Joker [4K Ultra-HD] [2019] [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

That was brilliant. Joaquin Phoenix was perfect for the part, the macabre dancing was totally unexpected, the film was surprise after surprise, or shock after shock.

I am not going to get into the polemic that’s raging between hardcore dc fans and others. I’ve never liked comic books. I only know the characters through the films since it was a ‘bonus’ of my job to be invited or taken by fans to see comic books turned into live action films, amongst others. I worked in traditional animation, you did meet a lot of Marvel, dc, dic, etc. fans.To the true fans I am politely say “he’s not the real psychopath Joker? Who cares as long as this interpretation is brilliant”. I guess if I add “get a life” this comment will not appear, but I must do it for the sake of good, deep, thoughtful cinema.This film is so well researched it has the seal of approval of many psychiatrists.A psychopath cannot be cured. It’s not an illness they contract, it’s a state of being. They are scary but have only one tune, lack of empathy, enjoying causing pain to others, no notion of a difference between right and wrong -fine, that’s three- but they work hand in hand.Nicholson is scary whether or not he’s wearing make-up. Heath Ledger was a wonderful actor, his performance of Joker was great -though still a model psychopath- but it often felt to me like he was somehow impersonating Tom Waits in some of his live work or even interviews. (I love Tom Waits but I kept waiting Ledger to break into ‘The Piano Has Been Drinking”).Purists have been going on and on about details most people don’t even know about, having come to Joker via Batman films, not the comic.This film is profound. Everything from the script, the camera work, the music, (don’t get me started in the other argument: “Oh my! They used a Gary Glitter song”. It was perfect for that scene and the perv is behind bars...The storyline and the way it develops is amazing. Joker isn’t a psychopath, he’s a downtrodden, abused, laughed at, rejected, beaten man who already has cerebral lesions or neurological troubles caused as a child by his mother and her lovers. He’s odd. And society doesn’t care for oddity. Ours doesn’t either.He has empathy, loves his mother, is full of emotions, wants to make people laugh even though his life has never felt right or real to him, and these get trampled upon again and again until he truly becomes Joker: the very last scene when he leaves bloody footsteps as he exits the interview he had with his psychiatrist.I am not condoning murder, but we are talking about a fictional character who was born in a comic book. A little suspension of disbelief and a little tolerance aren’t too much to ask.Every person he has killed till this point do not deserve death, but they are rotten, including as it turns out his lying delusional abusive adoptive mother.The psychiatrist’s murder marks the entrance of Joker, SHE did not deserve it. Yet he’s still not a psychopath. Psychosis yes, psychopathy no. He has crossed a line, and is unlikely to turn back, but he’s not another psycho villain who has no history. The history of a psychopath would not elicit much sympathy.And that is the beauty of this film, the background it gives to an interesting maladjusted man whom society fails again and again.I’ve not spoken of Joaquin Phoenix’s performance yet because it is probable than a lesser actor might not have managed to convey this array of emotions, his original naivety, the symptoms of his lesions, the development of his character. Every time he dances I shudder. He has absorbed Arthur Fleck down to the bones.There are great actors out there, but not one could have given this performance without turning it into a caricature. His Arthur Fleck is as real as Joker. At last someone who really deserved an Oscar, and received it not to praise, thank, and flatter; but to draw parallels between the rejection and belittling of his character with the rejection and belittling of races, gender, species. Of difference. Of being the other. It was beautiful.I don’t see why this film should have cut the cord with Batman. Gotham is exactly the city that treads on the less fortunate -i.e. most everyone. Why should Bruce’s father be a nice man because he usually is?Forget those details. Keep the vaguest outline of Batman in you head, because the elements of future stories are there, be open-minded, and perhaps you’ll wish he was the real Joker in Batman -a complicated person, not a cardboard villain, not just another gratuitously cruel psychopath.Watch it again again and discover more and more subtleties.Hat off to cast, production/writing/directing team, not forgetting the crew.In an age of fluff that relies on special effects and gorgeous leads, Joker stands out proudly.And again, hat off Mr. Phoenix.

Perfect product and movie

Great condition of the dvd.

Having recently purchased a 4K Blu Ray player to go with the TV I brought last year my biggest disappointment regarding 4K and HDR is that there is absolutely ZILCH out there for Music and that is why I put off buying the player a year later. There is not likely to be anything for music either simply because the biggest majority of artists I like still put their concerts on DVD or 1080p Blu Ray and its far too expensive for them to film a concert as it is without adding more expense just for the sake of 4K.I am not a movie buff and I do not buy a lot of films at all and I have about 50 - 60 on Blu Ray which is nothing in relation to couple of hundred and more I have on DVD & Blu Ray for music. The last film I brought on Blu Ray was Toy Story 4 last year and that was the first film I have brought in about 4 years. I was also quite shocked to see that it had practically nothing in the way of bonus features especially in relation to how all of the previous 3 releases have a ton of them. But having a glance at the 4K release I noticed they had a lot more on that release and this just goes to show how they are trying to get people to spend more money on 4K and quite frankly it's just another ploy in the rip off market.One of the other reasons I decided to get a new Blu Ray player was down to Sony taking away Amazon Prime on my old player and that also never had the Netflix app either and being that I do watch the odd movie on Prime and Netflix and I enjoy surround sound I needed both of these apps on my player to get the benefit out of my AV Receiver. Being as I brought the player I thought well I might as well buy some 4K HDR content and I noticed a couple of bargains on Amazon and purchased Planet Earth II for 13 bucks and Spider-man Into the Spider-Verse for 10 bucks and I honestly was impressed. I had also pre-ordered the Joker basically because reviews of the 4K HDR were raving about it, so I thought why not go the whole hog and get the Steelbook for 30 bucks.It turned out that the most expensive 4K HDR content I purchased out of the three I purchased was the Joker in the pack. Being that all of these three purchases I made also came with 1080p Blu ray disc it was easy enough for me to load the standard blu ray into one player and the 4K into the other to make comparisons. In all honesty for the life of me I cannot see what the hell the difference is between the two yet you can spot it a mile off on those other two purchases I made for less than half the price. I enjoyed the film and had not seen it but I have to say spending 30 bucks on a film taught me a good lesson and no way on this earth would I do that again.From now on I will stick to older films that are less than 15 bucks and, in all honesty, 4K HDR Bly Rays should only cost a couple of quid more than a standard blu ray. 4k is not 4 times the picture quality and at the most it's only twice as good with the right film that is. I was not even impressed with the picture they stuck on the Steelbook. The movie might be good but the format was a rip off and the 4 stars I gave was for the movie. As for the 4K HDR quality that was very disappointing.

one of the best movies ever created

I first saw this movie on the big screen. At the time I enjoyed but said to myself 'I must watch again'. Reason being there is a lot going on in this movie and one watch does not do justice.A Blu-Ray DVD was the answer once prices had settled a bit. And glad I am to have revisited. Mr Phoenix is excellent in portraying the tortured mind. Robert De Nero is good. The supporting cast all are good.The movie is a dark tale. But it holds the viewer from start to finish. I believe this movie will become a classic of the future.Just as a side issue, I fail to get the decline in DVDS and Blu-ray etc. OK I do have an OLED TV that is very good. But the picture quality from even standard DVD's is excellent. I also own the movie along with all the extras. One day methinks they'll come back just like vinyl.Anyway, Joker, top class movie.