Excellent Movie, But the Blue-Ray Stunk

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2016)

Granted, before I ever saw the movie, "Walk the Line", I really had very little knowledge of country singer Johnny Cash's life other than a few songs he's recorded in his long career that spanned over five decades and that he was one of the very few to be inducted into the Country-Music and Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame. I was oblivious to know that Cash was a coeval with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis, but that he also toured with them over a two year period. Nonetheless, the film caught onto me and I never once looked back as this was one of the best biopics ever made to a man who's contributions to the music industry will be eternally etched in our memories forever. A well structured film that's entertaining and beautifully crafted, surely I was hoping that Fox would treat its blue-ray disc with the proper respect it deserves.
Sure the film clearly chronicles the life and times of the versatile performer Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix) and later on his wife and soulmate June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), but the dimensions in the film exceed what its integrity really is. It boldly conveys positive messages about redemption, rectification, accepting that you have a good thing right in front you and to hold on to it while you can. These idiosyncrasies are what shaped the character that Johnny Cash had made for himself. A real treat to this movie was that it went into deeper liberation to showcase a period of time before Johnny and June were soulmates. This is really digging the archives indicating a time when they were performers in their late teens or early twenties.
Aside from the Oscar-calibre performances from Phoenix and Witherspoon and the excellent script/direction from James Mangold, it was well fitting that the Cash family carefully selected these performers to play the roles of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Mangold must have struck gold with the Cash's to even film scenes that many would have deemed private to other celebrities. With a script that was well blessed by the Cash's the film industry and the Oscars, this movie was truly one of the best films of 2005. Even if you're not an aficionado of country-music, the characters depicted in this film are still a pivotal eye-catcher.
Towards the last years together before their deaths one year apart from each other, Johnny and June were freely able to share some moments together and to open up some rather grim realities that are not very flattering towards the people who loved them dearly. The story is more complex than it seems at first glance, but to create a series of events with skill and respect to the family and the performers who portray the characters is another staggering initiative. This is truly a story of two individuals who walked into a burning ring of fire and eventually knew they were soulmates for life.
Unfortunately, the Blu-ray was kind of hit-and-miss in terms of detail. The visuals were subliminally impressive in terms of colours and structuring, and when watching it at home, it feels like you're watching it at the theatre. The sounding is also quite stupendous where the dialogue, sound effects and the music is presented with direct accuracy. If you don't have the DVD or Blu-ray, well what the hell are you waiting for?
Speaking of the DVD why was it that Fox omitted the DVD features from previous releases onto the Blu-ray? The previous DVD releases has everything you need like commentary and deleted scenes and everything in the package. What's angering is that the feature "Becoming Cash/Becoming Carter" are absent here and the "Sun Records and the Johnny Cash Sound" is also annexed as well. The feature where Cash's faith in God is also missing in action which makes it very disappointing. And sure those features are brief, there was no need to leave those out of the Blu-ray. It kind of lacks the respect the film deserves and the many fans who cherished the legendary Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash.