DVD Review: ‘Django Unchained’ is a memorable film, good Blu-ray deal

“Django Unchained,” Quentin Tarantino’s double-Oscar-winning Southern Western — about a former slave (Jamie Foxx) trying to free his wife (Kerry Washington) from a vile plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) with the aid of a witty German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) — was one of last year’s most memorable films.

Like most Tarantino movies, it improves with multiple viewings.

For an action film, the sound mix on the new home video release (from Anchor Bay Entertainment and the Weinstein Company) is relatively restrained. The visual transfer is perfect, conveying the often dark interior (and night exterior) images of Robert Richardson’s terrific cinematography with depth and detail. The extras are minimal: three 13-minute “featurettes” focusing on stunts, costumes and the production design of J. Michael Riva, who died during filming.

The film comes in two editions — a standard DVD and, for 10 bucks more, a Blu-ray “Combo Pack,” which includes the standard DVD plus a Blu-ray disc, and access to both a Web-based digital copy and a Cloud-based ultraviolet copy. The minor price difference makes the Combo Pack a no-brainer, unless you plan on never getting a Blu-ray player. The only other reason to hesitate on either is that given the scant extras, you can bet there’s at least one multi-disc Super/Special/Ultimate/Collector’s Edition planned not that far in the future.

“Django Unchained” (Anchor Bay/Weinstein, Blu-ray Combo Pack, $39.99; DVD, $29.98)

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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).