DVD Corner's blog

Judy Blu-ray Review

Renee Zellweger wows in “Judy.”

Based on the play “End of the Rainbow,” “Judy” is a biographical film about Judy Garland. Aside from flashbacks to her less than glamorous child star life, the story primarily focuses on the final months of her life before her death at the age of 47. In this time period, Garland is in her 40s and is struggling in all aspects of her life. She wants to spend more time with her children, she’s divorced, her finances aren’t great, and she’s struggling with substance abuse, anxiety, and exhaustion. Garland gets a chance to work in the UK at the Talk of the Town nightclub and decides to take the gig. Alas, her residency does not go smoothly amidst her mental and physical turmoil.

Writer Tom Edge and director Rupert Goold’s “Judy” is a pretty standard biopic that covers familiar tropes that will no doubt be familiar to fans of the subgenre. Unlike the average biopic, however, the story does not chronicle the entire life of (or the rise of) Garland but rather the tail end of her life. Its a very tragic tale that admittedly could have gone deeper into the life of Garland as it’s a mostly surface level story. Still, the story accomplishes what it sets out to do even if most of what is covered here is pretty well established publicly.

The real draw of “Judy” is Renee Zellweger. The actress (who had no credits for 6 years) makes a welcome return back into the limelight with an Oscar worthy performance as Judy Garland that is already garnering awards. This is easily her finest hour as this transformative performance has one glued to the screen. The fact that she does her own singing only makes it even more impressive than it already is.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? An all-around quality hi-def transfer.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The music is particularly lively with this 5.1 track.

Extras:
* Digital copy
* DVD copy
* “Judy” theatrical trailer and Lionsgate trailers
* Image gallery
* “From The Heart: The Making Of Judy” contains film clips, interviews, and discussions about the story.

December 21, 2019 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Biopic, Judy Blu-ray Review, Judy Garland, Renee Zellweger