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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
It (Blu-ray) (2017)

It (Blu-ray) (2017)

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Released 20-Dec-2017
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Horror / Thriller	Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Pennywise Lives! Featurette-Behind The Scenes-The Losers' Club Featurette-Author of Fear Deleted Scenes
Rating
Year Of Production	2017
Running Time	134:42
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Andy Muschietti
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Jaeden Lieberher Jeremy Ray Taylor Sophia Lillis Finn Wolfhard Chosen Jacobs Bill Skarsgård Jack Dylan Grazer Wyatt Oleff Nicholas Hamilton Jake Sim Logan Thompson Jackson Robert Scott
Case	Standard Blu-ray	Starring
RPI	$29.95	Music	Benjamin Wallfisch

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Atmos English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English Spanish Bulgarian Croatian Estonian Greek Hebrew Latvian Lithuanian Slovenian	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The literary works of celebrated author Stephen King have been adapted into dozens of feature films, but 2017’s It represents one of the most successful page-to-screen translations to date. An adaptation of King’s 1000-page novel of the same name published in 1986, this proficiently-constructed and riveting horror endeavour is also one of the best contemporary genre films of the decade, thanks to the laudable efforts of director Andy Muschietti and the three credited screenwriters. King’s “It” novel was previously turned into a television miniseries all the way back in 1990, but Muschietti’s update more than justifies its existence, bringing the source to life in extraordinary ways and finding its own voice. The picture is certainly frightening, but It primarily excels because the screenplay shows interest in dramatics and character development as opposed to just lazy jump scares. Indeed, viewers simply seeking fast-paced, undemanding instant gratification may be advised to look elsewhere.

    In the small town of Derry, Maine, dozens of unsolved child disappearances occur once every generation. With school finished for the summer of 1989, a curfew is in place after a number of children vanish without a trace, including Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott), who left home during a rainstorm to sail his paper boat but never returned. Thoughts about Georgie plague his older brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), the de-facto leader of a group of social outcasts branded as The Losers’ Club. Refusing to accept that Georgie is gone for good, Bill seeks the assistance of his friends - Ritchie (Finn Wolfhard), Stanley (Wyatt Oleff), Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), Beverly (Sophia Lillis), Mike (Chosen Jacobs), and Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) - to investigate. The group, who are abused by psychotic town bully Henry (Nicholas Hamilton), are soon taunted by visions of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård), a sinister shape-shifting demonic entity from which nightmares are made. Pennywise only awakens every 27 years to feed on the children of Derry before returning to hibernation, and the Losers refuse to become his next victims, banding together to confront their worst fears and overthrow the clown.

    Whereas King’s book was partially set in the late 1950s, this adaptation shifts the story to 1989, which will allow the second half (in the upcoming sequel) to unfold in present-day. Muschietti and his team manage to seamlessly weave ’80s pop culture references into the picture to vividly evoke this particular time and place - for instance, a local cinema marquee advertises Lethal Weapon 2, Batman and A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, while a poster for Gremlins is displayed on a bedroom wall, and Ben desperately tries to conceal his fandom for the boy band New Kids on the Block. A healthy sense of humour is evident throughout the film (the one-liners are almost endless) which keeps it enjoyable and watchable, on top of being frightening. There is a minor Stranger Things vibe due to the young characters and ’80s setting, but one must bear in mind that It was in active development before the Netflix series initially dropped. (Interestingly, the Stranger Things masterminds - The Duffer Brothers - were actually in the running to direct It at one stage.)

    Clocking in at a hefty 135 minutes (including credits), It’s length may be daunting, and it does feel like a full meal, but Muschietti uses the generous length to deal with characterisations and drama. The town of Derry almost feels like the true villain of the story, as many of the elders are portrayed as predatory and uneasy, while Henry is a violent, deranged psychopath of a bully who does not baulk at carving letters into Ben’s stomach with a knife. Members of The Losers’ Club have their own personal issues to contend with, and the material is exceedingly adult; Beverly is ostracised for false rumours of promiscuity and suffers sexual abuse at the hands of her father, for example, while Eddie has a domineering, obese mother who keeps him feeling paranoid about his health, and Mike is bullied due to the colour of his skin. However, certain fragments of the narrative appear to be missing, and some parts of King’s book were reportedly excised. There are talks of an extended cut which could rectify this, even though the movie is certainly long in its current state and could probably stand to be a bit tighter - certain scenes or moments could be removed.

    The original It miniseries was understandably held back by its budget as well as the constraints of network television and early 1990s televisual aesthetics, but this update had more freedom to truly explore King’s macabre imagination and do justice to the literary source. Backed by a $35 million budget and with a hard R rating in place, It is gruesome and unsettling, with a violent opening attack to set the scene. Pennywise takes several other forms throughout the picture, with his antics being aided by digital trickery and visceral make-up to convey the extent of the character’s true evil. It may not be the scariest movie ever made, but it is unquestionably chilling and unnerving, and it has its terrifying moments. Muschietti belies his relative inexperience (he last oversaw 2013’s underwhelming Mama) to orchestrate the horror here with the confidence of a genre veteran. Muschietti and his team generate scares using imagery, periods of silence, well-judged music and an intricately-designed sound mix, exhibiting more creativity than any number of more formulaic genre endeavours. The cinematography by Korean maestro Chung-hoon Chung (Oldboy, The Handmaiden) exhibits unending visual flair - compositions are strong and lighting is exceptional, making great use of shadows. Flawlessly complementing the visuals is Benjamin Wallfisch’s spine-chilling original score, while there is also a selection of great ’80s tunes to give the picture more flavour and emphasise the period setting. Admittedly, not all of the CGI-enhanced mayhem is entirely successful, but this is a minor quibble.

    More than just a series of tormented encounters, It takes the time to delve into the trials of adolescence - it’s more of a coming-of-age movie like Stand By Me as opposed to just another run-of-the-mill horror offering. Beverly becomes an object of desire for the boys - Ben acts as a secret admirer from a distance as he writes poetry, while Bill can only stare at her, struggling to find the courage to make a move. Characterisations are exceptional; each Loser is distinctly-drawn and they all have an individual handicap, be it social, physical or ethnic. They bond because they do not care that Ben is overweight or Bill has a stutter, and their camaraderie is instantly palpable - it’s easy to believe that they’re all friends, especially since the actors became fast friends in real life. This gives the movie genuine heart, as we grow to care about the people being victimised, and the horrific moments with Pennywise therefore carry an even bigger sting. From top to bottom, the acting is remarkable and naturalistic - there is not a single weak link in the ensemble. It can be hard to find talented child actors, but everybody here hits their mark. Even if you don’t find the movie scary, it’s still enjoyable to watch the kids interacting with one another, which is important since Pennywise remains out of the picture surprisingly often despite being the primary antagonist.

    Filling Tim Curry’s shoes would be a daunting task for any actor, but Swedish model Skarsgård (son of Stellan) excels all reasonable expectations to pull off arguably the definitive portrayal of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Covered in astonishingly nuanced make-up, Skarsgård avoids a single-note performance, changing up his tone and mannerisms depending on the situation, and coming across as an intimidating presence. It also helps that the actor is so tall, towering over his young co-stars. It’s truly a transformative performance, representing one of the production’s biggest assets. Just see the much-publicised scene with Pennywise in the sewer talking to Georgie - Skarsgård is such a powerhouse that you hang off every word, and the scene is incredibly tense.

    1990’s It covered both parts of King’s novel across its two episodes, but 2017’s It only covers the first (it actually ends with a “Chapter One” title card) to give the story sufficient breathing room whilst still emerging as a satisfying standalone motion picture in its own right. Transcending its horror roots, this is an engaging and often terrifying coming-of-age fable, able to remain interesting between the scary set-pieces, and even bring out genuine emotion. This may be a long movie, but it stands up to repeat viewings and does not feel like a chore to get through. With the long-gestating The Dark Tower turning out to be a distilled, muddled disappointment, It is the year’s superior Stephen King adaptation. To predict that this masterwork will go down in cinema history as an all-time horror classic (alongside the likes of The Shining, The Exorcist and The Thing) does not feel either hyperbolic or rash.

There was talk of an extended edition during the movie's cinema run, with the filmmakers stating that a director's cut is actually completed and ready to go. It was actually heavily implied that the movie would initially hit home video in extended cut form. However, for whatever reason, we only get the theatrical version...for now. Considering the movie's immense box office success, a double dip is likely coming.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Arriving on Blu-ray courtesy of Roadshow Entertainment, It is presented in 1080p high definition, framed at its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The lengthy 135-minute horror movie is allotted nearly 34GB of space on this dual-layered BD-50 but only maintains a so-so average video bitrate sitting at under 24 Mbps, which is pretty standard for Blu-rays from Warner Bros./Roadshow. As a result, though the AVC-encoded Blu-ray presentation definitely has its strengths and looks very good on the whole, it does lack the textural precision (not to mention the superior colour palette) of its 4K Ultra HD counterpart. Still, the encode has been capably performed, with only a bit of minor banding but no other anomalies like aliasing or macroblocking. The master is also pristine, and no unnecessary digital manipulation was performed - I detected no evidence of noise reduction or edge enhancement.

    It was shot digitally with Arri Alexa cameras according to IMDb, and this Blu-ray exhibits the crispness and clarity that one would expect from a major Alexa-shot studio-produced motion picture. The Blu-ray's video bitrate may be on the low end, but fine detail still easily impresses nevertheless. In medium shots of Beverly and Ben during their first meeting, you can make out every pore and freckle, and this level of excellence is retained throughout the movie. Sure, detail does struggle a bit under lower light, but it's never a big problem. Sharpness, meanwhile, is superb. Just see the characters entering the Neibolt House for the first time - you can make out every vine and cobweb in the background, even though the scene is dimly-lit. The encode is even able to resolve a fine layer of source noise which is never blocky or distracting, only serving to enhance the texture of the presentation. Colours, meanwhile, are accurate to how the movie looked in the cinema. Of course the palette is not as intense or as balanced as it is on the 4K edition (which has the benefit of High Dynamic Range), but this Blu-ray still does very well despite the inherent limitations of 1080p. The nuanced make-up on Pennywise looks particularly good.

    Despite the strengths of the video presentation, it could still stand to look a bit better-resolved on the whole, as the transfer exhibits a slight smoothness during certain scenes. Close-ups of Georgie in the opening rainfall, for instance, are unable to resolve finer textures. In addition, skin tones take on a pasty complexion in certain moments and the image does tend to lack depth, with slightly weak contrast and so-so highlights (faces look smooth when the kids are on their bikes in the middle of the street, before going to rescue Mike from Henry and his friends). Blacks could definitely stand to be a touch deeper (see The Losers' Club entering the sewers), but there is only so much you can do with a standard 1080p Blu-ray. Roadshow/Warner Bros. has recently shown what they are capable of with higher bitrates, as Dunkirk looked stunning on standard Blu-ray as a result of less compression. And it's therefore all the more disheartening to see more of their releases being unnecessarily compressed, particularly when unused space is left on the disc. Nevertheless, It is still a top-notch Blu-ray presentation that should satisfy those without the capability to watch 4K discs.

    A variety of subtitle options are available. I had no problems with the English track.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Rather than unnecessarily downgrading the audio and annoying audiophiles in the process, It comes to standard Blu-ray with a flawless Dolby Atmos track, which is in keeping with how it was originally mixed and exhibited at the cinema. Numerous other audio options are available on the disc, and on my equipment, for some reason the audio automatically defaulted to the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track rather than the Atmos, so be sure to check Atmos is selected whilst viewing the movie if it means that much to you. (It's a bit strange that a 5.1 remix is included, since the Atmos track has a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core for those without Atmos set-ups.) I focused on the Atmos mix for the purpose of this review (although I don't have overhead speakers and cannot fully evaluate the track), and it's a beauty - a total reference-quality track benefitting from terrific dynamic range, superb lossless encoding and top-notch subwoofer to accentuate the horror. This is a rich and layered track too; it was professionally-mixed by the movie's sound designers.

    Pristine and crystal clear, the track never sounds muffled or held back in any way, and prioritisation is excellent from start to finish. It's always easy to hear and comprehend the dialogue, and the subwoofer is put to great use. Scene-specific atmospherics are evident in almost every scene, from birds lightly chirping whilst outside to drops of water in the sewer, making for an immersive listen. The opening sequence takes place during a rainstorm, and it's a perfect way to show the track's strengths right out of the gate. Whilst inside the Denbrough household, sounds of rain fill all rear channels, making you feel as if it's actually raining outside. And when Georgie merrily trots through the rain sailing his boat, the rainfall and wind noises are all-encompassing. And that's just the beginning. When blood erupts from the sink and covers both Beverly and her bathroom, the intense splatter sound effects come from all channels. During the rock war, sounds of the rocks can be heard all around, exhibiting panning effects and precise placement to make the scene even more immediate. Music fills the available channels to terrific effect (both the original score and the great song choices), and always comes through with precision. Wallfisch's score is nuanced and screechy, and there's never any peaking or muffling. Other icky sound effects and roars are equally unnerving.

    Without any encoding errors like drop-outs, pops, clicks or sync issues, It's Dolby Atmos track is a real winner.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Three featurettes and a selection of deleted scenes are included.

Pennywise Lives (HD; 16:25)

This beefy featurette takes a look at the character of Pennywise. The child actors talk about working with Bill Skarsgård, and point out that the first time they saw him in character was during the filming of a scene. Muschietti and other crew members wax lyrical about Bill, too, while Skarsgård himself talks about his process, the make-up, the stunts, and more.

The Losers' Club (HD; 15:42)

A featurette dedicated to "The Losers' Club," and the young cast as a whole. All of the actors immediately got along and spent time together off-set as much as possible, which helped to create the palpable chemistry in the movie. The actors all talk openly about the experience, and there is plenty of behind-the-scenes footage showing the group bonding and joking around. It's clear they all had a good time making the movie.

Author of Fear (HD; 13:51)

In this interview with author Stephen King, he talks at length about the process of writing the original novel. King talks about visiting the town of Bangor, Maine, and choosing to adapt its geography and local legends for the town of Derry in the story. He also mentions certain autobiographical elements, and how adults will be able to connect to the movie.

Deleted Scenes (HD; 15:18)

Eleven deleted scenes, which can only be watched together as there is no individual scene selection. Disappointingly, there's no additional material with Pennywise, even though some are known to have been shot. Some of these scenes and moments are quite good, as they enhance the story and the characters a bit more, though other moments were wisely excised. It's unclear if there is anymore deleted material that isn't included which would make up a director's cut. I guess we'll see. Included is:

"Georgie Catches Boat (Opening Gag Scene)" - Not really a deleted scene, just an alternate moment that the crew ostensibly did for a laugh.
"Stanley's Dad corrects him (Extended scene)"
"Denbrough family dinner" - In the final cut, Bill's family takes on a minimised role. This scene which revolves around a downbeat conversation at the dinner table should probably have been left in the movie.
"Bill's Dad looks in the basement, et all"
"Outside the Neibolt house"
"Evacuating the Neibolt house (Extended scene)"
"Stanley's Bar Mitzvah speech"
"Eddie at Keene's pharmacy (Extended scene)"
"Henry and Bullies wait outside (Extended scene)" - Without this scene in the theatrical cut, the movie feels incomplete. This is a short, effective moment and I cannot figure out why it was cut.
"The Losers find Georgie's walkie"
"Denbrough family vacation" - This is a much more fitting ending than what we ultimately got, and is intrinsically tied to a conversation in the earlier deleted scene "Denbrough family dinner." If a director's cut materialises with this ending reinstated, the theatrical cut will become instantly redundant.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

In terms of supplemental material, all editions worldwide are identical. Buy local.

Summary

An excellent adaptation of the source novel, It is an outstanding horror movie as well as a touching coming-of-age drama bolstered by top-flight technical specs. Stephen King himself has expressed his admiration for the movie, and it's not hard to see why. And now we wait patiently for the sequel.

On Blu-ray, It is a major winner. Excellent video and audio do justice to this new horror classic on home video - even with a 4K alternative, I was still left incredibly impressed. Unfortunately, special features are a bit light, but what's included is still of a high quality. Talks of an extended cut persist, so perhaps we will get a more comprehensive Blu-ray package in the future. Until then, this one comes highly recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	LG UP970 4K UHD HDR Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output
Display	LG OLED65E6T. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
Amplification	Samsung Series 7 HT-J7750W
Speakers	Samsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up

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