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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Sing Street (Blu-ray) (2016)

Sing Street (Blu-ray) (2016)

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Released 9-Nov-2016

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Drama Featurette-Director & Writer John Carney on Casting
Featurette-Writer & Director John Carney And Adam Levine On Sing Street
Featurette-Making Of-Making Sing Street
Additional Footage-Cast Auditions
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2016
Running Time 105:25
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By John Carney
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Ferdia Walsh-Peelo
Lucy Boynton
Jack Reynor
Ben Carolan
Mark McKenna
Ian Kenny
Aidan Gillen
Maria Doyle Kennedy
Kelly Thornton
Percy Chamburuka
Case Standard Blu-ray
RPI $14.95 Music Gary Clark


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio 2.40:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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

Plot Synopsis

    A loving ode to adolescence, garage bands, and '80s music, Sing Street is a delightful coming-of-age musical dramedy from acclaimed Irish filmmaker John Carney, late of 2007's Once and 2013's Begin Again. Returning to Ireland for another low-budget, homegrown indie, Carney's Sing Street is a lovely movie from top to bottom; an evocative, fantasy-tinged story about growing up and following one's passion, bolstered by an exceptional soundtrack. Although comparisons to The Commitments are inevitable due to the film's period Irish setting, it's closer to School of Rock or Son of Rambow, with a touch of John Hughes. However, the resulting film is a true original, stamped with Carney's distinctive cinematic idiosyncrasies.

    In 1985, economic times are tough in Dublin, with England seeing a rise in the number of Irish immigrants making the move to seek a brighter future. Teenager Conor Lawlor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is taken out of his expensive private school due to his family's financial concerns, and moved to a Christian Brothers school, Synge Street. It's a struggle to adjust, with Conor drawing the wrath of a bully, Barry (Ian Kenny), as well as the school's tyrannical headmaster (Don Wycherley). However, Conor finds a glimmer of hope in slightly-older local beauty Raphina (Lucy Boynton), who aspires to pursue a modelling career in London. Wanting to impress his newfound crush, Conor impulsively asks her to feature in his band's music video, even though he does not actually have a band. Putting the word out, Conor and pal Darren (Ben Carolan) rapidly put together a "futurist" group, and their first original song is enough to entice Raphina to join their music video exploits. Conor falls more and more in love with Raphina, but she is dating an older man (Peter Campion) and still intends to follow her dreams by leaving Dublin.

    A semi-autobiographical depiction of Carney's upbringing, Sing Street initially concentrates on the formation of the band, who are unsuccessful at producing covers but truly soar when they begin dabbling in original compositions. Visibly drawing upon Carney's real-life experiences, scenes involving band meetings and practice sessions are reliably funny and endearing, while the boys' music video shoots feel natural and authentic. Additionally, Sing Street is coloured with the culture of 1980s Ireland - it even begins with a news report about the increasing number of Irish immigrants travelling to London, with the challenging financial climate a key plot point in the film. Hell, in a reflection of Ireland's casual racism, Conor and Darren even recruit Ngig (Percy Chamburuka) simply because of his dark skin, innocently assuming that his race means he knows music. Meanwhile, the characters' big ambitions and blind zeal are almost universally relatable, giving Sing Street a similar tone to the likes of Son of Rambow. Likewise, Conor styling himself after his favourite musicians is equally relatable.

    Carney's music selection is laudable, as the writer/director sources tracks from The Cure, The Clash, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Jam, and Hall & Oates to solidify the movie's evocative sense of time and place. Plus, even within the restrictions of a meagre $4 million budget, the recreation of Dublin in 1985 is perpetually convincing, down to outrageous fashion choices which provide a few hearty laughs. Further elevating Sing Street are the original compositions, with Carney enlisting the help of Danny Wilson frontman Gary Clark to co-write several catchy, authentic-feeling new tracks. (Even Maroon 5's lead singer, Adam Levine, co-wrote and sang the original song "Go Now" for his contribution to the soundtrack.) Moreover, this charming creativity goes beyond the songs themselves, as the boys produce some amiable music videos inspired by the era's popular bands. Another moment involves the band singing "Drive It Like You Stole It" to a Back to the Future-inspired 1950s prom fantasy sequence in their high school auditorium. These fantastical touches pepper Sing Street, leading to a somewhat optimistic ending which is wholly in keeping with the story's fairy-tale/music video elements. Indeed, Sing Street often feels like a pop video in terms of narrative, a deliberate instance of intertextuality to further pay tribute to the era's popular music.

    The romance between Conor and Raphina is not exactly groundbreaking in terms of the details, but the relationship blossoms thanks to sensational performances from newcomers Walsh-Peelo and Boynton (the latter of whom later co-starred in 2018's Bohemian Rhapsody). The two actors are charismatic and instantly likeable, while their chemistry is palpable whenever they share the screen. The performers imbue the feature with genuine heart and depth, resulting in an on-screen relationship which never feels contrived or unearned. Moreover, Raphina is more than just the object of Conor's desires, and she does not spend time with the boys out of sheer pity - instead, she instantly takes a liking to the group, and greatly contributes to the music videos. Jack Reynor is another standout as Conor's brother, Brendan. Carney happily avoids the hoary stereotype of a patronising/unsupportive brother, instead building a positive relationship between Conor and Brendan. The insanely talented Reynor delivers some of the film's sharpest dialogue, emanating both melancholy and levity, which turns Brendan into a genuinely three-dimensional character. Another surprise is Ian Kenny as the school bully, Barry. Although an unsympathetic character on the surface, the script gives Barry unexpected dimension, which effectively humanises him. It's a fantastic cast all-round, with veterans Aidan Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy also bringing gravitas to the material, while the younger actors hit their marks with confidence at every opportunity.

    Wisely, although Carney does not shy away from the story's dramatic elements, this material is not lathered on; instead, he displays tact, and foregrounds the music and romance. Certainly, Sing Street could have further explored Ireland's hardships in the 1980s, but it's not about such drama - rather, this is a story about Conor and Raphina, and, as a result, the film never feels like a chore to get through. Going on to earn a Best Picture nomination at the 2017 Golden Globes (but losing to La La Land), there is much to love about Sing Street, which is arguably Carney's finest achievement to date. Admittedly, the romantic and coming-of-age elements are familiar, but the execution is more important for this type of production. And luckily, Carney elevates his robust screenplay with a winning cast and an excellent soundtrack, making this one of 2016's most pleasant cinematic surprises. Sing Street is legitimately funny, sweet, involving, and full of infectious tunes.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    According to IMDb's technical information, Sing Street was primarily filmed digitally with RED cameras, and completed with a 2K digital intermediate. One of the best movies of 2016, Sing Street is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Roadshow Entertainment with a 1080p, AVC-encoded transfer framed at its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. With Roadshow making use of a dual-layered BD-50 (even despite very little in the way of extras), the presentation is mastered with a generous average video bitrate of just under 33 Mbps, which is sufficient to stave off (most) nasty compression artefacts, and present possibly the best transfer possible short of a 4K release. And my word, Sing Street is a handsome-looking title on Blu-ray, boasting a strong colour palette, robust detailing, and above-average sharpness. This transfer is a timely reminder that, even with 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray movies on the market, regular old 1080p Blu-ray can still look d*** good.

    The news report which begins the movie, which is presumably an authentic archival piece from the 1980s, understandably looks rough, with an '80s video look. Thus, there is macroblocking and aliasing during the news report, though again this is entirely by design. On a similar note, the boys' music videos were also shot on video, so that footage is littered with video artefacts that trace back to the source, and do not represent a fault of Roadshow's robust encoding. But when it comes to the primary film footage, the results are excellent. Admittedly, there is a certain mild smoothness to the transfer, which is more noticeable on larger displays, but there's still a tonne of fine detail in the 2K digital source, which is ably resolved throughout this 1080p presentation. Although faces look a touch smooth in wider shots, the news is much better whenever the camera tracks in, with impressive close-ups exhibiting terrific highlights that bring out every intricacy on the actors' skin. Clothing looks especially sublime, with razor-sharp, finely-resolved textures, especially medium shots and close-ups. These qualities are most apparent in scenes set outside with generous daylight, though scenes inside Brendan's room or the schoolhouse usually look fantastic, as well. Admittedly, the harsh, colourful lighting of the climactic dance sequence does obliterate some detail, but this is a minor quibble. Surprisingly, the transfer capably handles scenes set outside at night, thanks to generous lighting and competent cinematography (such as Conor riding his bike with Raphina on the back).

    I noticed some appalling aliasing and macroblocking at 23:40, which is most noticeable along Eamon's nose and glasses, as well as his clothing. I also noticed something similar on Conor's collar during some of his coverage in this scene. This is the only instance I could detect of such video artefacts, as the rest of the transfer is free of encoding anomalies. However, the initial establishing shot of the Synge Street school (with the sign, at 3:37) is extremely smooth - it could be archival footage, or even a CGI shot. Apart from this, there's little about this Blu-ray presentation to complain about. The colour palette is strong and true, with sumptuously saturated primaries, accurate skin tones, and pleasing contrast. There's pleasing image depth to the transfer, too, and it doesn't often carry that flat digital look which usually spoils digitally-shot movies. The video could do with a lick of High Dynamic Range to augment the black levels and colours, but that's not to impugn the otherwise superb colours. Although there are minor flaws to Sing Street's Blu-ray transfer, these are all tiny complaints compared to the video's countless strengths. Thanks to the excellent encoding and the pristine digital source, this is a handsome-looking Blu-ray that will please casual viewers and videophiles alike.

    English subtitles (for the hearing impaired) are available. They're well-formatted and easy to read.

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

Audio

    The disc's primary audio option is an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and there is also a descriptive audio track for those interested. The lossless 5.1 track is only 16-bit as opposed to 24-bit, but I was unable to detect any flaws stemming from this - it doesn't sound compressed or tinny. Since the movie is primarily dialogue, the track is front-centric a lot of the time, and I noticed some shortcomings in terms of dynamic range in certain scenes when I expected more surround activity to deliver ambience. I also felt that the dialogue levels are a bit too low at times, which looks to be an issue tracing back to the source. Aside from this, Sing Street sounds sensational thanks to the lossless encoding and professional mixing - it's crisp, pristine, and free of both source-related and encoding anomalies. Music is the star of the show for Sing Street, and I can happily report that the music sounds amazing in every scene. Whenever the boys perform - be it a jam session, a gig, or one of their music videos - the music comes through with clean precision, filling the surround channels to immersive effect, and even engaging the subwoofer for terrific depth. Likewise, the other songs sound great, although at times they are deliberately filtered to sound like vinyl records. Even though the dialogue is a touch low at times, it's consistently clear and understandable, even amid the music. And despite the thick Irish accents, the delivery is still comprehensible and you won't miss a line.

    It's encouraging to report that Sing Street translates so well to Blu-ray, considering the brilliance of the music - and the film in general, really. Minor caveats aside, this is a terrific lossless mix to complement an excellent video presentation.

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

Extras

    On start-up, there's an anti-piracy ad, as well as trailers for Indignation, War Dogs, and Sully. These are thankfully all skippable. Unfortunately, the disc comes up short in terms of extras. I wish there was an audio commentary, or at least a more substantive featurette. I was actually able to find more behind-the-scenes extras on YouTube - I recommend doing the same.

Director & Writer John Carney On Casting (HD; 1:57)

    In this short, promotional featurette (which was actually released on YouTube), Carney briefly runs through the casting.

Director & Writer John Carney and Adam Levine on Sing Street (HD; 3:25)

    Another YouTube promo featurette, this piece involves Carney and Levine briefly talking about the production.

Making of Sing Street (HD; 4:54)

    Very promotional in nature (parts of which were released on YouTube, as usual), this making-of runs through the story, the music, Carney's direction, and more. Alas, nothing is substantive enough.

Cast Auditions (HD)

    Only selectable individually (there is no "Play All" function), here we have a brief selection of cast auditions. You can certainly see why the actors were cast, especially Walsh-Peelo and Boynton, who are simply magical.

R4 vs R1

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

    The same extras appear on the U.S. release, though the local disc has a higher video bitrate. The U.K. release apparently also has some musical performances, but that doesn't seem like a big loss. The U.K. disc also has a slightly lower bitrate. All things considered, the local disc seems like the best option unless a special edition comes along.

Summary

    I love every frame of Sing Street, and I bought the soundtrack album before I even finished watching the film. This is writer/director John Carney's best film, and it's one of the best movies of 2016.

    On Blu-ray, Sing Street looks and sounds superb, with a few very minor caveats. Unfortunately, the disc comes up short in terms of extras, but the technical presentation makes up for it. This one comes highly recommended, especially given the disc's consistently low price point.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Callum Knox (I studied biology)
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Review Equipment
DVDSony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output
DisplayLG OLED65E6T. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationSamsung Series 7 HT-J7750W
SpeakersSamsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up

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