The Focus Features: 10-Movie Spotlight Collection is a good selection of dramas, some better than others and one that is a personal favorite of mine (Lost in Translation). That being said, this is only worth picking up if you don’t own any of the 10 films, though the cost per movie is reasonable.
Focus Features: 10-Movie Spotlight Collection
(2003-19)
Genre(s): Drama
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment | NR – 1173 min. – $99.98 | September 29, 2020
Date Published: 09/25/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIES |
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Lost in Translation (2003) – A lonely, aging movie star named Bob Harris (BILL MURRAY) and a conflicted newlywed, Charlotte (SCARLETT JOHANSSON), meet in Tokyo. Bob is there to film a Japanese whiskey commercial; Charlotte is accompanying her celebrity-photographer husband (GIOVANNI RIBISI). Strangers in a foreign land, the two find escape, distraction and understanding amidst the bright Tokyo lights after a chance meeting in the quiet lull of the hotel bar. They form a bond that is as unlikely as it is heartfelt and meaningful.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – After a painful breakup, Clementine (KATE WINSLET) undergoes a procedure to erase memories of her former boyfriend Joel (JIM CARREY) from her mind. When Joel discovers that Clementine is going to extremes to forget their relationship, he undergoes the same procedure and slowly begins to forget the woman that he loved.
Pride & Prejudice (2005) – Elizabeth Bennet (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY) lives with her mother, father and sisters in the English countryside. As the eldest, she faces mounting pressure from her parents to marry. When the outspoken Elizabeth is introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy (MATTHEW MACFADYEN), sparks fly. Although there is obvious chemistry between the two, Darcy’s overly reserved nature threatens the fledgling relationship.
Brokeback Mountain (2005) – In 1963, rodeo cowboy Jack Twist (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) and ranch hand Ennis Del Mar (HEATH LEDGER) are hired by rancher Joe Aguirre (RANDY QUAID) as sheep herders in Wyoming. One night on Brokeback Mountain, Jack makes a drunken pass at Ennis that is eventually reciprocated. Though Ennis marries his longtime sweetheart, Alma (MICHELLE WILLIAMS), and Jack marries a fellow rodeo rider (ANNE HATHAWAY), the two men keep up their tortured and sporadic affair over the course of 20 years.
Atonement (2007) – Based on the book by Ian McEwan, follows the lives of young lovers Cecilia Tallis (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY) and Robbie Turner (JAMES MCAVOY). When the couple are torn apart by a lie constructed by Cecilia’s jealous younger sister, Briony (SAOIRSE RONAN), all three of them must deal with the consequences. Robbie is the hardest hit, since Briony’s deception results in his imprisonment, but hope for Cecilia and her beau increases when their paths cross during World War II.
Burn After Reading (2008) – When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst (JOHN MALKOVICH) falls into the hands of Linda Litzke (FRANCES MCDORMAND) and Chad Feldheimer (BRAD PITT), the two gym employees see a chance to make enough money for her to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Events whirl out of control for the duo doofuses and those in their orbit.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a community that seems untouched by some of the bad things going on in the rest of the world. Twelve-year-olds Sam (JARED GILMAN) and Suzy (KARA HAYWARD) have fallen in love and decide to run away. But a violent storm is approaching the island, forcing a group of quirky adults (BRUCE WILLIS, EDWARD NORTON, BILL MURRAY) to mobilize a search party and find the youths before calamity strikes.
The Theory of Everything (2014) – In the 1960s, Cambridge University student and future physicist Stephen Hawking (EDDIE REDMAYNE) falls in love with fellow collegian Jane Wilde (FELICITY JONES). At 21, Hawking learns that he has motor neuron disease. Despite this – and with Jane at his side – he begins an ambitious study of time, of which he has very little left, according to his doctor. He and Jane defy terrible odds and break new ground in the fields of medicine and science, achieving more than either could hope to imagine.
On the Basis of Sex (2018) – Ruth Bader Ginsburg (FELICITY JONES) is a struggling attorney and new mother who faces adversity and numerous obstacles in her fight for equal rights. When Ruth takes on a groundbreaking tax case with her husband, attorney Martin Ginsburg (ARMIE HAMMER), she knows it could change the direction of her career and the way the courts view gender discrimination.
Harriet (2019) – From her escape from slavery through the dangerous missions she led to liberate hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, the story of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman (CYNTHIA ERIVO) is told. |
SPECIAL FEATURES |
| This 10-disc set comes housed in an extra-wide HD keep case which side slides into a sturdy outer box. Here is a brief rundown of the features included:
Lost in Translation:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Pride & Prejudice:
Brokeback Mountain:
Atonement:
Burn After Reading:
Moonrise Kingdom:
The Theory of Everything:
On the Basis of Sex:
Harriet:
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VIDEO/AUDIO |
| Every disc is exactly the same from the individual releases. Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Brokeback Mountain, Atonement, Burn After Reading and On the Basis of Sex all are in 1.85, Pride & Prejudice and Moonrise Kingdom are in 2.35 and Harriet is shown with a 2.39 aspect ratio. |
OVERALL – 3½/5 |
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The Focus Features: 10-Movie Spotlight Collection is a good selection of dramas, some better than others and one that is a personal favorite of mine (Lost in Translation). That being said, this is only worth picking up if you don’t own any of the 10 films, though the cost per movie is reasonable. |