Fantastic beasts and where to find them on earth - and in high definition
Magic and nature collide this week on the home video market, and present two extremely attractive options for videophiles on the cutting edge.
J.K. Rowling's latest film foray into her wizarding world, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," arrives this week on Blu-ray, DVD and digital rental. This prequel of sorts to the Harry Potter saga follows British "magizoologist" Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his suitcase full of fantastic beasts in 1926 New York, where magical creatures break loose and a mysterious plot involving the legendary dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (played by a last-minute surprise guest star) unfolds.
The film feels both slight and overstuffed; our hero, Scamander, is a blank slate given a sometimes unintelligible performance by the muttering Redmayne, but his quest to find the whimsical creatures is far more entertaining than the end-of-the-world threat from Voldemort-Lite. The film's saving grace comes in the form of New York muggle Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), the audience stand-in who wins the heart of winsome witch Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), gets all the best lines and provides the film with its heart. Maybe he should have been the main character.
Videophiles with 4K ultra-HD televisions and Blu-rays can own all the wizarding world films this week in the new format. "Fantastic Beasts" and all eight Potter films get the deluxe treatment in 4K resolution which, for the uninitiated, is the same video quality as most digital projectors at your local movie theater. (The elevator pitch: brighter whites, deeper blacks, more vivid colors.) Those discs won't come cheap, though - each Potter 4K film retails for $44.95.
Who needs magic?
Beasts of the real variety are on astonishing display in "Planet Earth II," the British nature series that just finished its seven-episode run on BBC America last weekend. The home release dropped just three days later, in 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and digital HD. Presented by Sir David Attenborough, "Planet Earth II" spares no expense with unparalleled wildlife footage. Innovative cameras capture monkeys running across rooftops in Mumbai, a flock of flamingoes on parade in the high altitude of the Andes and bioluminescent worms that feast on millipedes.
Every segment is stunning, even if they all boil down to the same basic conflicts: predator vs. prey, animal vs. nature, male vs. female. But where else are you going to see night-vision footage of a leopard stealing a baby pig and scaling a city wall with the meal still in its jaws? Yes, "Planet Earth II" can be cruel, but it's never less than fascinating. It is a must-watch.
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.