Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 129 mins – 2008 – Rated R – 1080p Widescreen 1.85: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio

Sean Penn just won the Academy Award for best actor, and after watching his performance in Milk it’s easy to see why. The film didn’t break any box office records, but for those who missed out seeing in it theaters, Milk is now available on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

THE MOVIE

Milk is based on the true story of Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to a major public office in the 70’s. Milk, perfectly portrayed by Sean Penn, is the underdog who on his 40^th birthday feels as if he hasn’t accomplished anything in his life, but this all changes when he sees how gay men and women are being mistreated in his San Francisco community and decides to do something about it.

At first he just organizes protest to demonstrate how gays invest plenty of money into the San Francisco community, so changes should be made if businesses want those finances to keep coming in. With that victory achieved, Milk’s lover, Scott Smith (James Franco), convinces him to run for office so he can have a greater impact. After several failed attempts at winning, Milk keeps pushing and adds members to his team, including Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch) and Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill), who reconstruct his campaign to finally get him a seat in office. This accomplishment is short lived when a rival politician, Dan White (Josh Brolin), who is battling his own demons, murders him in cold blood.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, Milk avoids the usual pit falls of most biopics, which goes into every detail of the character’s life, and instead focuses on the pivotal events that made this person a part of history. The San Francisco scene of the mid 70’s is captured strongly, balanced with excellent performances from the ensemble cast. Some parts do feel slow, but overall the film works because Sean Penn lights up every scene he’s in.

VIDEO

Presented with a full 1080p image in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Milk looks good, offering crisp colors and solid skin tones. Gus Van Sant avoids using any flashy elements, so the visuals are straightforward.

AUDIO

Milk is a heavy dialogue film, so the DTS lossless master 5.1 mix is well balanced. Protest scenes with hundreds of extras on the streets stand out in the rear speakers, but it’s the center speaker that will get the biggest workout because of on-going dialogue.

EXTRAS

There’s not much to see here in terms of bonus goodies, not even an audio commentary from the director. Instead there are only a couple of mini docs that act more as promotional material.

‘Remembering Harvey’ runs around fifteen minutes and looks at the real Harvey Milk, featuring interviews with those who actually knew him. This is an interesting piece, but it should have been longer.

‘Hollywood Comes to San Francisco’ is a basic and quick making off look at the making of Milk that includes interviews with the cast and crew.

‘Marching For Equality’ looks at the filming of the marching demonstrations to ensure they were accurate to the real events.

BOTTOM LINE

Anyone who is tired of films aimed at teenagers that only rely on special effects and constant explosions, will find Milk as a nice change of pace. Sean Penn delivers one of the best performances of his career, and the film itself with shine a light on a figure in American history who may have been forgotten. The Blu-ray offers good image and sound quality, but the bonus features leave a lot to be desired. This one is worth a look.

SCORES: (Out of 5):

The Movie: 3.5

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.0

Extras: 2.5

Bottom Line: 3.0