I
Saw The Light (2015/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: A+ Extras: A Film: A-
Based
on the true story of Hank Williams, Marc Abraham's I Saw The Light
(2015) is the story of his life from his rise to stardom to his fall
from grace, how he (Tom Hiddleston) became a country & western
blues legend, but his legend was only matched the personal tragedies
in his life. Behind the stage and the spotlight was the was all the
alcohol, drunken nights and affairs and which eventually lead to his
early death.
They
say what makes county blues so good is because songwriters based on
real life experience and Williams in that aspect was a gifted country
songwriter, a singer and star, even when he was onstage he was envied
by his own band members and even his own wife/wives. As he traveled
between concerts and show, his antics eventually lead to his poor
health and then caused him broken marriages and missed concerts. He
even influenced the rise if Rock 'N Roll, so significant was his
contributions to American music and inevitably, music of the world.
This
Hank Williams biopic has received mixed responses and I couldn't tell
if they want to blame his early death was attributed to his drinking,
fame or his managers overworking him (but he definitely looked a lot
older than he was when he died). I works for me and features his
great music, which you can read more about on this site. Cheers to
Brit Hiddleston for his transformation and though the production is
inconsistent, supporting performances by Elizabeth Olsen, Bradley
Whitford, Cherry Jones and David Krumholtz stop this from being more
than just another formula biopic.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot on an Arri
Alexa XT HD camera in color with some (so-so looking) black &
white shots. I can look good, but also has some minor issues, yet
the lossless DTS HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix us a real sonic winner
and a plus for this release. Extras include Deleted Scenes,
featurettes A Night in Nashville, Talking Hank and
Illuminating a Legend, a feature length audio commentary and
trailers.
-
Ricky Chiang
