UHD Review Barbie UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

I saw Barbie last night and loved it. (I commented in the movie section.) If I had to give it a star rating, I’d give it four stars.

In my head, star ratings go up to four (for “excellent”). There is a five star rating, reserved for classics (Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, Star Wars, The Fellowship of the Ring), but it’s not something I’d feel comfortable giving a contemporary movie. A movie has to be around for a while before it gets that exalted status — In the review system in my head anyway. Will Barbie get five stars? I don’t know, ask me in 10 years or so. For right now, it’s as good a film as there is at the moment.

 

[Malcolm R]

Maybe they weren't able to create special features with the Hollywood strikes? Just a guess.

But this film is certainly big enough that if any studio would still pursue a "special edition" disc release in the future, this would be a prime candidate. Maybe next Christmas paired up with "limited edition" dolls from the movie?

 

[Jake Lipson]

Gerwig has a commentary on Lady Bird

Yes. But she didn't do one on Little Women, which went with the same handful of featurettes approach Barbie did and was not released during a strike. Lady Bird had the commentary and one 15-odd-minute making-of and that's it. So we're not talking about exhaustive hours upon hours worth of bonus material in either case. There have never been any deleted scenes on any of her physical media releases.

If Barbie did get a special edition down the line, it would be the first double dip for a Greta Gerwig film. However, Barbie also made quite a bit more money than those did. Lady Bird and Little Women are not available on physical 4K, so there is a more obvious upgrade opportunity for those if their studios could be convinced to do that.

I certainly don't think a double dip on Barbie is impossible. But I also don't think it is incredibly likely either. I didn't want to deny myself access to the movie while waiting for something that may or may not come to fruition, so I got this release. If there is a double dip in the future, I would consider it depending on what is included and the pricing.

Maybe they weren't able to create special features with the Hollywood strikes? Just a guess.

Greta Gerwig is both a writer and director for this film. Noah Baumbach is exclusively a writer on it. Gerwig appeared at the premiere but Baumbach skipped it. I think Gerwig was obligated to do promotion in her capacity as a director because the DGA was under contract during the film's release. Given her inconsistent track record with commentaries, it is hard to say whether the strike would have prevented her from doing one or not.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Disappointing that the special features are so paltry. We don’t even get the digital code in the Great White North so I’ll wait for a digital sale.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Maybe they weren't able to create special features with the Hollywood strikes? Just a guess.

I suspect this was the plan for the disc all along. Special features are usually planned out months before the film even hits theatres.

 

[TravisR]

I suspect this was the plan for the disc all along. Special features are usually planned out months before the film even hits theatres.

Yeah, it's not like this movie is an outlier in terms of the quantity of special features. Movies that have an established fanbase (Marvel, Star Wars) are likely to have a decent documentary but Barbie was not in that category when it was being made.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Movies that have an established fanbase (Marvel, Star Wars) are likely to have a decent documentary

Even Marvel films have drastically reduced the amount of disc-based special features in the past couple years. The documentaries that would have previously been on the discs are instead being sent to Disney+ as streaming exclusives. The difference between Marvel Blu-rays and Barbie is that Marvel usually has a commentary on the disc. As you noted, Gerwig did one for Lady Bird. But because there wasn't one for Little Women, it's not a clear cut thing where we are obviously missing a commentary on this disc because she doesn't do them every time.

I would guess the commentary is probably the last thing to be recorded in terms of bonus features because the film has to be complete, or nearly complete, for them to sit down and talk over the whole thing. But everything else, like the featurettes Barbie got, is almost certainly made during the production of the film, especially considering how short the theatrical-to-home window has become now.

I'd love for Barbie to get a more elaborate edition. But the majority of the general public who so widely embraced this film are probably going to be happy with this edition if they buy it at all.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Maybe they weren't able to create special features with the Hollywood strikes? Just a guess.

I think that’s absolutely it, at least partly. Most special features are created in the run-up to a film’s theatrical release as the involved parties are already on the promotional circuit. With the writers’ and actors’ strikes in progress, the talent wouldn’t have been available. The studio would have been stuck with whatever they already had on hand.

But it’s also true that in the overwhelming majority of cases, bonus features do not drive sales figures for general audience releases (as opposed to niche product), so studios have been getting out of the business of putting lots of money into creating those features. They probably wouldn’t have planned an extensive array of features in the first place. After seeing the box office the film pulled in, in other circumstances they might have chosen to beef up the bonus offerings, but the strikes would have limited their ability to do so.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This topic reminds me of Harry Potter DVDs. Those films were about as big as they come when they were first released. Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban were initially released exclusively as two-disc sets. Starting with the release of Goblet of Fire in March 2006, WB offered a single-disc version and a more extensive two-disc version at a higher price. I paid the higher price to get the two-disc version because the supplements were important to me. But I think the single-disc version probably sold more copies overall. That was 17 years ago when the market for DVDs was a lot larger than it is now.

Whether or not the strikes were a factor, I'm not convinced that a special edition of Barbie would sell enough now to make it worth Warner's effort to reissue it. Most fans who want to buy it will still get this edition even if some of us would like more bonus features. Everyone else will probably just stream it anyway.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Starting with the release of Goblet of Fire in March 2006, WB offered a single-disc version and a more extensive two-disc version at a higher price. I paid the higher price to get the two-disc version because the supplements were important to me. But I think the single-disc version probably sold more copies overall.

I worked within the home video retail sector at that time and that was part of a pilot program Warner was running to test whether or not bonus features were actually of interest to the general public. They released both versions simultaneously and the price difference between both editions was meant to be negligible but the results were loud and clear: the overwhelming majority of the public wasn’t willing to pay even an extra dollar for the bonus material. They gave consumers the choice and consumers chose the lower priced versions. And that was the beginning of the end of elaborate bonus features as a given.

I'm not convinced that a special edition of Barbie would sell enough now to make it worth Warner's effort to reissue it.

Agreed. Those features just aren’t of interest to the majority of disc and digital purchasers.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

I thought Ryan Gosling was miscast and gave a Zoolander performance. And he’s not very good at comedy. Ryan Reynolds on the other hand is and would have been perfect IMHO.
Otherwise the movie was fun. Nothing more but male bashing fun.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I thought Ryan Gosling was grossly miscast

I don't have the article offhand, but I remember hearing somewhere in some interview that Greta Gerwig wrote Ryan Gosling's name into the script even before he took the role. He was who she wanted for that Ken from the beginning.

 

[DaveF]

This topic reminds me of Harry Potter DVDs. Those films were about as big as they come when they were first released. Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban were initially released exclusively as two-disc sets. Starting with the release of Goblet of Fire in March 2006, WB offered a single-disc version and a more extensive two-disc version at a higher price. I paid the higher price to get the two-disc version because the supplements were important to me. But I think the single-disc version probably sold more copies overall. That was 17 years ago when the market for DVDs was a lot larger than it is now.

Whether or not the strikes were a factor, I'm not convinced that a special edition of Barbie would sell enough now to make it worth Warner's effort to reissue it. Most fans who want to buy it will still get this edition even if some of us would like more bonus features. Everyone else will probably just stream it anyway.

Today, Warner probably figures this basic, no-frills release is Kenough…

 

[Jake Lipson]

Of course, Gerwig's partner Noah Baumbach, who co-wrote Barbie, has four films he directed in the Criterion Collection. Gerwig co-wrote and starred in one of them, Frances Ha. Gerwig was in a new conversation recorded for that release. So she has participated in special edition treatment. But Gerwig hasn't had a Criterion release of one of her directing efforts yet.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

I don't have the article offhand, but I remember hearing somewhere in some interview that Greta Gerwig wrote Ryan Gosling's name into the script even before he took the role. He was who she wanted for that Ken from the beginning.

Well than that explains everything regarding that daft performance. Robbie was really perfect though.

 

[Jake Lipson]

On the subject of audio commentary and the strike...

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 was released theatrically in September. Universal just announced its Blu-ray release, and it will include audio commentary from Nia Vardalos. She served as both writer and director on that film. From this, we know one of two things must be true. Either the WGA strike did not prevent her from participating or the commentary was recorded prior to the beginning of the strike.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is announced to have commentary from co-writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. Tom Cruise has done commentaries for previous installments in the series but not this one. Dead Reckoning officially opened Wednesday, July 12 and the actors strike began Friday, July 14. This part is all speculation, but I think it is certainly possible that McQuarrie participated because the DGA is under contract and Cruise didn't because SAG isn't.

Gerwig, McQuarrie and Vardalos all serve as writer-directors on their respective films.

If McQuarrie and Vardalos were able to record commentaries for their discs, it seems that Greta Gerwig could have recorded one for Barbie if she wanted. It appears she chose not to do that.

If it was Gerwig's choice not to do one, then I think a special edition of Barbie is even less likely now than it was a few days ago when we were previously discussing this. I would like one. But if they're not going to get a commentary, then there seems to be even less reason to do it. Just a thought.

I certainly don't regret buying the current edition.

 

[JoshZ]

So you don't give out five stars, huh? That, sir, is weak sauce. Very weak sauce. There has always been a hint of male superiority on this site. No, not a hint. It's heavily laden.
You never said anything negative, yet you have the flimsiest excuses for marking the most original film in decades down as a four. Well, it adds up. I see things as I see them. I call them as I see them. And the negativity for me doing so is just more oats to ignore. Let the denials begin, but I seldom make more than one post on a subject, occasionally two and see no need to do so here. I state my position, and it is what it is. I'm sorry Barbie made so many of you feel you were being put upon and couldn't get beyond that.

Not every movie a reviewer likes automatically deserves 5 stars. When you hand out 5-star scores to everything, that rating becomes meaningless.

You may personally feel that "There has not been a more original movie like Barbie in years. Everything was perfect." But for Todd, the movie fell slightly short of that. That's called a difference of opinion. That you would attack him for liking the movie, but not liking it quite as enthusiastically as you do, is pretty silly.

Sam also makes an excellent point here:

In my head, star ratings go up to four (for “excellent”). There is a five star rating, reserved for classics (Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, Star Wars, The Fellowship of the Ring), but it’s not something I’d feel comfortable giving a contemporary movie. A movie has to be around for a while before it gets that exalted status — In the review system in my head anyway. Will Barbie get five stars? I don’t know, ask me in 10 years or so. For right now, it’s as good a film as there is at the moment.

To JC: Even if you feel, right now, that Barbie is a "perfect" movie, are you sure you'll still feel that way in a few years, after the shine has worn off and more movies that you are equally if not even more enthusiastic about come out?

What if Barbie 2 turns out to be even better than Barbie 1? Should that be given 6 stars? And then something better than that comes out, does it get 7 stars? Where does this end? You can't give both movies the same 5-star rating when you like Barbie 2 more than Barbie 1.

Or will you retroactively bump Barbie down to 4 stars at that time, which is where Todd put it already?

 

[Jake Lipson]

You can't give both movies the same 5-star rating when you like Barbie 2 more than Barbie 1.

Sure you can. That's easy.

Just because a sequel to a movie improves upon the previous one doesn't make the original worse. Across the Spider-Verse is a recent sequel that I think improved upon its predecessor. It took the foundation from Into the Spider-Verse and greatly expanded the world, deepened the character relationships and elevated the animation to new heights. It is everything a great sequel should be. But Into the Spider-Verse didn't suddenly become any worse because the sequel surpassed it. The first film is still amazing and beautiful just like it was when it was the only one. Into the Spider-Verse is still the best version of itself I can imagine. Therefore, it gets five stars from me. Across doesn't change that.

The issue of star ratings is obviously a very subjective and personal thing and everybody is going to have their own way of doing that. That's why nitpicking a star rating is silly.

So if you have a different, that's totally fine. I have no reason to attack you over a different rating system or difference of opinion. If we all had the same opinions about everything, the forum would be pretty boring to read, and I would be much less interested in engaging in discussions here.

Back to Barbie...

 

[Jake Lipson]

I have good news and bad news for those of us who wanted Greta Gerwig to do a commentary for Barbie.

The good news is she did do one after all. The bad news is that it is on HBO Max and not on the disc. I just stumbled on it. It is listed under the "Versions" tab when you look up Barbie on the service. Honestly, I'm not sure why I even looked, because I do have Barbie on disc and would use that to watch the film itself. But lo and behold, there it was. It is late here and I'm tired, or I would be listening to it right now. I clicked on it and listened to the first couple of sentences before deciding it was too late at night to start the movie right now.

I'm glad that a commentary exists. But I find it upsetting that WB continues to devalue the disc versions of their movies in order to prop up their streaming service. They are by no means the only studio to operate in this manner, but it's still annoying.