Little Buddha (1993) - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

We begin Little Buddha in Bhutan, as word has arrived that they’ve found a candidate for a vessel for the reincarnated spirit of the recently passed Lama Dorje. As we leave the golden, sunlight-bathed monastery, the story comedically cuts to the monks driving a pick-up truck on a crowded freeway in Seattle, Washington. Led by Lama Norbu (Ying Ruocheng), the monks are there to meet a young, white American boy whom they believe may be the reborn soul of a very wise Buddhist teacher.

The story moves back and forth between two timelines. There is the modern-day story of Jesse (Alex Wiesendanger) and his parents (Chris Isaak and Bridget Fonda) grappling with the spiritual implications of their son being a conduit for an enlightened soul. Then, there is an ongoing portrayal of the origin of the religion, following a young Siddhartha (Keanu Reeves), who will eventually become the Buddha through a lifetime of learning.

As an irreligious, not particularly spiritual person, I nevertheless find myself attracted to stories about higher planes of existence, from which people draw their daily power and inspiration. I’m fascinated by the stories we tell and pass down from generation to generation. What they all have in common is their commitment to defining the human condition. Whether it’s Christ, Muhammad, or the Buddha, what makes these lessons important to millions of people is the idea that spiritual awareness is attainable not just to these iconic figureheads, but to everyone.

Little Buddha, unfortunately, neglects that aspect in both of its alternating storylines. The flashbacks featuring Siddhartha’s journey toward spiritualism come across like a Buddhist version of a Sunday school video lesson. And Jesse, the boy who may be the reincarnated Lama, behaves piously, wise beyond his years, and unlike any child you’ve ever met. I understand that the child’s “old soul” portrayal is the point, but in telling a story about an ordinary American boy who may be the Lama’s rebirth, it lacks any sort of necessary impact by not doing anything with those elements. The story would have been more impactful if it had shown a truly normal, regular family turned upside down by these revelations, and how they react to them.

Another problem with Little Buddha is in its casting. I’m a big fan of Keanu Reeves. As a performer, he’s just likable. He has a charisma that transcends the screen and speaks directly to an audience. You see him in movies like Speed or The Matrix, and he’s a natural fit. And as a dramatic actor, he really shows his chops in movies like River’s Edge or The Gift—particularly with the latter, he holds his own in a stacked cast of legendary actors. But here, as the young Siddhartha, he is woefully miscast. But potentially even more miscast is Chris Isaak, as the boy’s father. Isaak, god bless him, is a handsome dude and a talented musician, but he’s just not very good as an actor. I think that Reeves would have been the better actor for Isaak’s role, and Siddhartha could have been played by some relative unknown. Still, casting issues aside, the problem with the film’s inability to connect on a crucial human level would still remain.

Is Little Buddha a bad movie? Sort of! It feels uninspired for a movie that’s about the origin of divinity and its lasting impact through the ages. It has an interesting premise of contrasting the past with the present, with multiple cultures converging in a holy land, but then doesn’t do much with it. It’s not terrible, but it is a disappointment, considering that Bertolucci tackled similar material, to much better success, with The Last Emperor.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Kino Lorber brings Little Buddha to 4K UHD in a two-disc release. Both discs are housed in a standard case with a removable slipcover containing identical, original poster artwork from the film’s original release and subsequent home video releases. The cover art features the child Alex among a sea of grown-up Buddhist monks.

As a narrative, Little Buddha doesn’t quite work. But as a technical product, it’s an absolute marvel. Flashback sequences with the origin of the Buddha were shot in 65mm Todd-AO, while modern-day segments were shot in 35mm anamorphic Technovision. Grading in Dolby Vision HDR allows the geographically-unique color palettes to have a wide spectrum of detail. While I think cinematographer Vittorio Storaro had a bit of a heavy hand with the blue-tinted color grading in the scenes set in Seattle, they give a glimpse at what a decent transfer of Terminator 2 might look like.

From beginning to end, Little Buddha looks incredible. The flashback sequences, the modern-day sequences, they both look almost unbelievably sharp and detailed, with luminous color realization. Organic film grain is visible throughout, giving the feature a distinctly, unmistakably filmic look. For this transfer, TF1 went to the original film negatives under the supervision of Storaro.

Much like its video presentation counterpart, the audio options on Little Buddha are stellar. Available in both a 5.1 surround mix and a 2.0 stereo mix (both encoded in DTS-HD MA), my personal preference was for the surround mix. If you’ve got the proper setup for it, it’s a very subtly engaging sound design that’s cognizant of where action should occur physically on the soundstage, without overwhelming the listener with effects that are too ostentatious. Voices call from the rear speakers, and echoes reverberate across the front and the rear. And music, a great score by Ryuichi Sakamoto, envelopes the listener, as it swells impactfully, providing a sense of awe and wonder to the story.

While supplements are smaller in number, they do provide a look into the film’s production history, with an audio commentary and archival featurettes featuring interviews with the filmmakers.

4K Disc

• Audio Commentary – Film critic Bilge Ebiri

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary – Film critic Bilge Ebiri
• The Making of Little Buddha (SD 15:08)
• Interview with Director Bernardo Bertolucci (SD 7:09)
• Interview with Producer Jeremy Thomas (SD 15:41)
• Trailers

Little Buddha has an intriguing premise that it does little with. The story plays it too safe, with two timelines that both fail to engage on a personal level. Some of the best theological films ever made understand the humanity beneath the surface of these extraordinary tales. What makes Moses a commanding screen presence isn’t that he parted the Red Sea; it’s that he was brave enough to rebel against his own inherited life of luxury. Martin Scorsese’s Kundun portrays the Lama as a human being with human fears. Little Buddha is expertly made on a technical level, but stops just at the surface. Still, for all its production value, Little Buddha on 4K UHD Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is Worth a Look.