Review: Interstellar (Blu-Ray)

About few days ago, our friends at Paramount Pictures sent us a copy of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar on Blu-ray. The film has been hailed as “the most exhilarating film this century,” and while I don’t know if I’d go quite that far, it definitely had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire 169 minutes.

If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, here’s a quick synopsis:

In the mid-21st century, crop blight has caused civilization to regress into a failing agrarian society. There is no military anymore. Trends are a thing of the past. Automobiles have not been produced in decades and have to be kept in running condition. The majority of cities in the US are almost abandoned with most of the population now living in rural areas eking out a living as corn farmers.

With the situation growing more dire with each passing day, former NASA test pilot-turned-farmer Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) must leave his family and a foundering Earth behind to lead an expedition traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Interstellar will be released on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on March 31, 2015, and if you’re planning on picking this up, you should definitely get the Blu-ray. Not only do the amazing visual effects come to life in 1080p, but this three-disc set comes with three hours of in-depth, behind-the-scenes bonus content detailing the epic shoot, the scientific realities explored in the film, a look at creating the stunning visuals, plus an extended cut of “The Science of Interstellar” broadcast special and much more.

Here’s a breakdown of the special features:

• The Science of Interstellar—Extended cut of the broadcast special.
• Plotting an Interstellar Journey—Discusses the film’s origins, influences and narrative designs.
• Life on Cooper’s Farm—Bringing Americana and the grounded nature of a farm to a sci-fi space movie.
• The Dust—Learn how cast and crew avoided sand blindness, and see how to create, and clean up after, a catastrophic dust storm.
• TARS and CASE—Designing and building these unique characters and how they were brought to life on set and in the film.
• Cosmic Sounds—The concepts, process, and recording of Hans Zimmer’s unforgettable score.
• The Space Suits—A look at the design and build of the suits and helmets, and what it was like to wear them.
• The Endurance—Explore this massive set with a guided tour by production designer Nathan Crowley.
• Shooting in Iceland: Miller’s Planet/Mann’s Planet—Travel with the cast and crew to Iceland and see the challenges they faced in creating two vastly different worlds in one country.
• The Ranger and the Lander—A look at the other two spaceships in the film.
• Miniatures in Space—Marvel at the large-scale models used in the explosive docking sequence.
• The Simulation of Zero-G—Discover the various methods that the filmmakers used to create a zero gravity environment.
• Celestial Landmarks—Explore how the filmmakers used practical special effects informed by real scientific equations to give the illusion of real space travel for both the actors and the audience.
• Across All Dimensions and Time—A look at the concept and design of the Tesseract, which incorporated a practical set rather than a green screen.
• Final Thoughts—The cast and crew reflect back on their Interstellar experience.
• Theatrical Trailers

In addition, for a limited time, the Blu-ray Combo Pack will also include an authentic, collectible Interstellar film cell from an original 70MM IMAX print of the film.

Interstellar is a fascinating exploration of physicist Kip Thorne’s theories of gravity fields, wormholes and several hypotheses that Albert Einstein was never able to prove, and the movie will have your mind racing longer after it’s over. So if you’re looking for an end-of-the-world sci-fi thriller, Interstellar is just the ticket.

Make sure you pick up the movie when it’s released on March 31st, and let us know what you thought of it.