Blu-ray Review - Get on Up

Pioneering American music icon James Brown goes from rags to rhythm-and-blues royalty in Get On Up, a spectacular portrait of the life of the charismatic performer, debuting on Digital HD on December 9, 2014 and on DVD and Blu-ray™ Combo Pack including Blu-ray™, DVD, and Digital HD with Ultraviolet™ on January 6, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.  Director Tate Taylor follows up his Oscar-nominated breakout film, The Help, with an explosively soul-packed story filled with stunning remixes of Brown’s original recordings, dramatic recreations of the singer’s memorable stage moments and a mesmerizing star performance by Chadwick Boseman (42) as “The Godfather of Soul.”  The Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack also features over an hour of bonus material, including never-before-seen interviews with the filmmakers and cast, extended and deleted scenes and additional unforgettable musical performances.

Get On Up starsChadwick Boseman (42, Draft Day) in yet another career-making performance as Brown, with a stellar supporting cast that includes Oscar^®-nominee Viola Davis (The Help, “How to Get Away with Murder”), Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Fruitvale Station), Nelsan Ellis (The Butler, “True Blood”), Oscar-nominee Dan Aykroyd (Driving Miss Daisy, Ghostbusters), Craig Robinson (This is the End, Hot Tub Time Machine) and Jill Scott (Why Did I Get Married, Baggage Claim).

James Brown’s ferocity, talent and ambition propelled him from his hardscrabble South Carolina roots to some of the most prestigious musical venues in the world, earning him a reputation as “the hardest working man in show business.” Get On Up takes audiences behind the scenes of his brilliant, six-decade-long career for an uncensored look at the turbulent forces that drove the legendary performer.

The Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack includes a Blu-ray^™, DVD and DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet^™. 

• Blu-ray^™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
• DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
• DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet^™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Bonus Features on Blu-Ray^™ and DVD

• Long Journey to the Screen– Producers Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer spent 14 years bringing Get On Up to the screen. In this short feature, they discuss why James Brown is such a compelling subject, as well as their own memories of meeting the superstar, the rocky road to the screen and how they joined forces to bring the film to life.
• Chadwick Boseman: Meet Mr. James Brown– The filmmakers discuss why they chose Chadwick Boseman to embody the legendary ‘Godfather of Soul’ and what it took for him to learn to sing and dance (and do the splits!) like James Brown.
• The Get On Up Family– Director Tate Taylor and producers Brian Grazer and Mick Jagger talk about the extensive search for the perfect actors to play bring James Brown’s life story to the screen.
• Tate Taylor’s Master Class – The director’s extended take on a key scene in the film showcases the actors in an unscripted performance
• Feature Commentary with Director and Producer Tate Taylor

Bonus Features Exclusively on Blu-Ray^™

• On Stage with the Hardest Working Man– Compare the film’s depiction of Brown’s performances in Vietnam, at the TAMI Show and the Apollo with the real thing using archival footage of the actual events.
• The Founding Father of Funk – Producers Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer join select cast members and recording artists to talk about the real James Brown and the influence he had on the world around him.
• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes
• Full Song Performances
• Extended Song Performances

My Thoughts

Get On Up gives you a behind the scenes look at the life and career of the godfather of soul, James Brown. The story starts out back in 1988 when James Brown is trying to outrun the police. From there, the movie goes back and forth in time. We learn about his childhood in the late thirties when he was being raised by abusive parents, and we follow him as he tried to make his way in the world of music. Though it doesn't go in chronological order, the movie is easy to follow and both heartbreaking and inspiring at turns.

This was such a great film. Chadwick Boseman did an amazing job as James Brown. He deserves an Oscar for this role. The rest of the cast were suburb as well, and the costumes and backdrops were realistic to the various time periods. Some noteworthy cast-mates are Dan Aykroyd and Octavia Spencer. The music was just as great as the storyline. This is the type of movie you can watch over and over again, and never get tired of it. It's destined to become a classic.