Trying to Stay Calm!: Get On Up Blu-ray Review...

THE RIVETING TRUE STORY OF ‘GODFATHER OF SOUL’ JAMES BROWN

FROM PRODUCERS MICK JAGGER AND BRIAN GRAZER AND

THE DIRECTOR OF THE HELP

GET ON UP

ON DIGITAL HD DECEMBER 9, 2014

AND DVD, BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK JANUARY 6, 2015

FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Pioneering American music icon James Brown goes from rags to rhythm-and-blues royalty in Get On Up, a spectacular portrait of the life of the charismatic performer!

Director Tate Taylor follows up his Oscar-nominated breakout film, The Help, with an explosively soul-packed story filled with stunning remixes of Brown’s original recordings, dramatic recreations of the singer’s memorable stage moments and a mesmerizing star performance by Chadwick Boseman (42) as “The Godfather of Soul.” The Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack also features over an hour of bonus material, including never-before-seen interviews with the filmmakers and cast, extended and deleted scenes and additional unforgettable musical performances.

James Brown’s ferocity, talent and ambition propelled him from his hardscrabble South Carolina roots to some of the most prestigious musical venues in the world, earning him a reputation as “the hardest working man in show business.” Get On Up takes audiences behind the scenes of his brilliant, six-decade-long career for an uncensored look at the turbulent forces that drove the legendary performer.

The Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack includes a Blu-ray^™, DVD and DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet^™.

Blu-ray^™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet^™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Bonus Features on Blu-Ray^™ and DVD

Long Journey to the Screen– Producers Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer spent 14 years bringing Get On Up to the screen. In this short feature, they discuss why James Brown is such a compelling subject, as well as their own memories of meeting the superstar, the rocky road to the screen and how they joined forces to bring the film to life.
Chadwick Boseman: Meet Mr. James Brown– The filmmakers discuss why they chose Chadwick Boseman to embody the legendary ‘Godfather of Soul’ and what it took for him to learn to sing and dance (and do the splits!) like James Brown.
The Get On Up Family– Director Tate Taylor and producers Brian Grazer and Mick Jagger talk about the extensive search for the perfect actors to play bring James Brown’s life story to the screen.
Tate Taylor’s Master Class – The director’s extended take on a key scene in the film showcases the actors in an unscripted performance
Feature Commentary with Director and Producer Tate Taylor

Bonus Features Exclusively on Blu-Ray^™

On Stage with the Hardest Working Man– Compare the film’s depiction of Brown’s performances in Vietnam, at the TAMI Show and the Apollo with the real thing using archival footage of the actual events.
The Founding Father of Funk – Producers Mick Jagger and Brian Grazer join select cast members and recording artists to talk about the real James Brown and the influence he had on the world around him.
Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes
Full Song Performances
Extended Song Performances

TECHNICAL INFORMATION - Blu-ray^™:

Street Date: January 6, 2015

Selection Numbers: 61131466

Running Time: 2 hours 19 minutes

Layers: BD-50

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Rating:PG-13 for sexual content, drug use, some strong language, and violent situations.

Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0, DTS Digital Surround 5.1 (French, Spanish)

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

TECHNICAL INFORMATION - DVD:

Street Date: January 6, 2015

Selection Numbers: 61131465

Running Time: 2 hours 19 minutes

Layers: Dual

Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1

Rating:PG-13 for sexual content, drug use, some strong language, and violent situations.

Technical Info: English Dolby Digital 5.1 / DVS DD 2.0^2 and, DTS Digital Surround 5.1 (French, Spanish)

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Our Review:

Get on up is a great movie! It was interesting to see James Brown climb to be the Godfather of soul. He had a hard time as a kid and both of his parents ended up leaving him. So it was amazing to see how he overcame his rough childhood through music. Throughout the movie he is self-centered and orders people around. Then by the end of the movie he realizes how much certain people mean to him and how much he needs them in his life. The last song he sang in the movie is very powerful and you can feel the love he has for his good friend Byrd. I thought it was really cool how James stopped a riot from happening when he was playing at Madison Square Garden after Martin Luther King was killed. Another thing I liked is how he had great ideas and people would say "that won't work". But when he made them do it his way everyone loved it.

There are some pretty cool special features too! Extended scenes, deleted scenes, full song performances, Chadwick Boseman: Meet Mr. James Brown, The get on up family and so much more. I really liked the "Long journey to the screen". It was interesting to see how this movie was 14 yrs in the making. It couldn't be made until after Mick Jagger bought the rights to the songs.

Disclaimer: *I received the review products at no charge to evaluate and express my opinion.*