Ready Player One (DVD) : Review

Film

When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune.

Re-watch Value

With the massive amount of on-screen visuals, fast pace of many scenes, and the long list of nostalgic references in Ready Player One, there is just too much to see, and still follow the story to any extent. Therefore, there is a great deal of re-watch value for the film. There is just too much to cover or spot in the first few sittings.

While much of the nostalgia stems from references, whether spoken or visual, to the beginning of gaming culture, and time even before there were large online communities, when people met up at arcades, or swapped high scores and strategy via magazines and in person.

Ready Player One is still just as enjoyable, and engrossing, as with the first viewing.

Read the full SAMDB review of Ready Player One.

Cast, Writer, Author, Director Q&A

Disc

Overall, the disc of of a good technical quality, with a fun main feature. It is lacking on the side of bonus features, but this does allow for more disc space for the main feature, meaning it can carry a higher bitrate. The disc is a dual layer, using nearly all available space provided.

Ready Player One is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video on the disc is encoded at a high average bitrate, with no visible artefacts on-screen. Colours are vibrant, with no visible colour bleed. Detail in darker and faster paced scenes is good.

Viewers with the necessary hardware or software can scale up to a larger or higher resolution screen, should they wish.

Audio

Audio for the main feature is encoded at a high average bitrate, and presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Dialogue is clear via the centre speaker. There is great use made of the surround channels, through discreet sound and panning between channels.

Audio for the bonus feature is encoded in a 2.0 stereo mix.

Navigation

The disc launches straight into the main menu, with a motion background, and accompanying music. The background contains some clips from the main feature, but these do not give away any spoilers.

The main menu is easy to navigate, with text links to play the main feature, scene selection, languages, and special features.

The scene selections sub-menu has five large, colour, static thumbnails per screen, for a total of fourteen chapters. There is a navigation menu on each screen to jump directly to any of the other chapter sub-menus, or back to the main menu. While the thumbnails are numbered though, they are not labelled, so navigating to a particular part of the main feature would require an amount of guesswork.

The languages sub-menu has a text list of audio and subtitle languages to choose.

The special features sub-menu has a link to the one bonus feature included on the disc.

Bonus Features

The 80’s: You’re The Inspiration – A look back at the events and progress of the 80’s, with interviews by director Steven Spielberg and writer Ernest Cline, with appearances by cast and crew. The feature has input from those interviewed about how the things they loved in the 80’s have made the transition to film.

An interesting look at what others loved from the time, how those things in popular culture were revered, and how the story made it to the big screen. The featurette is a fun addition to the overall nostalgic feel of the film.

Packaging

Packaging is pretty standard in the usual DVD Jewell case, with a poster with title and some character headshots on the front. The back of the casing has a short synopsis, a listing for the bonus feature, and the usual technical information and logos. There is no package insert, such as chapter headings.

 

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb

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