Review: The Handmaid’s Tale BD + Screen Caps

The Handmaid’s Tale is an unusual movie to get released to Blu-ray under Shout’s Select line though it’s likely due to Hulu producing a television series based on the novel. As it is, it’s a bit plodding at times but the acting is top notch from the Natasha Richardson to Robert Duvall as a despicable human being.

 

 

The Handmaid’s Tale
— Shout Select —
(1990)

Genre(s): Drama, Suspense
Shout Factory | R – 109 min. – $29.99 | April 18, 2017

Date Published: 04/17/2017 | Author: The Movieman

 

MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Volker Schlondorff Writer(s): Margaret Atwood (novel); Harold Pinter (screenplay) Cast: Natasha Richardson, Aidan Quinn, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall DISC INFO: Features: Theatrical Trailer Digital Copy: No Formats Included: Blu-ray, DVD Number of Discs: 2 Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85 Subtitles: English SDH Disc Size: NA Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Region(s): A

 

PLOT SYNOPSIS

In the not-so-distant future, strong-willed and beautiful Kate (NATASHA RICHARDSON) possesses a precious commodity that most women have lost and most men want to control… fertility. Leaving a brain-washing bootcamp that turns fertile women into surrogate mothers for elite men and their infertile wives, Kate thinks she’s made out well when she’s assigned to an eminent party leader (ROBERT DUVALL). But when she learns that he’s sterile, she’s faced with the impossible choice: produce him an heir or die!

 

SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5

This “Shout Select” release comes with a DVD Copy as well as the Theatrical Trailer.

 

VIDEO – 4.0/5

The Handmaid’s Tale is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Although I did notice a few minor instances of dust marks, so it’s not surprising this didn’t undergo a new transfer, but I did find the detail was fairly sharp and nicely defined and colors appear natural looking and not pumped up for this transfer.

AUDIO – 4.25/5

The movie includes a basic but effective DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, providing clean dialogue levels and even when the action picks up, some okay depth comes through the two channels. Of course, it’s nothing fantastic nor robust but for a movie going on 27 years now, it’s an impressive enough lossless track.

 

OVERALL – 2.5/5

Overall, The Handmaid’s Tale is an unusual movie to get released to Blu-ray under Shout’s Select line though it’s likely due to Hulu producing a television series based on the novel. As it is, it’s a bit plodding at times but the acting is top notch from the Natasha Richardson to Robert Duvall as a despicable human being. This Blu-ray offers good video/audio transfers but is lacking in the features department.

 

 

 

 

Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.