In Bullfrag we have analyzed the domestic edition on Blu-Ray of The Father, which it is already on sale on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital rental and sale formats.
The father is the film with which veteran actor Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for Best Leading Actor, while filmmaker Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton won the Best Adapted Screenplay statuette. In addition, the film was awarded the Goya for Best European Film and reaping continuous success at the festivals in which it has participated, such as in San Sebastián, where it won the Audience Award, or at Sundance and Toronto. The film garnered six nominations at the 2021 Oscars gala, four nominations at the Golden Globes and six nominations at the BAFTA Awards, earning best actor awards for Anthony Hopkins and best adapted screenplay.
Based on the hit play of the same name by newcomer big screen director Florian Zeller, the film is co-written by Oscar winner Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Friendships); and stars Oscar winners Sir Anthony Hopkins (Thor: Ragnarok) and Olivia Colman (The Favorite).
Synopsis:
Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) is an elderly person who is already 80 years old, but still lives alone in his London apartment. Considering himself self-sufficient, he constantly rejects each of the nurses that his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) sends him to help him. However, such a need is increasingly pressing for her, as she has decided to move to Paris to live with her boyfriend. It will soon become apparent that the perception of reality is increasingly confusing for Anthony.
The father, with an approximate duration of 97 minutes and not recommended for children under 7 years of age, it is shown in its Blu-Ray version with various extras and a set of six postcards of the film, which we have analyzed for Cinemascomics readers. The Blu-Ray review is completely spoiler-free, in case you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, and want to know what extras it contains.
- Audio: English, Spanish and Catalan DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.
- Subtitles: Spanish, Catalan and Basque.
- 2.39: 1, 16/9, 1080p high definition.
- Includes six postcards with images from the film.
TV Spot:
Trailer:
Deleted scenes:
Composed of 3 sequences deleted from the final montage.
Returning Home: How The Father Was Made:
For Anthony Hopkins it was an extraordinary experience, like a painless operation. In addition, he praises the filmmaker’s work as a debut screenwriter and director.
Production designer Peter Francis explains that the story takes place in a single setting, but it is transforming, so it is an opportunity to do something interesting, that works. In turn, they talk about the differences with the adaptation to the theater.
For Florian Zeller, screenwriter and director, history is like a labyrinth, and the viewer finds himself in the middle of that labyrinth and has to find the way out. So using the stage as part of the narrative, he wanted the audience to feel as disoriented as Anthony.
For her part, the costume designer, Anna Mary Scott Robbins, comments that the costumes could not stand out, but had to be integrated into the characterization of the characters. Along with this, the cast members and producers rave about the director, his handling of the actors, who knows what he wants and needs very few takes.
Perception Game: Portrait of The Father:
For the filmmaker, writing is like dreaming. And when you dream, only at the end do you realize what you were dreaming about. Actor Anthony Hopkins indicates that the director assured him in their first meeting that he wrote the role with him in mind, and to embody it he was inspired by his father, who in his last moments also lost his memory. And to represent dementia, the director did not want the viewer to simply see it from the outside, he wanted to create confusion, seeing it from Anthony’s eyes.
To represent the story, the filmmaker confesses that he needed to set it in London, and have English interpreters with great strength, exceptional, to be credible. So he turned to Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Olivia Williams and the rest of the cast.
Both the director and the lead actor rave about Olivia Colman, calling her the best actress in the UK. And for her, it was a pleasure working with the veteran actor.
Florian Zeller at the San Sebastian Festival:
The presenter Elisabeth Cabeza interviews Florian Zeller in San Sebastián, who came to the Festival to present the film, his debut as a director, where he talks about how the project was conceived, being an adaptation of his own work, since he wrote eight years ago The Father like a play. He also talks about how he got Anthony Hopkins to accept, the different genres the film encompasses, and his experience with actors.
Interviews:
Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Williams, Rufus Sewell, Peter Francis (production designer), Philippe Carcassonne (producer), David Parfitt (producer), Ben Smithard (director of photography), Christopher Hampton (screenwriter) and Florian Zeller, who talk about the project and how it was carried out.
Other titles:
- Minardi trailer.
- Trailer of Return to Hope Gap.
- Trailer of Return to Howards End.
Finally, we hope you enjoy buying El Padre, now available to take home on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as digital rental and sale; and so you can see it as many times as you want.
THE father | Blu-ray
URL: Amazon
Price : € 18.99
Availability : InStock
Description : A scathing, somewhat mischievous 80-year-old man who has stubbornly decided to live alone, rejects each and every caregiver that his daughter Anne tries to hire to help him at home. Anne is desperate because she can no longer visit him daily and feels that her father’s mind begins to fail.