The Brutalist - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

László Tóth (Adrien Brody, in an Oscar-winning performance) flees Europe after the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust to the United States, the Land of Opportunity. There, he finds himself facing new forms of oppression, having to justify his Jewish faith to strangers, who believe he’s a no-good foreigner, with mysterious customs that don’t jive with their own. Though László is a renowned architect, having designed many famous buildings in Europe, in the United States, he must start from square one all over again - and even finds himself on a negative trajectory at one point. He begins designing furniture for his cousin’s store in Philadelphia, and after a problem with a client, he’s kicked to the curb and must find work as a laborer on construction jobs. Before long, László’s fate becomes intertwined with wealthy businessman Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce).

Like everyone else, Harrison distrusted László. Harrison is a racist, xenophobic creep, but he hides his bigotry well behind a façade of so-called “no-nonsense”. He’s the kind of guy who people can say just tells it like it is. He’s not a racist, he’s just being "honest" about what he sees. And when he first sees László, a Jew, and his coworker, a Black man, on his property, his knee-jerk instinct is to launch into a violent tirade against them and withhold payment for their labor. When Harrison realizes the exquisite work László has done for him, he decides to accept him. László, then, is “one of the good ones,” and he hires him on to design a building to honor his late mother.

The construction of the building is a laborious, decades-long project that tests László’s faith in every capacity - in himself, in his talent, and in his family. The construction of the building is a true metaphor for artistic creation itself and the compromises that must be made, both in terms of realizing what’s actually feasible versus an original vision, and compromises that are in bad faith from pencil-pushing bureaucrats who care little about artistic expression when money is on the line. The Brutalist reminds me of Oppenheimer in a strange way, in that they’re both very long films that are about people talking, and they’re absolutely enthralling. We sit and watch these conversations unfold, and the performances from the cast are so masterful, the dialogue so finely tuned to the characters, that it’s a pure pleasure to absorb.

Much has been said of the film’s gargantuan 215-minute (3.5-hour) run time, but the story (co-written by Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold) never feels overlong. Like the best epics, there’s not a wasted moment here. The story is long because it needs to be. It’s not a bloated mess with sections that belong on the cutting room floor. The Brutalist is a film that owes a lot to the films of yore, the kind of story that its visual format emulates, but it also feels wholly unique unto itself. It understands the past, but it’s not beholden to it.

The Brutalist is a challenging work, one that will likely reward repeat viewings. The performances are subtle, and the dialogue speaks volumes about the characters and their past lives. This is the kind of film you watch again and again, and you will pick up something new each time, and wonder why the actor delivered a certain line this way, as you get swept up in it all over again. This is one of the great modern epics.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Brutalist comes to 4K UHD in a very attractively designed package. The film is printed onto a single disc, housed in a unique case that opens up to a pocket on the left-hand side containing postcards featuring architectural design art from the film. The construction of the building, centering the film’s plot, extends across both sides of the package. The removable slipcover features original poster artwork from the film, with László silhouetted by the light created by torchlight sparks.

If The Brutalist were a terrible film (it’s not, but let’s just pretend), I’m tempted to say I might still recommend it for visual presentation alone. Like many epic films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, The Brutalist was shot on a higher resolution 35mm film format called VistaVision. The use of the format doesn’t feel like a gimmick here; it feels like the most logical means of telling the film’s story, which includes these almost impossibly beautiful shots of landscapes and cityscapes. While I want to laud Lol Crawley’s cinematography that brilliantly realizes the use of VistaVision, it’s also Judy Becker’s brilliant production design that brings these wonderful architectural works to life.

No HDR grading was performed for this film’s release on 4K UHD, and it is presented in a standard dynamic range. While I wish I could see an alternate version of what The Brutalist would look like in HDR, I can’t argue with the results of this existing release, which is about as close to perfection as I could imagine. Details are sharp and brilliantly detailed, with lush colors throughout, maintaining a truly filmic look through subtle film grain and some minor dirt and debris that help it feel organic and alive. The Brutalist is a feast for the eyes.

On the audio front, viewers/listeners are treated to an immersive DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track that is active throughout. Rear speaker activity is at a constant level through atmospheric effects and Daniel Blumberg's incredible score. The Brutalist is a story told through the conversations its characters have with each other, so priority is always given to dialogue clarity. The soundstage sounds clean and pristine, crystal clear in its projection of sound, from the smallest whisper to the most triumphant of swells through a musical cue.

The Brutalist is sadly lacking in special features; however, the two features found on this disc are quite robust and informative: A featurette about the making of the film and its themes, and a feature-length audio commentary Lol Crawley.

• Audio Commentary – Director of Photography Lol Crawley

• “The Architects of The Brutalist” Featurette (HD 24:23)

When folks talk about the end of cinema, movies like The Brutalist are a sobering reminder of the power of cinema. An enthralling piece of work that pulls no punches and never talks down to its audience, at a tremendous run time of over three hours, found financial success at the box office. A beautiful picture, with Oscar-winning photography that will make the most out of anyone’s 4K home theater setup, The Brutalist is simply a pleasure, and a blessing to exist. The Brutalist is Highly Recommended.