Greatest Showman - Blu-ray

Film: P.T. Barnum is considered by many to be the father of modern entertainment, the pioneer of making dreams come true. Legendary was his circus, which only had to close in 2017 after well over 120 years. P.T. Barnum was much more, however. He was a master of marketing, which doesn't exactly make him a non-controversial figure. That he exploited his artists and sometimes paraded them as curiosities can certainly be held against him. But there's no question that without the Greatest Showman, the entertainment industry would look different today. And that's why Michael Gracey's feature debut can be forgiven for taking a glorified and overly embellished look at the fabulous circus world of P.T. Barnum.

The cinematic musical, filled with catchy pop songs, shows Barnum (Hugh Jackman) a man driven by his visions who lifts himself and his wife Charity (Michelle Williams) out of abject poverty when he buys a cabinet of curiosities in New York and turns it into a circus. Together with his young protégé Phillip (Zac Efron), he puts on a show that fills the house day after day, but also draws protests on the streets. The full box office eventually isn't enough for Barnum, though. He also wants social recognition, which has so far eluded him. But when he discovers Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) and she becomes a superstar as the Swedish Nightingale, that might finally change - but at what cost?

Although some aspects in Greatest Showman are true to reality and there are real-life role models for many characters, the musical is by no means a biopic, but rather a colorful tale about following one's dreams. Moreover, the film is a plea for tolerance and self-confidence. This is not exactly conveyed in a particularly subtle way, of which the romance between the fictional characters Phillip and the colored artist Anne (Zendaya) is a very good example. Moreover, the message of the film probably doesn't match the business acumen of the real P.T. Barnum. But no matter: even if the whole thing is as meaty as cotton candy and has quite little to do with reality, the movie is absolutely worth watching.

And there are several reasons for that. The main reason is Hugh Jackman, whose charisma makes even the cheesiest moments of the film moving and charming. Considering that just a few months ago he was convincing in the dirtiest and most brutal version of his Wolverine character, you realize what a good and versatile actor the Australian is. Besides Jackman, though, it's the catchy and rousingly choreographed musical numbers that make Greatest Showman quite the cinematic treat. And the story, in this fictional version, is simply beautiful.

Therefore, brains off, hearts on! Then this journey to the beginnings of show business is a feast for the eyes and the ears. If you like movies like Moulin Rouge (without its eccentric streak) or Chicago, you will love Greatest Showman. Absolutely worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The technical realization of the Blu-Ray is on a very high level. The image sharpness is great and allows even small details and textures to show to their best advantage, which of course comes in handy with the detailed set and colorful costumes. The colour scheme looks very warm and powerful and the matching of black levels and contrasts also support the positive overall impression of the picture quality. The same can be said for the sound. The music sounds just as powerful from the speakers as the dialogue, ambient sounds or some well-placed sound effects. Very good!

Extras: In addition to an insightful audio commentary by the director (with optional subtitles) and a film version to sing along to (with superimposed song lyrics), the Blu-ray offers another two hours or so of extras, some of which are well worth watching. It starts with a short documentary about the idea and the background of the film (approx. 14:05 min.). This is followed by by far the longest extra: the multi-part documentary The Songs (approx. 70:08 min.) analyses every song in the film and shows pictures from the recording sessions. If you love the film for the music, you can't miss this documentary.

Continue with The Spectacle (approx. 32:12 min.), a multi-part making of in which the characters, the choreographies, the music or even the picture design are scrutinized. Picture galleries round out the good additional offerings.

Conclusion: After a restrained start, Greatest Showman developed into a real perennial hit at the box office. The crowd-pleaser shines on Blu-ray in very good picture and sound quality and also has plenty of extras on board that are worth watching. No question, this movie-musical will also continue its success in the home theater. Absolutely recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp