Overview: A deeply personal portrait of 20th Century American childhood, Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans is a coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.

Inspired by Spielberg’s own childhood, The Fabelmans is written by Spielberg and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Caroline, or Change), who has earned Oscar nominations for his screenplays for Spielberg’s Lincoln and Munich.

The film is produced by three-time Oscar nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (West Side Story, The Post), Spielberg and Kushner.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated The Fabelmans in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this February 14th, 2023.

For my money, this The Fabelmans [4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital] combo pack sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is The Fabelmans presented to us as a two-disc combo pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable.

For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color; such as the exquisitely shot, dulcet in shades, Mom’s Heart scene, where Seth Rogen does some of his best dramatic acting to date.

Indeed, the picture enjoys the fruits of the added resolution in terms of bringing out the aforementioned extremely fine facial and some of the yellow graded material; notably the Camping Trip Movie scene, where Paul Dano earnestly tells his son he should film everything that goes on whilst out there camping, as it would make his mother feel better.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the movie itself, well, for my money it is arguably the best movie of 2022! A list of the greatest directors of all time, beginning with Orson Welles, would include Steven Spielberg. This thesis is proven multiple times in his tour-de-force The Fabelmans, his semi-autobiography that chronicles the early family life of Sammy Fabelman, standing in for Spielberg, and the birth of his obsession with movies.

As a youngster, Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel La Belle) is introduced to cinema by his mother, Mitzi, and father, Burt (Paul Dano), after he exclaimed his lack of desire to witness this adult diversion. Once he saw a train wreck on the screen, he was impelled to re-create the scene with his model train. Subsequently as a young man he filmed toilet-paper mummies, his Boy Scout troupe in stock westerns, and bloody war movies in the desert of Arizona.

And so began the story of his film passion up through his brief encounter with legendary director John Ford: They tell me you want to become a picture maker. What do you know about art, kid? Obviously much.

The strength of this engaging recounting of Sammy’s growth into a world-class director is the sustained realism of the challenges a young man experiences, like his eccentric mother in love with his dad’s best friend, Uncle Benny (Seth Rogan), and crushing anti-Semitism in high school. The depiction of his harassment is alternately cliched-the bigger boys pick on diminutive, Jewish him-and inspiring as he uses his burgeoning film expertise to subvert the relentless annoyances.

Midway in the drama, itinerant arts-loving Uncle Boris (Judd Hirsch) expresses what Spielberg and his co-writer, Tony Kushner, are getting at about the conjunction of art and life: Family, art, life - it will tear you in two. The Fabelmans evidences the way to deal with the vagaries of cinema-love every ironic and sardonic moment, because they are the stuff of art. The score, by who else but John Williams, elevates even the darkest moments.

While he has difficulty dealing with these roadblocks, no doubt they contributed to his deep understanding of life’s richness in its flaws. So trust me when I say that even if The Fabelmans doesn’t receive multiple Oscar nominations, that include best picture, it is still one of the, if not the BEST film of 2022, of that you have my viewing word!

DIGITAL, 4K UHD, & BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
• THE FABELMANS: A Personal Journey - Steven Spielberg reflects on how THE FABELMANS is inspired by his own personal story and family.
• Family Dynamics * - Discover how the film’s cast brought THE FABELMANS to life as Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and more build a bridge between their onscreen personalities and their true-life counterparts.
• Crafting the World of THE FABELMANS *- From costume and set design to music and cinematography, the filmmakers behind THE FABELMANS reveal how they created movie magic while capturing the film’s unique look.
*Not on DVD

Director Steven Spielberg brings a deeply personal portrait of a 20th century American childhood in the semi-autobiographical film, THE FABELMANS, available to own on Digital January 17, 2023 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD on February 14, 2023 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

“The Fabelmans | Trailer | Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

The Fabelmans Official Website