This weekend, Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio hit the big screens together as The Revenant – the much-anticipated adaptation of the book by the same name – is released in the UK.
DiCaprio stars as Hugh Glass, an explorer who’s part of an expedition in to the unchartered American wilderness. After a deadly bear attack, Glass is abandoned by his team, left for dead in the middle of nowhere. Determined to exact revenge for the mutiny, Glass embarks on an epic journey of survival in the midst of the harsh winter to track down John Fitzgerald (Hardy), who was responsible for leaving him behind.
This weekend, we’ve picked three Blu-rays to get you in the mood for The Revenant’s release:
Birdman
Birdman was written and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the man responsible for the direction and screenplay of The Revenant.
Michael Keaton stars as Riggan Thomson, an actor famous for his role as comic book superhero Birdman, which he took on twenty years ago. Now middle aged, Riggan is struggling to shake off his typecast and be recognised as a true artist. In order to achieve this, he begins work on his Broadway debut, in which he writes, directs, and stars in a play adapted from a Raymond Carver story.
Birdman comes with three special features; a behind-the-scenes look at the movie, a conversation between Michael Keaton and Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and a gallery of on set photography stills.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Leonardo DiCaprio has proven his adaptability as an actor throughout his career. In The Wolf of Wall Street, he takes on the role of Jordan Belfort, a corrupt and greedy stock-broker.
We first meet Belfort at the start of his career; a young and ambitious man who’s looking to break in to the finance world. As the film progresses, we see him start his own investment firm and become obsessed with making money, mostly through illegitimate means. As his greed and substance abuse begin to get out of hand, the FBI takes an interest, and soon Belfort has to go further than ever before to cover his tracks.
The Wolf of Wall Street only comes with one special feature – a 17 minute look at director Martin Scorsese’s take on the true story of Jordan Belfort – however the film’s high-quality visuals make this a must-own Blu-ray.
Lawless
DiCaprio’s co-star in The Revenant, Tom Hardy, has seen his career rocket skywards in the past few years. In Lawless, Hardy plays Forrest Bondurant, a war survivor who bootlegs liquor with his two brothers.
When the Bondurant brothers’ activity attracts the attention of the corrupt District Attorney, Mason Wardell, they find themselves in a battle with the authorities after refusing to pay the required bribe. Rather than share their profits, the brothers continue their operation, almost causing an all-out war with the authorities.
Lawless comes with a number of special features, including audio commentary by director John Hillcoat and author of the original book Matt Bondurant, deleted scenes and a historical overview of the period and characters in the film.
