Favourite, The

"The Favourite" is set in early 18th-century England. A frail Queen Anne (Colman) occupies the throne, and her closest friend, Lady Sarah (Weisz), governs the country while attending to Anne's ill health and volatile temper. When new servant Abigail (Stone) arrives, Sarah takes Abigail under her wings as she cunningly schemes to return to her aristocratic roots, setting off an outrageous rivalry to become the Queen's favourite. (Gary Reber)

Special features include six deleted scenes (HD 02:47), the featurette "Unstitching The Costume Drama" (HD 22:19), upfront previews, and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 1.84:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed on Kodak Vision3 film stock with the Arricam LT and ST and Panavision Millennium XL2 camera systems in Super 35 and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format. While film grain is an integral part of the filmic character of the picture, it is never objectionable. This is a flashy affair with scores of colorful and intricate costumes amidst opulent surroundings. Various camera lenses are used in creatively fascinating ways. The film is dense in appearance due to the grain, with a warm color palette. The wood interiors, both walls and floors, exhibit warm brown hues. Other color accents are nicely saturated. The night interiors are lit with candles, which cast warm orangish glows to otherwise natural fleshtones, Contrast is excellent, The darkest scenes extend to blackness, contrasted with narrow beams of light or candle glow. Shadow delineation is good, though, detail fades quickly in the blackest scenes. Highlights are naturally bright. Resolution is excellent during close-ups of facial features, natural hair and wigs, clothing fabrics, and all manner of detail in surroundings when in focus. The picture is a quite lovely visual experience that will fully engage the viewer in the opulent period in which Queen Anne ruled. (Gary Reber) .

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is spectacular with the most unusual but effective music score, comprised of a small string section, a full-blown organ, and the strangest beaming sound, which shifts back and forth similar to a clock. The music is aggressively enveloping with terrific separation. The organ is very powerful with deep bass frequency extension. Foley sound effects are perfectly executed to create a sense of realism along with the generally subtle atmospherics. Sound effects are limited but rifle and gunfire sound real. Dialogue is the real attraction and is executed with terrific spatial integration in the interior scenes. ADR stands out in outdoor scenes with an unnatural forward presence. This is a wonderful soundtrack with an excellent dialogue presentation and a very satisfying music presentation. The fidelity is excellent and the surround channels are effectively engaged. (Gary Reber)