies ever made.Highest possible recommendation.

I saw this quite superb latest (2016) film by director Denis Villeneuve, made hot on the heels of the equally powerful 'Sicario', on release in the cinema and was utterly captivated by the emotionally-charged drama intertwined with a Sci-Fi 'mystery'; I soon after got the Blu-ray steelbook and (after a decent gap, to allow for things to be more surprising) have watched it again.On Blu-ray the film looks and sounds just as good as it did in the cinema, with a sumptuous picture and wonderful musical soundtrack which flirts between pieces either acoustic or (strange) 'electronic' in nature. It won the 'Oscar'/BAFTA for 'Best Sound Editing'/'Best Sound'....Ultimately, for me, the overwhelming factor with this film is that of deep emotion - this explains why I was stuck in my cinema seat for the entirety of the end-credits, not just because of the enthralling drama and 'mauling' that my emotions had been subjected to, but also to allow time for my eyes to dry after significant 'blubbing'....This 2nd viewing didn't provoke quite the same amount of waterworks activity with me, but the lump in my throat was just as large as the first time.The official film synopsis, repeated on the Amazon product webpage but with some curious small amendments, certainly explains the overall premise BUT, without wanting to spoil things for first-time viewers, is massively short on the specifics and certainly omits FAR more significant plot aspects; any promotional imagery for the film also fails to cover those additional aspects, perhaps because they are rather difficult to explain/portray.BUT, there is little doubt about what IS the main 'theme' to the plot since it is quite clearly introduced to us in the very first scenes of the film.....so to mention them is hardly a true 'spoiler'.We see 'scenes' involving the Amy Adams character, with a female child, and also get a voiceover from her; these outline some very specific moments, but also mention some of the more involved themes which will unfold in the film.Her opening phrases, such as 'Memory is a strange thing' and 'But now I'm not so sure I believe in beginnings and endings' help to support the imagery and hint at things, but another element which might help understanding (or perhaps confuse !) are the strange circular 'graphics' that are often seen in promotional pictures for the film, and indeed feature as the only graphic on the steelbook front.As suggested by those opening comments by the Amy Adams character, 'Time' is a HUGE element to the film plot and the circular 'graphic' also adds to that, by virtue of proposing how there might not be a definitive start and end to something, or that one could proceed to understand something from any given point.....So, yes we do have a sci-fi film with alien spacecraft but that is the structure which supports themes of relationships, 'vision', time, memory, language and (most of all) LOVE.As the film progresses in the first minutes there is also huge scope for misunderstanding and incorrect 'jumping to conclusions', but irrespective of other reviews I've read which help to promote those 'errors' (by incorrectly referencing occurrences, so either confusing or mis-directing a first-time viewer), if you are able to follow the captivating (often complicated) drama as well as to properly appreciate/immerse yourself in EVERYTHING that happens then things get clearer much quicker. Unfortunately, I did that too well and 'rumbled' certain aspects a little sooner than I think is intended but (crucially) it didn't overly affect the utterly overwhelming 'finale'.I was keen to watch the film again so soon after the first time as there is a 'paradox' (or what we classically think of as one, anyway !) which I had also failed to fully understand the details of, this 2nd viewing allowed me to see that whilst a paradox does remain, the detail is not only portrayed quite clearly (ie I had missed it before) but within the confines of the film plot and themes there is no paradox.POTENTIAL SPOILER - If you want to know what that was, here is the question (intentionally vaguely-worded) that remained with me beforehand but was ultimately answered : 'How did she know the phone number' ?Finally, if you have seen the equally impressive Christopher Nolan film 'Interstellar' there are some distinct similarities with what I consider to be the crucial themes I've mentioned (but the book that this film was based on pre-dates that film), plus both are equal in how the emotional strings are 'pulled'; so, think 'Interstellar' plus 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and you get a fuller idea about 'Arrival'.No more about the film content !Regarding the production aspects of the film, it obviously relies a lot on CGI but the small number of sets (the main one being an expansive outside conurbation) and effective special-effects are of such a quality that everything is totally convincing; the relatively small film budget of $47million never really shows itself as being a negative and puts a lot of bigger-budget films to shame...As well as proficient editing, the other production factor HUGELY significant to the presentation is the musical soundtrack, which not only supports but usually massively amplifies whatever we see/hear. The original score is by Jóhann Jóhannsson (who also did the similar type of 'music' for that earlier Villeneuve film, 'Sicario') BUT the film also relies on an acoustic piece by Max Richter ('On the Nature of Daylight') for crucial moments, which was the justification for the film not getting 'Best Original Score' award nominations.The final factor which makes this film so successful for me is of course the acting contributions, with all being accomplished but Amy Adams excels in every respect.On Blu-ray the film looks and sounds gorgeous but boy is it dark ! That's not a fault, it's just that almost all scenes occur inside poorly-lit structures or in periods of outside darkness - watch this film in daylight, or a well-lit room and you'll miss so much ! Everything is flawless, sharp with terrific contrast nonetheless.For this film, the important soundtrack comes in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 guise - which is very good, but considering 'Sicario' got the (IMHO) superior Dolby Atmos format it's a tad annoying we don't benefit from that here.....Extras comprise several 'theme' featurettes running over 1hr, yet to be perused.My only small gripes with the production/presentation aspects of the films are that I think that the opening preparation/action scenes are a little too quick to deal with 'formalities' (eg alien interaction occurred way too soon after getting to the location, with little preparation or opportunity for location/equipment familiarity AND just minutes after side-effect laden inoculations) and that dialogue can often be difficult to properly hear (with the Blu-ray I accessed the subtitles a few times, for all 3 main characters so its not necessarily a diction issue...) to ensure I'd heard it right.So, this film continues to remain in my mind - helped by a top-up after watching it on this impressive Blu-ray (and steelbook). It has a fantastic blend of sci-fi and associated 'technicalities', drama, excitement but above all emotion - in very much the same fashion, and just as powerfully as 'Interstellar'. I will watch it again quite soon, but after a suitable 'recovery' period.