Jojo Rabbit (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Jojo Rabbit is one of those films that I unfortunately missed out on seeing last year in the theater.  However, if I would have, this one would have definitely found a home in my Top 10 Films of 2019 HERE.  Yes!  Believe the hype.  Jojo Rabbit is that good!  Is it a war film, a drama film or a comedy film?  That’s a good question, but for argument’s sake let’s call it all three.  Like last year’s Joker and this year’s Rated-R Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey I feel fortunate to live in a time when we can comfortably laugh at Adolf Hitler and his Nazi trope.  That’s not to say it’s no joking matter, but Jojo Rabbit gives us permission to poke fun at and laugh a long with the Nazi party all under a very flexible PG-13 rating.  Did I mention Walt Disney is distributing this film on Blu-ray and 4K UHD Disc?  I know!  Mind-blown!

Film

Jojo Rabbit is directed and written by Taika Waititi.  If that name sounds familiar and you like Marvel films, then it bloody well should.  The movie is based upon Christine Leunens’ book called Caging Skies.  The film also stars Taika as Adolf Hitler along with Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, Thomasin McKenzie and Sam Rockwell. What a fantastic cast!  The feature revolves around a young boy who is a Hitler Youth member and discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic.  To make the movie even crazier this Nazi prodigy boy has an imaginary friend who is none other than Adolf Hitler himself, albeit a very fanciful incarnation of.  What a fun and uneventful way of telling this story, huh?

Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Davis) was born to be a Nazi.  He wants nothing else in life, but to make his Führer, Adolf Hitler, proud.  However, Jojo is not your ideal soldier.  He’s small, timid, clumsy and when called upon to demonstrate how “monstrous” he is he fails miserably and earns himself a familiar nickname (no spoilers here).  Life gets even more complicated for young Jojo when he finds his loving mother (Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl (McKenzie) in their attic.  This obviously makes him question all his beliefs and creates quite a conundrum for him.  Does he turn her in?  Does he play along?  Does he fall in love?  Rest assured these questions and so much more are answered for you in Jojo Rabbit.

While I can see totally see politically correct people balking and objecting to the comedic portrayal of Nazis within I praise Jojo Rabbit for its story, World War II satire, performances, humor, heartfelt message, production values and ultimately its celebration of life (most notably freedom of course).  It should come as no surprise that since I liked it a lot Jojo Rabbit was chosen by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the ten best films of the year.  Jojo‘s screenplay even won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 92nd Academy Awards this year.

Here’s what really touches me though about Jojo Rabbit.  Yes there’s a lot of humor and poking fun at Adolf Hitler.  However, it’s the brilliant way Taika Waititi flips the story seamlessly where one minute you’re laughing and the next you’re crying is a surprise all in itself.  There are some heavy and gut wrenching moments to deal with here and you’re really not sure upon your first viewing where Waititi  may be taking it.  The dark places this one goes to both pains you and touches your heart.  If it doesn’t, then I question whether you have one.  You’ll have tears in your eyes by the film’s conclusion, but you’ll be laughing/smiling at the same time.  Does that make sense?  I would ordinarily say no it doesn’t, but that was before I saw Jojo Rabbit…black comedy at its best!

Video 

The below video score and related critique of things here are based solely upon my viewing of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Fox’s (or is it Disney’s?) Jojo Rabbit.

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• HDR: Yes
• Dolby Vision: No
• Clarity/Detail: Jojo Rabbit arrives on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc courtesy of an upscaled 2K DI.  However, I have to tell you there’s no way you’ll not mistake this for the real deal.  I read several reviews of this one already and you know I just have to stand by my perfect 5-doggie score.  I really loved the way this one looks.  The fine details in this 4K UHD presentation are incredible to behold.  I was blown away by how authentic the textures were in this one.  Sure you have pores, hair and whatnot in human close-ups, but I’m talking about textures such as uniform material, wallpaper, carpeting, leather in shoes, wood grain, stonework and so much more.   Also, did I tell you how much I love the fact that this one fills the entire screen landscape with it’s 1.85:1.  I’m not going to get into that widescreen debate, but when something looks as great as this one does I do appreciate the fuller image.
• Depth: There are so many great examples of how depth of field recreates a realistic three-dimensional environment throughout here complete with 3-d pop too.  Building halls, killing fields, tight constraints in the attic, city streets and more all create a sense of immersion that seems to put the onscreen characters in the middle of it all…visually speaking.
• Black Levels: Black levels are consistently deep and inky throughout.  HDR prevents the nighttime and dark sequences from losing the characters in the shadows.  I loved the contrast in the dark when they were burning books (obviously I don’t love the fact that they were burning books).  Also the dark constraints of the attic look rather swell utilizing the HDR here.
• Color Reproduction: The colors are all natural, but warm and organic, bright and bold throughout.  Obviously the Nazi reds, and this should come as no surprise, pop here.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all look natural, beautiful and radiant (that is if you’re ScarJo) and authentic throughout this 4K presentation here.
• Noise/Artifacts: In my viewing there was a very light veneer of digital induced grain, but nothing distracting whatsoever or anything I would ding this for.   If you twist my arm, I guess I could go down to a 4.5.  But why?!

Audio 

Like I mentioned up above in the video section, the below audio score and critical comments of such are based solely upon my viewing of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Jojo Rabbit.  

• Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French
• Dynamics: Alright so there’s really not a lot to work with here.  This is a pretty straightforward movie with an average surround field.  It does have some punch to it all thanks to the score, some explosions and other wide moments.  However, it is front heavy focused with the exception of said war scenes near the end.  In summary though it’s a very pleasing track, just not a very rambunctious one.
• Height: The height channels are not applicable in this review.
• Low Frequency Extension: The LFE channel handles itself incredibly well with the war sequences such as when tanks appear onscreen, gun shots, explosions, missiles and more.
• Surround Sound Presentation: Like stated up in the LFE section the rear channels come alive in war moment and puts you in the middle of all the action.  You’re immersed in the darker moments and destructions of war.  There are also atmospherics, moments in the attic and more that bleed into the rear channels.  However, my favorite moment has to be the German version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles song playing in the film’s beginning.  It’s literally all around you and sounds amazing.
• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialog levels are all clear and intelligible throughout.  I never missed any spoken word.

Extras 

What can I tell you about the extras here in this Jojo Rabbit 4K package?  Well for starters the 4K UHD disc features an Audio Commentary by Taika Waititi.  There’s that, but that’s it.  The rest of the items as listed below can all be found on the 1080p Blu-ray Disc, which includes the audio commentary too.  In addition you’ll also have a redeemable code you can share across platforms using the streaming service Movies Anywhere.

• Deleted Scenes (HD, 8:57)
• Outtakes (HD,  3:26)
• Inside Jojo Rabbit (HD, 29:46) – The cast and Taika all chime in about the film’s powerful story and character.  It’s also showcased in a unique artful kind of way.  It was interesting to learn how Taika came up with this idea.  His mother actually told him about the book, but his tone is much more comedic in this book.  I also love hearing the interpretations in regards to the themes here, inspirations drawn and so much more.  Hah!  Scarlett calls Roman a little peanut.  They also recap the talent in this movie and Taika introduces them in a very playful and comedic way.  The audition footage of 10-year old Roman was also very entertaining to see the intensity he brought.  The kid really lucked out being around all these great actors.
• Audio Commentary by Taika Waititi – You already know this one is a MUST listen to!
• Theatrical Trailers
  • Teaser Trailer (HD, 00:59)
  • Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:19)

Summary 

There you go my faithful readers.  Jojo Rabbit touched my soul and I wasn’t expecting that.  I could easily see this one as my #5 film of last year had I seen it theatrically.  This makes this 4K title a MUST-BUY and a MUST-RECOMMEND to all my readers out there.  Yes it may be an upscaled 4K Presentation, but trust me you’d never know the difference if I didn’t tell you.  It looks like a million bucks and best of all you get an audio commentary from one of today’s brightest minds in filmmaking, Taika Waititi.  You can’t argue my logic there.  This one teaches us something about humanity.  What’s a better purchase than this one?  I know!  Enjoy this one as I will over and over!

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DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified Ultra HD Premium television set found here and player here.  Make sure to check out all our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived here.  The images used above within the review are not actual 4K screenshots.  They are for illustrative purposes only.  

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Jojo Rabbit

Talks w/ Adolf Hitler

on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

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