The Lady in the Van is a well made drama with another standout performance from Maggie Smith with honorable mention to Alex Jennings. It’s an interesting story that tells a story of an unusual woman.
The Lady in the Van
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy
Sony | PG13 – 104 min. – $24.99 | April 19, 2016
Date Published: 04/25/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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PLOT SYNOPSIS |
| Based on the true story of Miss Shepherd (MAGGIE SMITH), a woman of uncertain origins “temporarily” parks her van in Alan Bennett’s (ALEX JENNINGS) London driveway and proceeds to live there for 15 years. What begins as a grudging favor becomes a relationship that will change both their lives. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover. Feature Commentary – Director Nicholas Hytner provides a pleasant enough track offering up insights into the story, locations and other tid-bits. Playing the Lady: Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd (6:22; HD) is an interview with various cast and crew talking about Smith’s performance. The Making of The Lady in the Van (13:46; HD) is your typical behind-the-scenes featurette with more cast and crew interviews, including the real-life Alan Bennett as they discuss the project. The Visual Effects (7:29; HD) breaks down the effects work done, particularly turning Bennett into a twin. Deleted Scenes (4:34; HD) – There are three scenes that were removed, but nothing of consequence, just more character moments. Theatrical Trailer (1:58; HD) Previews – Truth, Grandma, Son of Saul, I Saw the Light, Dark Horse |
VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| The Lady in the Van parks on Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. This is a brightly shot movie with vibrant colors such as when Miss Shepherd paints her van yellow to a nice blend of more natural tones, especially with Bennett’s attire. Detail looks sharp throughout and the transfer itself is clean, free of artifacts and aliasing. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The provided DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is perfectly suitable for a drama-comedy: dialogue levels sound nice and clear and any ambient noises, or the score, makes good usage of the front and rear channels. It’s nothing extraordinary but gets the job done just fine. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
| Overall, The Lady in the Van is a well made drama with another standout performance from Maggie Smith with honorable mention to Alex Jennings. It’s an interesting story that tells a story of an unusual woman. The Blu-ray release has good video and audio transfers and an OK selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.