Matilda: Steelbook Edition - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Matilda: Steelbook Edition



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
All right. Right off the top of you head. When I describe to you a story about a young woman using her telekinetic powers to gain revenge on her family and school for the things they’ve done to her, WHAT movie/s am I talking about? I know, right? The very first thing you’re going to think about is Carrie, or countless other horror movies that have taken ideas from that trope, but if you though about 1996’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl story of the same name, then you are in a very special group of us who have a huge fascination with this kid’s movie.

Directed and starring Danny Devito as head of the Wormwood family, the story is really about his daughter Matilda (Mara Wilson) who has been born into the sleazy family as a “mistake”. The unwanted child of a scumbag used car salesman named Harry (DeVito), bimbo mother Zinnia (Rhea Perlman, Danny DeVito’s real life wife), and fat older brother Michael (Brian Levinson), Matilda finds herself the odd person out. While the crass and uncouth family is more interested in trash television and making a dishonest buck, Matilda is obsessed with reading, having possession of a very keen mind. The young girl is the butt of all family jokes, and her parents decide to send her off to school with the insanely cruel and child hating Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) after selling the headmistress a car. There in the school she finds solace in the sweetness of Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz) as well as having to fend for herself with a newly found set of telekinetic powers born out of stress and rage.

Danny DeVito’s interpretation of Roald Dahl’s work is a juxtaposition of extremes, with two sides of the same coin being present and mixed together in a strange bedfellows sort of situation. The movie is an over the top absurdist comedy on the surface, with Matilda (and the audience) watching with bemused horror at the insanity of the Wormwood family’s obsession while simultaneously a children’s revenge movie. The “horror” under the surface is kept very childlike in nature, and the absurdist imagery and storytelling keeps it from getting TOOOO dark. Although, there is something to be said about putting children in dark closets filled with nails, and forcing a young boy to eat an entire cake till he just about bursts (literally) that is still just creepy enough for your skin to crawl.

At the same time, that same over the top absurdist “gross out” stuff that makes the film so much fun, are also the same points that sometimes are seen as a negative. The movie can focus a bit too much on the gross out parts, or keep us staring at Trunchbull’s face in unflattering ways just a bit TOO long. It’s not a horrible thin, or something that makes the movie bad. It just feels like they could have cut some of those close ups and quick scenes out and made the film flow a bit smoother. Not to mention that the film is about predictable as they come. No one with a shred of cinematic viewership under their belt can honestly say that they didn’t see where the film was going and would end up within the first 15 minutes of the film starting.




Rating:

Rated PG for elements of exaggeRated meanness and ridicule, and for some mild language




4K Video: Video:

Matilda came out on Blu-ray a decade ago in 2013 with a very nice looking transfer that has stood up very well over the years. It had great black levels, no noise reduction (or at least nothing obviously visible) and a very organic look to it. However, Sony has gone back and given the film a native 4K master from the original source material, fine tuning and amplifying all of the good points from the 2013 release. Colors are richer and more vibrant, although it still has that very 90s brown tinge to everything. The new color grading due to Dolby Vision showcases rich black levels, and while not digital deep and inky, shows incredible grain structure and fantastic clarity. The close ups with Miss Trunchbull showcase every line, every bit of makeup used to make her ugly, and every crease while not looking fake or obscured. The image is lovely to behold, and one of the few remasters that looks so incredibly filmic. In a world full of digitally done films it’s nice to sit back and watch natural film grain on full display. I did notice a few dips in the bitrate here or there which suffered in a low light situation (such as in the basement/kitchen of Miss Trunchbull’s house), but overall this is a FANTASTIC looking transfer.








Audio:

I was actually rather surprised when I saw that Matilda had been given a new Atmos track (alongside the original 5.1 DTS-HD MA track from the old Blu-ray on the 4K UHD disc) as the film just doesn’t seem to scream “I need a Dolby Atmos mix!”. It’s very talk heavy and only given moderate ambiance most of the time. HOWEVER, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. The track showcases the same fantastic highlights from the 5.1 mix, but just adds a little bit of fine tuning to the directionality of the mix, as well as amplified rear and overhead use in a few scenes. These scenes are usually where there is more hustle and bustle, such as in the the crowded school cafeteria or the slamming thud and roar as Miss Trunchbull makes her appearance to the students. Musical numbers are sharp and clear, and the LFE channels soars into high gear whenever the monstrous Miss Truncbull makes her appearances. While not night and day different than the 5.1 mix, it is a good fine tuning of the original mix







Extras:

Disc 1: 4K UHD
• NEW Audio Commentary with Director Danny DeVito
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2: Blu-ray
• High-definition presentation of the film
• Afternoon Tea: A Very Magical Matilda Reunion
• Matilda's Movie Magic!
• Children's Guide to Good Manners
• Escape to the Library
• My Movie About Making Matilda by Mara Wilson

Final Score: ​

Matilda is a delightful children’s revenge story (is that even a thing) and a cult classic to this day. It utilizes the absolute absurd 1990s fantasy storytelling that you seen in films like Roger Rabbit, and a clever use of imagery and Mara Wilson’s sweet demeanor to set up the audience just adoring her to death. Sony’s Blu-ray was quite spectacular a decade ago, and they haven’t disappointed today with this new 4K UHD disc Steelbook (no standard 4K release, steelbook only at the moment) filled with legacy extras as well as a new commentary with Danny DeVito. Definitely worth a fun watch for us 90s kids.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Mara Wilson, Mara Wilson, Pam Ferris, Paul Ruebens
Directed by: Danny DeVito
Written by: Roald Dahl (Original Story), Nicholas Kazan, Robin Swicord
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Thai
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG
Runtime: 98
Blu-Ray Release Date: September 5th, 2023

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never actually saw this but after reading this, I am interested. Will check it out once available on streaming.