The first season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian blasts its way onto 4K UHD Blu-ray.
The Production: 4.5/5
After The Last Jedi and Solo, which divided fans of Star Wars, a lot was riding on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, one of the most anticipated shows to debut on the fledgling streaming service. Created by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), the first episode opens with The Mandalorian, aka Mando, aka Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) capturing his bounty on an ice planet. He’s very ruthless in capturing his prey in a dive bar, advising him that he can take him in warm or he can take him in cold. When he tries to escape while aboard Mando’s ship, Mando freezes him in a slab of carbonite. This sets up Mando’s change of heart from the opening of the first episode to the end of the second, when he is hired to retrieve a mysterious and top secret bounty for The Client (a very creepy Werner Herzog), a former member of the Empire, one that pays quite handsomely. Mando soon has second thoughts after collecting his reward when he learns what The Client may have in store for this small creature referred to as The Child, a small Yoda-like creature that caught Disney merchandising off-guard when audiences of the series immediately fell in love with this little puppet (that’s right – he’s a very emotive puppet and not a CGI creature). Breaking The Child out of his imprisonment causes serious repercussions for Mando, including not only banishment from The Guild of bounty hunters, but also places a very large price on his own head. He and The Child go on adventures hoping to find a place to hide out, all culminating in a western shootout with Stormtroopers and setting up a formidable foe for future seasons, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
What makes The Mandalorian fresh, at least for this first season of eight episodes, is that it is filled with entirely new and interesting characters in a familiar setting taking place shortly after Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. We meet a liberated Ugnaught named Kuiil (voiced by Nick Nolte) who assists Mando in a few episodes, Guild leader Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), mercenary and former Alliance shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano), and assassin droid turned bounty hunter IG-11 (voiced by Taika Waititi). The real surprise, though, is how much the series works with its main lead covered head to toe in battle armor including a full helmet, never really allowing the audience to see his face except for one brief scene near the end of the season. The Mandalorian was just what Star Wars needed to help reunite many of its fans that were disillusioned by the previous movies made under Disney ownership, and the credit goes to life-long fans and show runners Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
This first season of The Mandalorian was captured digitally at 4.5K resolution on Arri Alexa LF cameras and completed as a 4K digital intermediate in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and graded using Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range for its 4K streams on Disney+. This 2-disc set features four episodes per BD100 disc. The 2160p HEVC encodes exhibit a vastly superior picture over the Disney+ streams thanks to the higher bitrate (often hovering in the 80 Mbps range), although they only offer HDR10. There is a lot more detail on display here, from individual grains of sand on Tatooine, eroding rust on the Jawa’s sandcrawler, and individual strands of fuzz on top of The Child’s head. Colors are also more defined here, offering better gradations of colors than on the streaming versions. This is definitely the best way to view the series.
Audio: 4.5/5
Default audio is lossless Dolby Atmos (using a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core), and like the video, is superior to the lossy Dolby Digital+ version of Dolby Atmos featured on Disney+. The mix has a wider dynamic range, allowing for a richer and deeper sound overall, but I would not consider it demo-worthy. It is not a showy mix, going for a more subtle but pleasing experience than one would find in a feature film. The front soundstage is wide and expansive, with excellent stereo separation and active surrounds and heights that add some dimensionality to the mix. LFE is good, adding some low-end support to explosions and laser blasts. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 3/5
The set includes two brief featurettes on disc two that have been re-edited from some of the more detailed behind the scenes specials on Disney+, such as Disney Gallery.
Remnants of the Empire (1080p; 5:46): A look at the sets and props and where the series takes place within the Star Wars timeline.
Forging the Covert: Part One (1080p; 10:35): A look at the inspirations for the series and the production design.
Concept Art Cards: Three postcard sized concept drawings are included.
Overall: 4.5/5
Many thanks to Disney for releasing this first season on physical media, the best way to experience this fun and exciting series. Highly Recommended.
Mandalorian, The : Season 1 [4K UHD]
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Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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