The Bikeriders: Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
I’ve always found decades and eras to be fascinating. Times change and sometimes things come back from bygone eras. Some things stay way back where they belong. Bikers and their clubs are often timeless and the stories they no doubt have are all probably vast in how their lives unfold together. The Bikeriders, based on the book by Danny Lyon is a story based off of one of those clubs, albeit a fictional one. So, read more on the story of The Vandals below, and if you feel like taking a ride for yourself, click the 4K Blu-ray cover art to get your own copy of The Bikeriders.
Film: 
THE BIKERIDERS captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Judie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club the Vandals, led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy). Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.
When we meet Kathy, she is a naïve woman randomly meeting a friend at a biker bar in the mid-west. She wears white Levis and looks totally out of place. When Benny sits with her, she falls to his charms almost immediately. She sees in him someone who equally confounds her and probably grosses her out a bit too. Before she knows it, she’s married to him. She’s been sucked into the world she was so repulsed by at first glance. It must’ve been the fact that Benny drove her home on his bike, and then camped out outside, in her honor. Her boyfriend was so intimidated, he just left. No wonder she got married so fast. This is all in a few moments of the film. Slam bang, next point here.
Johnny, the leader of The Vandals is tough. He can fight anyone and people look up to him. The other Vandals are hard drinking manly men. They will scare you, but probably won’t kill you. When drugs come into the club, crime also follows. Not the kind of petty crimes the club was known for, but arson, assault and maybe even murder come into the fold. This is all told through Kathy, whose Chicago drawl keeps your attention. She is in love with Benny, who in turn loves her, but maybe not more than riding his motorcycle. The thing about biker clubs, at least in my observation is that there’s a freedom or lawlessness to riding those motorcycles. Bikers are tough. There’s no way to dispel that. The Bikeriders shows the club in it’s brighter moments and it’s dark last days. The film works as a time capsule of 60’s biker culture, and profiles the time, not necessarily wanting to prove a point, but show a time in the lives of a collective of people in that time frame.
The book of The Bikeriders is primarily a photo book. The pictures are striking and in black and white. The book contains photos and interviews with and about The Outlaws Motorcycle Club. The film takes those interviews and photos and brings them to life. The cast was given the audio recordings that Danny Lyon collected from the interviews in the book. They saw the photos and they all seem to have gotten swept up in the experience. Nobody here gives a facade of a performance. They’ve all embodied their characters. This should be no surprise with Austin Butler and Tom Hardy headlining. Butler continues to be an electrifying screen presence as Tom Hardy once again disappears into the role.
As for the filmmaking itself, I think Jeff Nichols has made a moody period piece that is not only told well and paced well, but also beautiful to look at. The music in the film is fantastic too and we get the narrative from Kathy which binds it all together in a nice package. The film isn’t perfect, of course, but with a few minor hiccups, the film manages to still be collectively good with repeat viewings rewarding you with more details. If you love the motorcycle culture, the 60’s or even just the actors in the film, The Bikeriders is an easy film to recommend.
Video:
Encoding: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Layers: BD-100
HDR: HDR10
Clarity/Detail: Captured at 4K resolution, The Bikeriders looks like a beautiful love letter to 60’s biker culture. With a rich and sharp look to the film, there is plenty to gawk at watching the film. Bikes look beautiful, but so do the costumes. Detail is never spared, and nothing looks out of place, overly modern or too clean. Dirty leathers, beat up boots and oily faces all look incredible. Everything is just right!
Depth: Depth of field continues to supple presentation, with things coming in and out of frame flawlessly. Nothing is squandered from scene to scene, with moments continuing their rich appearance throughout.
Black Levels: Much of the film takes place in dark bars, houses or outside, so you’d expect some crush, but don’t get any thankfully! Blacks look great here.
Color Reproduction: HDR makes the colors appear muted and older, which adds to the nostalgic look of the film. There is a big push for primary colors, so don’t go into the film looking for popping color – expect it to look excellent though!
Flesh Tones: People look great in the transfer. Flesh tones are sun kissed, can be beat up or look rough and there’s no doubt that was the intention.
Noise/Artifacts: Flawless.
Audio:
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, French, French (Canadian), Spanish, Spanish (Castilian) Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Deutsch Dolby Atmos
Subtitles: English SDH, Español, French, French Canadian, Spanish Castilian, Deutsch, Italiano, Nederlands, Dansk, Suomi, Norsk, Svenska
Dynamics: For a mostly dialogue based film, The Bikeriders has an immersive Dolby Atmos mix. Filled with period music, boisterous motorcycle sounds and fantastic bass response, you are thrust into a 60’s Biker Club with the main characters.
Height: Bikes, music, natural ambience from indoor and outdoor sets and more come out on top, and while they don’t move around the room, the sound carries heft by filling up the room.
Low-Frequency Extension: Motorcycles, explosions, gunshots and needle drops all build a beautiful bass presentation for the listener.
Surround Sound Presentation: Party noise, nature sounds, music and motorcycles show up here too!
Dialogue Reproduction: All dialogue is clear.
Extras: 
Extras for The Bikeriders continue a new home entertainment trend of trying to appear abundant, but being somewhat superficial. We have 3 features that last about 9 minutes in total and a feature commentary by director Jeff Nichols.
- Johnny, Benny, & Kathy
- From the accents to the attitude, get to know the lead characters of THE BIKERIDERS. Hear from the cast and producing team on how they took the personalities and environments from a book of photographs and brought a narrative to the big screen.
- The Era of THE BIKERIDERS
- Grab your leather jacket and gear up for a ride as we enter the era of THE BIKERIDERS. This piece focuses on the authenticity that was captured by the brilliant production team who nailed the look, feel, and sound of the late 1960s Midwest.
- The Filmmaker’s Eye: Jeff Nichols
- Go behind the lens with director Jeff Nichols as he shared his overall vision for the film, stylistic choices, and how he works with talent. Members of the ensemble cast along with producers chime in on the significance of working on a Jeff Nichols film.
- Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Jeff Nichols
Summary:
If you’re going into The Bikeriders expecting a sort of biker gangster film, or a throwback type of Sons of Anarchy, you will be sorely misled in your interests to the film. The Bikeriders is far more about an era in a motorcycle club and its ups and downs, told through the eyes of a bikerider’s “old lady”. This for me was a treat, with a gorgeous looking film that took its time to tell a simple story of a time long gone and an era which does come back to us from time to time, but never this simply done. If you like period dramas or are just interested in something that isn’t a franchise, The Bikeriders is more than worth a watch. The 4K UHD Blu-ray, lack of features notwithstanding, is a gorgeous looking and full sounding presentation and I definitely recommend seeing the film at home this way.
