The Young Victoria Blu-ray delivers stunningly beautiful video and superb audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
The early years of the monarch Queen Victoria's rule and her legendary romance and marriage to Prince
Albert. Caught in a power struggle with her closest advisors, the young and inexperienced queen draws
strength from the handsome prince whose love and affection has stolen her heart.
Few films enjoy such a broad appeal that every demographic will find in them something of value;
many movies easily fall into various predefined categories that classify what sort of audience will
embrace the picture and which others will ignore its release. No other genre may be so easily
categorized as the Period Romance. While there are always exceptions to most every cinematic
rule, it may be generally held true that many of those Action/Sci Fi buffs eagerly awaiting the
release of Robert Rodriguez's
Predators; Horror buffs that can't wait for the yearly Saw spectacle;
Comedy lovers that are first in line for the latest from Judd Apatow; or sports fans
that watch Rudy on a loop;
probably aren't going to bat an eyelash when something like The Young Victoria pops up
on the multiplex marquee, and that's all right. Constructed with a specific and highly-demanding
audience in mind, Costume Dramas and Period Romances cater to the fairer sex that
demand not only lush and historically-accurate costume and set design but also somewhat
historically-correct love stories of the greatest kind, where feelings and passion conquer the rigid
world of the past, where regal convenience and familial stature always seemed to stand in the
way of the most base
of human emotions.
God save the Queen.
The young would-be Queen Victoria (Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning)
lives a terribly sheltered life; her royal lineage -- she's the niece of King William IV -- and status
as
heir to the throne prevents her from attending school with her peers, eating her food without it
first
being sampled by another, or even descending a flight of stairs without adult aid and supervision.
As
she's prepared for her ascendency to the throne, Prince Albert of of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(Rupert Friend, Pride & Prejudice) is
groomed to become her future husband, trained to recognize and appreciate all that Victoria
finds stimulating in life in an effort to ease their introduction and increase the chances of
marriage. Her courtship with Albert is amiable and develops with time, time that sees Victoria
prepare to realize her destiny as the Queen of England upon William's death, a position for which
she's been long groomed but ultimately finds herself unprepared. Victoria is forced in the
meantime to fend off those that would hope to seize
the opportunity
to use her inexperience and age to their advantage in gaining control of the
Empire through regent rule should William pass before Victoria reaches the appropriate age of
ascendancy. As
love blossoms and an Empire finds itself in need of a Queen, Victoria searches for her place in life
not in the regal halls of British history but in the freedom she finds within the arms of the man
that could be her one true love.
If there's one surefire way to earn an Oscar Nomination, it's through the competent and lavish
construction of a British Period Costume Drama. Since 2006, the four winners of the "Best
Achievement In Costume Design" Oscar -- Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth: The Golden
Age, The Duchess, and
The Young Victoria -- have all shared that common trait, and were all deserving winners.
The Young Victoria -- also nominated for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Best
Achievement in Makeup -- may ultimately prove to be the best of this bunch in terms of not only
its
look but the quality of its story and the craftsmanship of the additional intangibles that make a
movie a worthwhile endeavor beyond an Oscar-nominated surface. Still, it's hard to watch
The Young
Victoria without becoming lost in its superficialities. This is nothing short of a gorgeous film;
it's abundantly but naturally colorful, and "ornate" only scratches the surface as to just how lush
and lavish the film proves to be. There's nothing out of place -- not a stitch in clothing, not a
misaligned piece of furniture -- and the regal spectacle is in full bloom in practically every scene.
While The picture's set designers, costumers, and makeup artists deserve their accolades,
everything fits together thanks to Director Jean-Marc Vallée's (C.R.A.Z.Y.) ability to
tie it all together; he
and Cinematographer Hagen Bogdanski stylistically take full advantage of the gorgeous pieces
with which they have to work, giving the film a large, spacious feel that contrasts nicely with the
more intimate moments in the film, all accentuating the splendid artistry that lies before them
with every shot, scene, and sequence.
Beyond the stunning achievement that is The Young Victoria's visual flair lies a story
worth telling, and one that is, fortunately, well-conceived and executed in this adaptation.
Though not a positively mesmerizing picture from a purely thematic perspective, it certainly holds
one's interest, and despite the
"Period Drama" label, there's little of the excessive stuffiness that often accompanies these sorts
of movies. There's a far more natural and organic flow to the movie that allows it to maintain a
strong pacing while also taking the time it needs to adequately develop its characters and their
situations within the royal power structure, the result a picture that yields plenty of energy while
also going through the motions of wading through the deliberateness that's needed to make
movies like this work for those audience
members that come in with little-to-no understanding of English history, particularly in the
Victorian era. The picture focuses on the would-be Queen's early life and her ascent to the
throne, capturing both the monumental events of her early life while also showcasing the trials
that come with a power struggle where a less experienced ruler is caught in the middle of a
dangerous game of high-stakes maneuvering that sees her more as a pawn in Queen's clothing
rather than a royal ruler of an Empire. Indeed, The Young Victoria more than once uses
the game of chess as a metaphor for the ins-and-outs of young Victoria's reign; players from
every side maneuver whilst looking ahead many moves, anticipating, holding back, striking when
the time is right not for hers or her nation's interests, but for their own. All the while, Victoria's
struggles to lead a fuller and more independent life are met with strife and disapproval, and both
the frustration of her early years and, later, her courtship with Prince Albert are wonderfully
captured by Emily Blunt in what may be her best performance yet.
The Young Victoria rules on Blu-ray with a stunning 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer
that's
demo-worthy through and through and, more importantly, showcases every little nuance of the
picture's meticulous set design and costuming. The picture seems like it was made for high
definition, and in every facet -- detailing, coloring, crispness -- it never fails to impress. With a
title like The Young Victoria, it's better to watch it than to read about it, simply because
nearly every scene brings with it something that stands out from the rest of the film as in some
way impressive; the picture sports meticulous detailing, for instance, on everything from human
faces to ornate crowns, from flowing gowns to the incredibly textured accents on regal
formalwear, from fancy hat brims to the slight creases in pillowcases. Colors, too, positively
sparkle; whether bright reds or crisp shades of gold and
everything else in The Young Victoria's diverse palette, there's no denying the
scrumptiously-colorful and meticulously-rendered colors that light up the screen in nearly every
frame. The transfer handles darker scenes marvelously, too; blacks are inky and deep but never
overpower the screen or devour surrounding details, though a faint hint of noise is sometimes
visible in the darkest recesses of the frame. Flesh tones retain a positive, natural tint
throughout, and there's often a very strong sense of depth and space to the image. A very faint
layer of grain is retained throughout, rounding out what is a sparkling film-like image. Fan of the
movie and its style or not, The Young Victoria is worth watching on Blu-ray for the
quality of its 1080p transfer alone.
Nearly matching the stunning picture quality is The Young Victoria's wonderful DTS-HD
MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This one's surprisingly active for a Romantic Period Drama, and
there's a
heft and naturalness to the proceedings that make it a wonderfully immersive listening
experience. The track delivers positively seamless atmospherics throughout; exterior scenes in
particular are often awash with strong environmental ambience in the form of chirping birds,
falling rain, and other like sounds that help in creating a natural and convincing 360-degree
atmosphere that's never really broken at any point throughout the movie. There are certainly
many quiet and otherwise hushed scenes, but when the track necessarily calls for
audibly-perceptible
ambience, it's delivered as naturally and succinctly as most any other track out there. The
picture's musical cues are wonderfully detailed, pitch-perfect in delivery, each number enjoying a
precise and amazingly clear delivery across the front with some rear support. Both the more
subtle, breezy notes and the more aggressive and bold classically-inspired pieces shine with
pinpoint clarity throughout the entire range. The Young Victoria isn't awash in rumbling
bass, but the low end is allowed to stretch its legs several times, each instance delivering, again,
a clear and satisfying accompaniment to the overall sonic experience. Completed with steady and
accurate dialogue reproduction, The Young Victoria proves to be another sonic winner
from Sony.
Sony's Blu-ray release of The Young Victoria offers a collection of short extras.
Making of 'The Young Victoria' (480p, 5:42) mostly features a collection of static
interview pieces with cast and crew speaking on the movie and the history it portrays, intercut
with several clips from the film. Lavish History: A Look at the Costumes and Locations
(480p, 7:20) also offers interview clips with the cast and crew who this time speak on the
painstaking quality of the costumes
and sets and how they historically reflect the apparel and furnishings of the period. The
Coronation (480p, 2:46) takes a closer look at the attention to detail paid to ensuring that
the picture appears as historically accurate as possible, while The Wedding (480p, 2:35)
offers a glimpse into Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert. Next up is The Real Queen
Victoria (480p, 7:28), another relatively short piece that features cast and crew speaking on
the Queen who was Victoria, intercut with footage from the film. Also included is a collection of
17 deleted and extended scenes (480p, 21:38); BD-Live functionality; MovieIQ connectivity; and
1080p trailers for The Imaginarium of Doctor
Parnassus, Hachi: A Dog's Tale,
Not the Messiah,
Extraordinary
Measures, Nine, Michael Jackson's This is
It, Dear John, A Knight's Tale, and
The Other Boleyn
Girl.
No doubt that The Young Victoria isn't everyone's cup of tea, but of all the Period
Costume/Romance Dramas out there, this is one of the better ones. The story is strong, never
stuffy, but not spectacular, and while it's overshadowed by the sumptuous costuming and set
design, it does recount a worthwhile tale of power, intrigue, and love, each element nicely balanced
and making for a movie that enjoys surprisingly strong pacing and, for genre fans, plenty of replay
value. Even for those that shy away from these sorts of pictures, The Young Victoria is
worth seeing if only for the
spectacle of it all; it's grand and visually mesmerizing, proving that a movie need not be constructed
within the bowels of a computer to deliver awe-inspiring visuals. Sony's Blu-ray release of The
Young Victoria delivers most everything the picture deserves. The 1080p picture quality is
top-notch reference-grade material, and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack proves to be its
match at nearly
every turn. Unfortunately, the supplemental content comes up short, but The Young
Victoria deserves at least a rental if only to awe at its stunning visuals, but fans of the film and
its genre should have no qualms about making a purchase. Recommended.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced The Young Victoria for release on Blu-ray on April 20. This period drama is inspired upon the early years of Queen Victoria (played by Emily Blunt), and her marriage to Prince Albert. It has been nominated to the Academy ...
