By SCOTT FEINBLATT
Earlier this year, Jordan Peele once again caught the attention of the horror world with his third directorial effort, Nope. This time around, the writer/producer/director of Get Out and Us took a stab at the alien subgenre. Now, horror fans can probe the merits of this extraterrestrial delight to their hearts’ content as Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will release the film on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on October 25.
This reviewer screened a copy of the Blu-ray, and the picture and sound quality were outstanding. Nope’s cinematographer, Hoyte Van Hoytema, shot the film in 65mm with certain sequences being shot in IMAX format, and the transfer is simply beautiful. Nope also features a very unique auditory landscape with Michael Abels’s dynamic score conjuring moments of poignancy, abstract terror, and catharsis; all of this as well as the unique alien sounds (props, I believe, to sound designer Johnnie Burn) are mixed exquisitely, and this is all highly evident on the Blu-ray’s Dolby Atmos, English soundtrack.
Regarding the extra features, the available formats present a bit of a disparity. Specifically, the hour-ish long making-of featurette, “Shadows: The Making of Nope,” is not included on the DVD edition. As for the other features – “Deleted Scenes,” “Gag Reel,” “Call Him Jean Jacket,” and “Mystery Man of Muybridge” – those are included in all of the formats.
In the comprehensive “Shadows,” the filmmakers and cast discuss the film’s theme of exploiting nature, Peele’s collaborative working style, the production design, the cinematography, the characters, the design of the fictional Jupiter’s Claim amusement park, and the film’s the stunt work. Also, as a nostalgic treat for Los Angeles-based viewers, there is a behind-the-scenes look at the “re-opening” of Fry’s Electronics in Burbank for a scene in the film (Fry’s was an iconic store, with a very memorable facade, which permanently closed in February 2021). The featurette is rounded out with some touching reflections on the project by Peele and leading cast members Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer.
There are five “Deleted Scenes,” which are mostly just slightly extended versions of sequences in the film – except for one which is the unenhanced footage of a memorable chimpanzee sequence, so viewers can observe actor Terry Notary, in his native skin, performing the role of Gordy. The “Gag Reel” doesn’t feature anything too zany; it’s basically just a series of dialogue flubs with the occasional performer mugging for the camera. “Call Him Jean Jacket” is a 15-minute featurette that focuses on the creation of the alien. In it, Peele and his creature team discuss conceptual inspirations, philosophical considerations, and visual and auditory execution as well as take viewers on a tour of the various special effects and zoological departments involved in bringing their unique vision to life. Finally, there’s “Mystery Man of Muybridge,” which is a five-minute examination of the mythical, first movie star/stunt man/animal wrangler depicted in the very first motion picture. In Nope, Peele provides this African American jockey with a fictional history that connects to his lead characters, and this featurette explores the narrative and compositional themes tied to the mythology.
Nope is a very enjoyable film. It demonstrates Peele’s ongoing commitment to exploring new ideas and variations on genre conventions. Universal’s Blu-ray does not include the most comprehensive collection of extra features (commentary tracks are always nice); however, it does offer great video and audio quality, and it does supply a very nice collection of well-produced extra features which provide viewers with multiple perspectives on a number of the production’s theoretical and practical facets.
