Boyz n the Hood - 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review

by Casimir Harlow
Movies & TV Shows Review

Boyz n the Hood - 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Review
MSRP: £19.99

Picture

Boyz n the Hood comes to UK Region Free Blu-ray with the same 1080p High Definition video presentation that the US had a few weeks back, providing the feature in the movie’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. Detail is generally very good – which just about the kind of level of softness you might expect from a fairly low budget production made some 20 years ago. There’s no edge enhancement, however, and no noticeable DNR, strong object detail – and the film’s solid grain structure has been left intact, giving it that suitably filmic look. The colour scheme is also quite well rendered, although the colours themselves are one of the biggest things that date the production so much –that Cosby / early Fresh Prince style of attire just hasn’t aged very well at all. Still, this does not stop decent presentation of the wild assortment of colours. Black levels are good, allowing for decent shadowing, but they are not quite as deep and solid as you might want from them. Overall, although this is far from demo quality, it’s a perfectly serviceable video presentation for this kind of material, and a far better one than Boyz has ever previously received.


Boyz n the Hood - 20th Anniversary Edition

Sound

To accompany the movie on its 20th Anniversary release, again following suit from the US release, we get a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which does pretty well given the aforementioned limitations (age and budget), and the inherent restrictions this kind of subject matter. Dialogue-driven, the script is presented clearly and coherently, dominating the frontal array wherever appropriate. I say dialogue-driven, but the piece does make room for two big other mainstays – on the effects front it’s gunfire; and in terms of the score we get plenty of thumping Hip-hop tracks. Effects also bring us some nice atmospheric moments, the streets often coming to life with the hustle and bustle and allowing for some decent surround coverage. And the gunshots merely punctuate this, but do certainly show the far end of the spectrum, contributing to the LFE output too – which, on the whole, is underlying throughout, but is sometimes also a little too heavy-handed. Again, not standout presentation, but still pretty damn good considering the source material, and certainly better than the movie has ever seen before.


Boyz n the Hood - 20th Anniversary Edition

Extras

This release, which marks the 20th Anniversary of the movie and, unlike the earlier US release, actually boasts a ‘20th Anniversary Edition’ banner to advertise the fact, sports the same comprehensive selection of extras that it’s American cousin boasts. Even though little appears to be all that different from the 2003 DVD edition, there are still plenty of extras to enjoy, and at least we do get one significant new offering: an all-new retrospective documentary.

Commentary

Audio Commentary with Director John Singleton provides us with an informative, often insightful, and indisputably personal look at the background to this production, with Singleton talking about the influence on the movie – not just in cinematic history, but also in the scope of his own film work; which was kickstarted by the massive success and critical acclaim of this piece. He talks us through the cast, discussing the amazing power that Ice Cube displayed in his debut work, and noting the key players who went on to become (relatively) big players in Hollywood. Obviously a project spawned from personal experiences, he often relates the end result to those episodes in an anecdotal format which is both revealing and, at times, shocking. A great accompaniment to the main feature.

Documentaries

The Enduring Significance of Boyz N the Hood is the only new extra, a retrospective documentary which has the director, as well as many of the cast and crew members, return to discuss the movie some 20 years on from its release. Running at nearly half an hour in length, it’s great to hear from so many familiar faces, who can reflect upon this project which marked a high point in the careers of many of them – however early on it may have been for some.

Friendly Fire: Making Of An Urban Legend, found on previous SD-DVD special editions, is a weight three-quarter-hour documentary which covers all the bases, only with a marginally different perspective to the above, new, piece. It talks about the story’s factual inception, the comparisons with life on the streets and the power of the performances and the great cast; offering up behind the scenes footage of the movie being shot, as well as plenty of cast and crew interview segments which further expand on the production.

Archive Footage

Deleted Scenes run at four and a half minutes in length and comprise two scenes, both from the latter half of the movie. The first one (two bits from the same removed section of the film) feature Tre and his mother (Cuba Gooding Jr. and Angela Bassett), and are actually pretty good. The second one has Furious (Larry Fishburne) in a rare scene talking to Doughboy (Ice Cube), and is quite good as well – I think it would have worked even better had it been left in as a counterpoint to the confrontation between Furious and son (which would have followed straight on from it).

Audition Footage offers up auditions for Ice Cube, Angela Bassett, Morris Chestnut and Tyra Ferrell, and is a great way to see the potential that all of these actors brought to the table – even so early on in their careers. Presented in fairly poor quality (there’s even a warning), we get all four auditions shown in four-way split-screen, and you can flip between them to hear the associated audio. They are all only about a minute in length, but are well worth checking out.

Music Videos

"Growin' Up In The Hood" from Compton’s Most Wanted runs at just under 5 minutes in length.

"Just Ask Me To" from Tevin Campbell is just over 4 minutes long and is absolutely hilarious (unintentionally, of course).

Finally we get some Preview Trailers to round off the disc.


Boyz n the Hood - 20th Anniversary Edition

The greatest Spike Lee film that Spike Lee never made, John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood remains both a telling and acutely personal expose into poverty-stricken life on the streets back home - a place where nobody was looking because everybody was too busy focusing on foreign lands and going to war. Made when he was just 22, Singleton's first-hand retelling of this way of life plays out like a flip-side to coming-of-age classics like Stand By Me; or as a modern, urban nod to Once Upon a Time in America; infusing the bitingly frank script with honest, authentic performances from a whole host of soon-to-be-famous actors. Boyz in the Hood is powerful and poignant, and feels just as relevant now as it was twenty years ago, which really is quite a sobering thought. Highly recommended.

On Region Free UK Blu-ray this 20th Anniversary Edition is, as far as I can tell, identical to the US release which came out not long ago. We get solid video and audio, as well as a comprehensive collection of all the previously-seen extras, together with a solid new documentary. It does not matter which edition you pick up – Region Free UK or Region Free US – but, either way, you should own this movie. Honestly, if you've never seen Boyz n the Hood, then now is the time to rectify the situation.

Scores

Movie

.
9

Picture Quality

.
.
.
7

Sound Quality

.
.
.
7

Extras

.
.
8

Overall

.
.
8
8
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

Our Review Ethos

Read about our review ethos and the meaning of our review badges.

To comment on what you've read here, click the Discussion tab and post a reply.

Related Content

Top 10 Blu-rays (UK) for November 2022
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
Top 10 Blu-rays (UK) for October 2022
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
Top 10 Blu-rays (UK) for August 2022
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
Top 10 Blu-rays (UK) for June 2022
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
The Father Blu-ray Review
  • By Casimir Harlow
  • Published

Latest Headlines

AVForums Movies and TV Show Podcast: 25th March 2024
  • By Phil Hinton
  • Published
Where to watch the 2024 Oscar best picture nominees
  • By Andy Bassett
  • Published
Freely TV platform set for a Q2 UK launch
  • By Ian Collen
  • Published
Back
Top Bottom