Blu-Ray Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ruled the box office just a few short months ago, and now it is on Blu-ray/DVD/Disney Digital for everyone to enjoy at home. We received a Blu-ray and digital copy (I’m out of town and ended up screening the digital version). I’m not going to talk about the film itself here, because just about everyone has seen it at least once. There are bonus features, not as many as I’d have hoped for, but most or all of the ones here are worth watching.

For myself, the one major thing missing from the bonus features is a 30-60 minute behind-the-scenes look at the film – though in a sense it is here with smaller featurettes that are specific to different aspects of the movie and I’ve read that they can be played in full on the Blu-ray without stopping to click on each one. Each of these shorter features delve pretty deep into the making of the film. There are no deleted scenes.

Here is a look at what is available, with descriptions of my personal favorite features.

A Rogue Idea (8:59): John Knoll, executive producer and visual effects supervisor, begins by sharing his history with ILM, and then talks about pitching his idea for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to Kathleen Kennedy. He didn’t hear anything for about a week after pitching it, and he got a positive response to what ended up being one of the biggest movies of last year. Others involved in the project talk about what was originally going to be a “small arthouse film”. A newer film director, Gareth Edwards was chosen for the movie. He has a deep affection for the original film.

Visions of Hope: The Look of Rogue One (8:24): Director Gareth Edwards and co-production designer Doug Chiang (he is also a VP/Executive Creative Director at Lucasfilm) discuss the design of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, along with others who worked on this aspect of the film. One interesting thing mentioned was how on the original Star Wars stormtroopers, the grill on the mask was a sticker. Here, it was created as a grill to look authentic.

Jyn: The Rebel (6:15): Actor Felicity Jones as Jyn is the centerpiece of this feature, which was the “most physical exercise” she’s ever done in her entire life. Director Edwards says that when he thought he had the hardest job, he realized it was Jones carrying a Star Wars film that actually had the hardest one.

The Princess and the Governor (5:49): The incredible way that the Industrial Light & Magic brought the characters of Princess Leia and Grand Moff Tarkin to life make this a very compelling feature.

There are a few other features as well.

Bodhi & Saw: The Pilot & the Revolutionary (8.35)

Cassian: The Spy (4:14)

Epilogue: The Story Continues (4:15)

I am not sure I need to sell the idea of picking up Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the movie sells itself. The bonus features are great, but just a little light in my opinion.