Green Book (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Where do I even begin here? I categorically knew nothing at all about this movie going in. All I knew is Why So Blu reviewers Aaron Neuwirth and Gregg Senko liked it. Aaron who can usually peg what he calls “Brian Movies” declared several months ago that this indeed is one of those. Therefore, since I didn’t take him seriously about it last year I jumped at the opportunity when the Green Book 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray set arrived on my doorstep this past week. While the synopsis of the film really didn’t tickle my fancy I took this opportunity to do so more as a way to see how good Aaron really knows me. Let’s see if his streak with 2018 “Brian Movies” holds true here. What do you say Aaron…are you up to the challenge? So without further ado I’ll put aside all my petty, personal sentiments and remarks to digress back to the reason you’re all here…I present to you Green Book on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Film 

Green Book is billed as a biographical comedy drama, but also a road trip movie too. It’s directed by Peter Farrelly and written by him too with assistance from Brian Hayes Currie and Nick Vallelonga. The film is set in 1962 and is inspired by the true story of a tour of the Deep South by African-American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali). He is accompanied on this tour by Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), a bouncer who was Shirley’s driver and bodyguard. Doesn’t one of the writer’s last name look familiar? It should! I have a little factoid about the movie’s name I want to share with you too. It’s named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, which was a guidebook for African-American travelers to help them find motel rooms and restaurants that would be receptive of them.

Needless to say with a film score as such above it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Green Book was loved by the critics and as a result received some Awards. The film premiered last September at the Toronto International Film Festival took home the People’s Choice Award. It won the National Board of Review award for the Best Film of 2018 and was also chosen as one of the Top 10 Films of the Year by the American Film Institute. In addition it also won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It’s also up for five awards tonight including Best Picture, Best Actor (Mortensen) and Best Supporting Actor (Ali).

Alright so I guess you’re all probably dying to know whether or not Aaron Neuwirth was right about this movie. I’ll kill the suspense now. He was dead on. This is very much a “Brian Movie” and I would be proud to call it the Best Picture should things go in its favor tonight. So where do I begin? I guess for me it’s one of those films where I hang my head in sorrow about how my race mistreated another so badly. I wish I could erase that from history. It’s shameful. However, since this is a film it’s commendable the way it makes you feel. If you’re my skin color, you should be ashamed of your people. This movie like Spike Lee’s last year paints a perfect picture of the serious racial problems our proud country once faced and in some ways still faces. It’s also a great buddy road trip comedy/drama filled with many laughs, cries, friendship, music and jubilations. Green Book is very much a redemption movie to me, but we’ll cover that in the next paragraph.

Here’s the deal. Tony Vallelonga is straight up old school Italian. His family congregates as such. However, you can immediately tell there’s something different about his wife (Linda Cardellini). She doesn’t exhibit that stigma most white people did back in the days towards the opposite race we’re discussing here. Hell, I’m sorry folks. Even I don’t feel comfortable discussing all of this, but I’ll do my best. When things go awry for Tony’s employment he finds himself needing work. In addition to his thug-like abilities the man can eat. Boy can he ever, but I digress. This is the point in the story where Tony meets Dr. Shirley (Ali). Their initial meeting didn’t exactly go picture perfect, but ultimately Tony is hired on as a driver/bodyguard for Dr. Shirley’s two month tour deep down South. I betcha I don’t even need to describe all the shenanigans they get into down South, huh? I’m sure your mind can paint a vivid picture without me even typing another word.

What it all boils down to is one man’s pigheaded ignorance is allowed to follow a path of redemption. Dr. Shirley is not the easiest person to get along with, but there’s a reason why. He carries a secret that if exposed, could ruin his career and jeopardize his week being (beyond the hostility he is shown now solely because of the color of his skin). Nothing phases Tony though and he will not stop until he understands what makes Shirley tick and why he’s so different from others, albeit also protecting him at all costs. It’s actually quite heartwarming the way these two characters interact, expose their vulnerabilities to each other and ultimately grow beyond the taboos they felt trapped underneath. Therefore, I call that redemption and because of this story you never want to see end on the screen it’s a perfect score to me. There’s also some really cool music too. I had to say it!

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 Universal’s Green Book.

• Encoding: HEVC / H.265
• Resolution: 4K (2160p)
• Dolby Vision: No
• Size: BD-66
• Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1
• Clarity/Detail: The overall vibe of this presentation is very organic and earthy. Textures are what pop out the most here in the detail department. Examples of such include clothing such as sweaters and suits, concrete cracks in the street, bricks and more. Closeups on actors reveal wrinkles, acne scars, moles and more. There’s no short of detail, but its rather constrained than in your face like a crisp, digitally shot movie would look like.
• Depth: Because of the outstanding three-dimensional pop of the characters in some scenes I’m happy to report depth of field is vast and exceptional in this one. Whether you’re in a constrained environment such as the front and back seats of a car to night clubs, auditorium halls, hotel halls and more rich examples of depth of field are virtually everywhere you look. Long winding country roads littered trees as far as the eye can see on both sides of look outstanding too.
• Black Levels: The black levels are all natural and dark looking throughout. HDR lends a helping hand here with visibility in nighttime sequences and concert performances ensuring absolutely nothing gets lost in the darkness. In other words things look great in this department.
• Color Reproduction: The colors are soft sometimes, but fort he most part their rich and natural looking throughout. The gloss on the car Tony drives is the dream aqua sea foam dreams are made of.
• Flesh Tones: The skin tones all look natural and authentic throughout the presentation.
• Noise/Artifacts: Things look outstanding here with just a minimal layer of thin grain throughout. Other than that there’s nothing nasty to ruin your intake of the 4K presentation.

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 Universal’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Green Book.  I do want you to know that both the 4K UHD Disc and 1080p Blu-ray come armed with a Dolby Atmos surround track.

• Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English Audio Description Track, French (Quebec) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
• Dynamics: This is an odd title to have an Atmos track, but I’ll take it. Dynamics here are mostly used to recreate the locations events take place in here like diners, motels, auditoriums, night clubs, restaurants and more. Thankfully each setting is perfectly balanced and there’s just a mild calm to it all. Music is obviously paramount throughout, but absolutely nothing gets lost in the shuffles with dialogue taking front, key and center stage here. This isn’t a summer, popcorn, action blockbuster so I’m very pleased with the results here..
• Height: Other than discreet rain falling in the height channels they’re really only employed for atmospherics with the settings we’re in throughout, some police sirens, couple gunshots, but not much more.
• Low Frequency Extension: Remember that mild calm I just mentioned up above well things do get thumps here with the score, musical performances, fist fights and even the sweet car’s engine we cruise in throughout the majority of the film. When called upon the LFE doesn’t disappoint the emotional weight of any situation here.
• Surround Sound Presentation: I got to be honest with you all. This is first and foremost a drama so be prepared. Things are front heavy. There’s just no way around that, but I’m good with it. I made my peace though because this one is about the emotions of things before anything else. The rears do offer ambiance, events like rain falling and the recreation of the concert experiences.
• Dialogue Reproduction: While there are lots of things going on here not once does dialogue ever take a second seat. All spoken and sung words are loud, clear and prioritized throughout the 4K presentation. I love it!

Extras 

This 4K Ultra HD disc release of Universal’s Green Book includes the theatrical version of the movie in 4K on the UHD disc, as well as the Blu-ray with the same 3 bonus content items found on both. While the extras are housed on the 4K disc please be aware they are not in 4K, but SDR. Either way though they’re a quick watch. As usual too you’ll find a code to redeem a digital copy of the film. That’s really all there is. So please follow me down below and I’ll fill you in on some more detail regarding the three lone extras you’ll find on both discs.

• Virtuoso Performance (HD, SDR, 4:10) – Here we go behind the scenes with Viggo and Mahershala as they discuss their characters, chemistry and more. It uncanny to see how Viggo nailed the role here. You also get to learn about Ali’s piano training and preparation for this film.
• An Unforgettable Friendship (HD, SDR, 5:09) – Cast and filmmakers discuss the friendship between Shirley and Tony. It’s interesting to learn how this movie was put together by tapes and letters from Nick’s father with some help from Shirley’s recollection too. The theme of this extra is these characters come from two different worlds, have two different point of views and formed a real friendship with hard lessons learned.
• Going Beyond the Green Book (HD, SDR, 4:20) – The filmmakers and cast discuss the historical significance of The Green Book. Back in the days this was the AAA for the African American race in the U.S. and contained drug stores, doctors and so much more as seen in the film. It was interesting to learn that they didn’t stop publishing this book until 1966. Eight years later and I was born. I’m so glad I wasn’t born during all this embarrassment.

Summary 

I just can’t give you enough reasons why Green Book is a MUST-SEE, MUST-OWN 4K release. Sure it’s light in the extras department and of course you’ll find presentations more sexier and audio surround tracks more bombastic, but this one has something a lot of tales don’t have…HUGE HEART. This one is all about the story and when one is so powerful, moving and heartwarming such as this why the heck wouldn’t you want to own it in its finest presentation possible? That’s right! Now you’re getting it. Click on the pre-order link down below and ensure this one is waiting for you on its release day, March 12th, when you get home from a hard day’s work.

*

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.

*

Green Book

Rolls on 

4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

March 12th

PRE-ORDER NOW!

*

*