The Duke (Blu-ray Review)
The Duke was quietly released in spring 2022, quickly and quietly going through its select theaters run 2 years after it had been filmed. Was the film worth the wait? It could depend on your ideal type of film and possibly your patience level. Read more on The Duke below, and don’t forget to click the link at the end to order your own copy on Blu-ray! On a more personal note, I apologize for the tardiness with this review — As they say, life happens, but I’m happy to get this out there for our Whysoblu readers! Happy reading and watching!
Film 
THE DUKE is set in 1961 when Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government agreed to provide television for free to the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge – a startling revelation of how a good man set out to change the world and in so doing saved his son and his marriage.
As a film reviewer for going on 4 years, I have been excited to check out most of the content I’ve been lucky enough to receive. Some things are good or great, some are bad and ugly. It’s a 50/50 shot depending on the material. When I received the press release for The Duke I was fully ready for a quick moving, sharp witted British heist comedy. I was long on optimism, and short on expectation. Based on a true story, The Duke had all the makings of a sleeper classic waiting for discovery.
So first, the good – Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren are almost always a good reason to check out a movie. They are bright spots in the film, filling their roles with warmth and making their characters people to care about. The direction by Roger Michell has some admirable moments as well. There is an era rich production value, right down to rear projection shots of 60’s London. The look is fabulous in general.
Next, the not-so-good. As exciting or interesting as the premise may seem, I was mostly let down by the story. For a true story, it feels like nobody went for dramatic license of any kind. Instead, we get a fairly quiet, slow paced (for a 96-minute film) and mildly engaging film. For all of the pluses I mentioned before, the fact that things begin to get sleepy in the pacing department becomes an unforgivable offense. By the time you get to the mellow, easy climax, you’ll likely have fallen asleep.
So overall, I believe The Duke is a film with the best of intentions in its entertainment heart. The issue then becomes that it’s not nearly as engaging as a so-called heist should be. The tone being lost on comedy and drama and seeming to be unsure of itself doesn’t help matters either. In my humble opinion, some pacing changes and tonal shifts would’ve made things a lot better. As it stands, The Duke is a tepidly engaging true-story film that merits at best one viewing. Worth a look only for those with a lot of patience.
Video
Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Layers: BD-50
Clarity/Detail: The Duke was digitally shot in 2020 and the look overall is very strong. The clarity and detail are sharp with obvious nods to the past in which the film takes place. There is plenty to take in detail wise in the deeply textured set pieces and the grainy rear projection shots. You can tell this was a film that was shot in 4K as there are no shots that are not sharp, even if there are methods harkening back to the 60’s
Depth: Depth is there for the most part, but only in brighter scenes. At times the darker scenes can feel a little muddy with density softening up in those moments.
Black Levels: Blacks are another piece of frustration. While mostly great, there were a few moments of crush that take away from the black level presentation
Color Reproduction: The color palette for The Duke is muted just like the time frame the film takes place. Things appear de-saturated and drab, but it feels as if that’s the point. It doesn’t make for the most dynamic presentation though.
Flesh Tones: Skin tones look correct throughout. No one looks unnatural, and overall things look excellent in the flesh tone department
Noise/Artifacts: None
Audio 
Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English Descriptive Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Dynamics: The Duke utilizes the 5.1 sound stage to excellent depths. The film is sonically more bark than bite, but for a drama/comedy, the mix is clear, up front and easy to listen to.
Height: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: Bass kicks in on music cues and sounds great each time the sub kicks on.
Surround Sound Presentation: Surround sound is utilized in the court room scenes and scenes outside and “outside.” There aren’t a lot of stand out moments, however you feel immersed in the moments when they do chime in.
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is front and center and perfect overall.
Extras
The Duke is slim on the extras. A digital code slip is included along with a paltry “Making of The Duke that is little more than 2:30 of nothing and a trailer that’s about the same length
Summary
The Duke has aspirations to be a small film. That much is clear. The true story was one that could’ve made for a fun and exciting romp, but instead chooses to delve into a not so exciting whisper that could’ve been a roar. If true stories are you thing, give it a watch, but be warned, you may not enjoy it, and you definitely won’t want to watch it more than once.
