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“On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator Richard Rodgers celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical ‘Oklahoma!’. Starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott, and Bobby Cannavale. Directed by Richard Linklater,” says the official description.
Nearly all of the film takes place within a bar, which requires a powerful performance and a tight script for it to remain captivating. In a transformative performance, Hawke melts away and is able to show both the incredible wit and charm of Hart, while also showing an indelible sadness. He’s a man who is desperate; seeing this one night is his last shot at redeeming his personal and professional struggles. Often funny and equally as heartbreaking, it’s a career-best performance from Hawke, who should’ve been a bigger awards season contender, and is wonderfully directed by Linklater.
There sadly wasn’t a 4K release, which means we get a downscaled home release. However, the Blue Moon Blu-ray still looks sharp, with its gorgeous cinematography and set design still impressing at home. It also features a DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track, which sounds great.
The only knock against the Blue Moon Blu-ray is the bare-bones bonus features. All that this release offers is the film’s theatrical trailer. No commentary track or featurettes are included. That’s a shame since the way the movie was filmed was very interesting, thanks to all the old-school tricks used to make Hawke look so short throughout. I would have loved to hear Linklater and Hawke pontificate on the shooting process and their collaborations.
Blue Moon Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict
While the lack of any meaningful special features is a bummer, the Blue Moon Blu-ray allows you to own one of 2025’s best movies. Anchored by an Oscar-worthy Ethan Hawke performance, the film is inherently rewatchable and holds up upon rewatch. Linklater fans will definitely want to check this out.
Disclosure: ComingSoon received product from the distributor for our Blue Moon Blu-ray review.