Lion (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Blu-Ray Reviews | Apr 18th, 2017
Starring: Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara
Screenplay By: Luke Davies
Written By: Saroo Brierley, Larry Buttrose
Directed By: Garth Davis
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Buy On Amazon.com
Lion is the one of the latest Oscar-nominated movies to hit Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital HD. I didn’t know much about the movie or story, but after seeing it, I’m glad I sat down to watch it.
The story is about 5 year old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) who gets lost on a train after spending time with his older brother. The train ends up many miles away from home and his family. Saroo encounters men kidnapping children, a seemingly nice woman and man until he gets a bad feeling from them and flees. Eventually he’s forced into an orphanage and raised by two caring Australians, Sue and John Brierley (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). 20 years later, Saroo (Dev Patel) has grown up to be a well-mannered guy, going to college in Australia, and dating Lucy (Rooney Mara). He begins to remember his past when talking with other Indians. He wants to track down his Mother, brother and rest of his family and return home.
I had no expectations for this film but ended up liking it a lot. It’s based on a true story, and it’s actually not that old of a story since the end of it happened in 2012/2013. The acting is great with Dev Patel giving quite the performance. He’s come a long way since Slumdog Millionaire. Nicole Kidman and David Wenham play his adopted parents quite well. Not much else to say about Kidman; you know what you’re going to get when she’s in a movie. The little kid, Sunny Pawar, was adorable. I could see why he was picked for the role.
The story is an interesting one and especially an important one about how many children go missing in India, either from kidnapping or other ways. This story has a happy ending but not all of them do. The ending certainly made me weepy when Saroo goes back home. It’s kind of hard not to shed a tear or two, unless you’re not human. Garth Davis directed the movie and this was his first feature film. I thought he did an excellent job and really liked some of the camera angles or cinematography. It’s funny how many directors use drones to get shots now but man, it makes a difference with some of these shots.
The extras on the Blu-Ray contain about 22 minutes of behind the scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a music video or two. The featurettes has the real-life Saroo talking about his story, the actors discussing their roles and the movie. The extras aren’t bad but it’s just not enough in my opinion.
Lion is an excellent true story and a movie worth seeing. It almost feels like two movies in one. The first part is a young boy being lost in India with subtitles. The second part is English-speaking story about a young man trying to understand his past and track down his family. If Moonlight didn’t get the Best Picture win, I thought this deserved it after that.
click here to donate for various causes involved with the movie.
Features
Deleted Scenes
Behind the Scenes Gallery
“Never Give Up” Performed By Sia
Official Lyric Video
Audio
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
French DTS-HD MA 5.1
Video
Widescreen 2.40:1 Color
Bottom Line: Excellent Oscar-nominated movie that deserved it’s recognition
Running Time: 118 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
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