Martin Scorsese’s (Shutter Island) latest release; the black comedy/drama The Wolf Of Wall Street; is an immensely watchable biopic based on the life of Jordan Belfort (played by Django Unchained’s Leonardo DiCaprio), a man shook-up Wall Street, was vilified by Forbes Magazine, and became an overnight stock-trading messiah.
Telling the tale of a man who took the world for everything he could, used it to bang all manner of hookers, ingest copious amounts of illegal drug-cocktails, twist the stock market to his own ends, and host some of the most debauched parties ever held, exploring both his rise and eventual downfall, The Wolf Of Wall Street co-stars Jonah Hill (21 Jump Street), Margot Robbie (Vigilante), Kyle Chandler (Zero Dark Thirty), and Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), and was nominated for an impressive 5 Academy Awards (Oscars) following its theatrical release.
Read the full Wolf Of Wall Street Review online here.
Picture:
Coming to Blu-ray via a stunning HD transfer which shouldn’t fail to please even the hardiest videophiles, The Wolf Of Wall Street’s video quality is superb, and features an exceedingly natural colour palette, with strong contrast and precise hues (whilst intentionally appearing a touch warm most of the time, making fleshtones just that shade more golden), an impressive level of fine detail, and richly realised textures. Blacks are deep, and there are no noticeable compression issues, scratches, or other anomalies to speak of, meaning as transfers go, The Wolf Of Wall Street is top notch.
Audio:
Similarly strong is the audio track; coming via a DTA-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix which does an excellent of delivering the film’s musical tracks (of which there are many prominent examples, all of which hold up perfectly), features some strong and weighty bass, excellent clarity, and a lesson for all other audio transfers in levelling; as even during the hustle and bustle of Belfort’s busy offices, it’s easy to distinguish exactly what you’re supposed to be listening to (over the chattering brokers, ringing phones, and other assorted office chaos). Likewise dialogue is well anchored in the front and center, and always perfectly intelligible, and whilst there may not be too many stand out moments in terms of audio here, it’s a solid, well levelled, excellently balanced mix that won’t tax your system, but will subtly impress any listener.
Extras:
Sadly however, there’s little in terms of The Wolf’s special features; we do get a 17 minute long featurette examining this take on Belfort’s story (an interesting making of), another short featurette delving into the process of getting the film made, and a generally skippable Round Table discussion (featuring Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and writer Terence Winter), which provide an acceptable, though not overly impressive selection of bonus materials which do little to enhance the film’s enjoyment.
The Bottom Line:
While excess may be the name of the game for Jordan Belfort, it’s a shame the same couldn’t be said for The Wolf Of Wall Street’s special features offering. However, that aside, the Blu-ray release of The Wolf delivers everything you could want from a HD movie; impressive picture and audio quality, and a film not only wonderfully written, but littered with black humour, drama, superb acting, and great direction. Belfort’s life as The Wolf was a true spectacle, and Martin Scorsese’s film lives up to that playboy reputation in every way; it’s fun, it’s quirky, it’s different, and it’s also rather gripping in places; meaning The Wolf Of Wall Street is one film, and Blu-ray, that everyone should see. Rent it, enjoy it, and then pick it up in a bargain bin a few months from now, because while it might not be one you’ll rewatch every week, The Wolf Of Wall Street is a film you will eventually want to revisit.
