Call Me by Your Name Blu-ray Review

Sony's 1080p presentation of "Call Me by Your Name," shot on 35mm film, showcases an exemplary image with an organically rendered grain structure consistent throughout most scenes, ensuring the film maintains its cinematic authenticity. This Blu-ray transfer is characterized by its stable, textured detailing that brings out the richness in old brick walls, grasses, weeds, clothing, and skin textures. The color palette is beautifully balanced, offering softly vibrant hues that particularly shine in sun-soaked outdoor scenes while still managing depth and continuity in nighttime sequences with perfect black levels and accentuating shadow detail. Natural greens and period-specific attire appear vivid and authentic.

The 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio emphasizes the film's potent cinematic style despite minor irregularities and occasional grain spikes in darker shots. These deviations are likely intentional, adding to the film's authentic texture. Bright outdoor scenes set in idyllic Italian locales exhibit strong clarity and depth, encapsulating fine textures in leaves and clothing. Colors are nicely saturated with rich greens and yellows, highlighted by a particularly vibrant sequence featuring purple and blue lights at an outside dance club. While contrast is generally well-balanced, some indoor and nighttime shots may appear dim with slightly elevated blacks that can seem muddy in the shadows.

Overall, this top-flight transfer captures the textural superiority of film, presenting a consistently striking visual experience that stays true to the director's creative vision.

"Call Me by Your Name" features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that excels in capturing the delicate atmospherics crucial to the film's setting. The audio presentation delivers crisply defined support elements, from the clear tones of a ringing dinner bell to richly detailed environmental sounds such as chirping birds, light winds, and rolling waves. Specific scenes, including a dense rainstorm and deep thunder, showcase the track's capability to handle heightened activity with scene-shaping clarity. The musical reproduction is particularly noteworthy; piano keystrokes and Sufjan Stevens' original pop songs are presented with superb definition and front-heavy separation, allowing every note to resonate with impressive detail. While the surrounds primarily handle environmental textures, they effectively enhance the immersive quality of each location.

Dialog delivery is faultlessly prioritized and positioned, ensuring clarity whether in English or the scattered subtitled French and Italian lines. Modest yet quietly immersive, the sound mix underpins the film's wistful tone, maintaining clean and crisp speech without balance issues. Directionality and imaging are naturally executed, with effects seamlessly transitioning across speakers when necessary. Though the surround use is restrained, it contributes appropriate ambience, spreading subtle background effects to create an enveloping atmosphere. The Low-Frequency Effects (LFE) are understandably muted for most of the film due to its genre, but bass presence notably elevates scenes such as dance sequences and rainstorms. With optional English SDH, English, French, and Spanish subtitles available, "Call Me by Your Name" provides an artistically measured sound design that compellingly enhances the sense of space and environment without overwhelming the listener.

The Blu-ray extras for "Call Me by Your Name" provide an insightful and comprehensive look into the film's production and thematic elements. The audio commentary by Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg stands out for its depth, covering everything from narrative details to behind-the-scenes anecdotes, making it an essential listen for fans. The featurettes offer a rich blend of interviews and discussions that dive into the film's story, character development, and production techniques, including shooting on 35mm film. The inclusion of a music video for Sufjan Stevens' Oscar-nominated song adds an emotive layer to the extras.

Extras included in this disc:

• Audio Commentary: In-depth track by Timothée Chalamet and Michael Stuhlbarg discussing narrative, characters, and production.
• Snapshots of Italy: The Making of Call Me by Your Name: Insightful featurette on the film's production and narrative elements.
• In Conversation with Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Luca Guadagnino: Extended Q&A session delving into various aspects of the movie.
• Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens: Music video featuring clips from the film.
• Theatrical Trailer: Original trailer of the movie.

"Call Me by Your Name" is a masterful exploration of the delicate stages of sexual awakening and emotional maturity, set against the idyllic backdrop of 1980s Italy. Directed by Luca Guadagnino and based on André Aciman's novel, the film revolves around the blossoming relationship between 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and 24-year-old grad student Oliver (Armie Hammer). Elio's father, a professor of archeology, brings Oliver into their home, leading to an initially contentious friendship that slowly becomes a powerful and deeply affecting romance. The narrative skillfully navigates the oscillation between ecstasy and heartbreak inherent in first love, underpinned by Elio's internal struggles and burgeoning desires.

The film's visual storytelling is exceptional, with Guadagnino, screenwriter James Ivory (who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay), editor Walter Fasano, and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom crafting a languid, yet precisely paced narrative. As Elio and Oliver’s relationship develops, the filmmakers use composition, blocking, and extended takes to enhance the shifting dynamics between the characters. One notable sequence captures Elio’s brave confession to Oliver with a continuous shot that physically and figuratively bridges their distance, encapsulating the raw honesty and vulnerability of their connection. Chalamet’s performance as Elio is particularly striking, embodying the character’s fluctuating emotional state with a nuanced depiction of confusion, lust, and love. Similarly, Hammer’s portrayal of Oliver balances outward confidence with underlying fear, making their evolving bond feel both intimate and authentic.

Despite its many accolades, "Call Me by Your Name" does not shy away from controversy, particularly regarding the age difference between Elio and Oliver. The film confronts this delicate subject matter through Elio’s perspective, inviting viewers to empathize with his evolving essence while leaving room for critical discourse on its moral implications. Ultimately, it's a sensitive and poignant portrayal of love’s ephemeral nature and the indelible impact of first love on one's soul.

Call Me by Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is a masterful exploration of love, longing, and self-discovery. The film's narrative unfolds in the picturesque Italian countryside, where a teenage boy named Elio forms an intense relationship with Oliver, an older man. Through exquisite cinematography and compelling performances, particularly by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, the movie captures the ephemeral nature of summer romance. The emotional depth is expertly conveyed, making this a profoundly moving experience.

From a technical perspective, Sony's Blu-ray release of "Call Me by Your Name" is commendable. The video quality is pristine, beautifully rendering the lush landscapes and intimate moments with clarity and vibrancy. The audio presentation complements the visual splendor, featuring an evocative soundtrack that enhances the film's emotive tone. Additionally, the Blu-ray includes valuable bonus content such as insightful commentary and featurettes that delve deeper into the film's making and thematic layers.

With Call Me by Your Name, potential audiences must tread carefully. The film pushes boundaries and asks its audience to accept not simply a homosexual romance but rather a tale involving a teenage boy and a man a few years older than he. It's presented in an impeccably performed and gorgeously crafted framework that deals not exclusively with bodily responses to love and lust but also, and more critical to the story, the lead character's evolving essence as a maturing young man seeking his place in the world. But in a time when attention has been called to sexual deviance in Hollywood, it's a film that cannot help but exist in a harsh spotlight. It's extraordinarily well done from a technical perspective as well as an emotional one, but prospective audiences will have to decide for themselves if the story's central plot line is for them. Sony's Blu-ray is fantastic, presenting flawless video and audio alongside a healthy allotment of quality bonus content. Cautiously recommended.