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Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: 4/19/2011
Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter
Year: 2010
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The Movie:
The winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Tom Hooper's 2010 film The King's Speech tells the true life story of Prince Albert, The Duke Of York (Colin Firth), the second in line for the throne that King George (Michael Gambon) will someday leave behind. When the aging King George eventually does pass on, Albert's older brother, Edward (Guy Pearce) is crowned the new King Of England but soon resigns from the position as he intends to marry an American woman who has already been twice divorced, something that the Church of England forbids. While Edward has been dealing with his personal issues, Albert has been undergoing some unorthodox speech therapy with an Australian man named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). When Edward does step down Albert must overcome his issues with the help of his wife, Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) and Lionel, much to the dismay of various aristocratic types who look down on Logue's methods and lack of doctoral certification. With war looming just over the horizon, it'll be up to Albert to rally England together, and hence the importance of his ability to deliver proper speeches.
If the film sounds remarkably dry based on the plot description, so be it but the fact of the matter is that The King's Speech isn't just a look at an interesting slice of history but so too is it a very well made film. The story works in just enough comedy to keep things from getting too heavy at times, though the dramatic aspects of the script are definitely kept front and center as the movie plays out. At two hours in length the film never feels too long, a testament to Hooper's pacing skills, and what is essentially a mundane story about a man's speech therapy issues transforms into a fairly uplifting tale of how those speech therapy issues would quite literally change history - the trickledown effect of the speech in question is pretty massive when put into the context of the British war effort during World War II.
Nicely shot by cinematographer Danny Cohen with a great score from composer Alexandre Desplat, the film not only captures the pomp and grandeur of the Royal Family's life to the more common life of Lionel and his family and this contrast is played well throughout the film. Little moments, like when Lionel's wife realizes who her husband has been dealing with all this time and asks the King and Queen if they're staying for dinner, show a good attention to detail and help build the characters and scenarios nicely.
What really stands out about this picture, however, are the performances. Colin Firth's performance is entirely worthy of the Best Actor Oscar he took home and we really get a feel for his character's confusion and inner conflict. We feel for him as we start to get to the bottom of the real cause of his stuttering problems and he shows not just a knack for the serious side of the film but does well with the comedic aspects too. When he bursts into fits of profanity (the only reason that the film carries an R rating) or when he finds himself having to sing his thoughts to get over his stammer, we snicker a bit at the surface humor of it but can't help but feel for the guy. Equally impressive is Geoffrey Rush, who was nominate but didn't win, as Lionel. His character's resolve and dedication to his patients is noble to a fault but we know early on that he's got his head on straight. As he and the king start to develop an earnest friendship, their relationship fast becomes the backbone of the film. Helena Bonham Carter's Oscar nominated supporting performance is also strong, though by the nature of her character's role she isn't given as much to do here.
It might seem stuffy on the surface at first but once it gets going, The King's Speech turns out to be, as corny as it may sound, a very warm and inspiring film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Anchor Bay presents The King's Speech in a very nice AVC encode 1080p high definition widescreen transfer in a 1.78.1 aspect ratio. Detail is strong throughout - you'll notice it right away in the opening shot of the microphone - and texture is also impressive. Skin tones look nice and lifelike and there aren't any problems with noise reduction or waxiness worth complaining about. No noticeable compression artifacts pop into the frame though some minor banding and aliasing are periodically there if you look for them. Black levels stay strong and deep and shadow detail is good.
The English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix on the disc is also very strong, doing a nice job of spreading the score around and offering up lots of welcome ambient noise to fill in the space nicely. This is a dialogue intensive film and not one with a whole lot of sound effects so you don't get the type of aggressive and enveloping mix you would with an action film, but what's here suits the calm demeanor of the film very nicely. Levels are perfectly balanced and dialogue is crystal clear. There are no problems at all with any trace of hiss or distortion and the lower end, while not explosive, anchors the music nicely.
Extras kick off with an audio commentary courtesy of director Tom Hooper. This scene specific talk is fairly interesting as it delves a bit into the history of the story that inspired the film. Additionally Hooper covers the casting of the film, his admiration for the performances of all involved, trying to get the historical accuracy of the picture just right, locations, and more. Complimenting this commentary is a Q&A session with Hooper (22:02) in which he fields questions about the making of the picture - it covers much of the same ground as the commentary track does. From there, check out the twenty minute featurette “The Making Of The King's Speech†(23:01) which includes some interesting interviews with the cast and crew as well as some behind the scenes footage. Also included on the disc is a collection of archival clips of some of the actual King George VI's speeches, some archival clips of the real Lionel Logue (10:34), and a PSA from the American Stuttering Association (1:33). Menus and chapter stops are aslo included and promos for a few other Anchor Bay properties play before the main menu loads. All of the extras are in standard definition except for the Q&A.
The Final Word:
An incredibly well acted character driven drama with enough comedy and suspense to work, The King's Speech receives an appropriately impressive Blu-ray debut from Anchor Bay. From the excellent A/V quality to the pertinent extra features, this is just a really well rounded release for a really well rounded film.
