The Finest Hours Blu-Ray Review: Stormy True Tale Inspires


One of the more heart-pounding true rescue stories you’ll ever see has arrived on DVD and Blu-Ray, the Chris Pine and Casey Affleck starring The Finest Hours.

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As if this solid film was not enough to get you to bring The Finest Hours home, the bonus features are seriously enhanced by the debut of an all-new documentary that introduces the world to the real-life heroes behind the scary and life affirming events that took place in the early 1950s off the coast of Chatham, Cape Cod.

Pine stars as Coast Guard officer Bernie Webber, a man bound by duty and honor and whose commitment to those virtues will be tested during the holiday season of 1952 when a cargo ship gets caught out in raging waters and splits in two. Affleck stars Ray Sybert, a member (who turns into a leader) of a crew of that ship that manages to somehow stay afloat while all hell is breaking loose around them. These two men’s fateful path will collide in this Disney true story that as we stated in our theatrical The Finest Hours review, is simply stunning and awesomely inspiring.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias and also stars Ben Foster in a truly lost in his role gem of a performance, as well as Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, Jim Whitaker and Dorothy Aufiero.

When it comes to the bonus features, we have to start by saluting the never-before-seen documentary Against All Odds: The Bernie Webber Story. Seeing the real residents of the sleepy little sea town give first hand accounts of the events that play out in the film is a priceless addition and one that should be treasured. There is heroism portrayed in film, and then there is the feel one gets from hearing people who were a part of the history recall it. It is downright moving.

Brotherhood could easily be another title for that documentary, but it instead is the moniker for the bonus feature that must be second on your post-film viewing. It follows the stars of the film and features interviews with them as they describe their incredible bond that they forged over the course of filming this story. They clearly knew as a collective cast that this was an important story that needed to be told at the highest levels of awesomeness and due to that, they became lifelong friends that comes across in each and every interview.

A fascinating featurette is Two Crews, where Pine and Affleck talk about how these two men, Sybert and Webber, who would be forever connected and how each had their vital part to play in saving all those lives. It’s a captivating look at how the two actors approached playing two vastly different souls who were on opposite sides of a life and death situation. Affleck and Pine both bring serious depth and gravitas to their roles and hearing how they brought these heroes to life is tremendously captured in this featurette.

Someone at Disney Home Video who put together the DVD and Blu-Ray release has to be commended. Saluting the real men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard who risk their lives every day on this release is a stroke of genius. The Finest Inspiration: The U.S. Coast Guard introduces us to a few real life Guardsmen and women as they tell their stories.

Normally, deleted scenes deserve to be found on the cutting room floor. But, The Finest Hours Blu-Ray contains two never-before-seen deleted scenes that add fullness to the story as a whole. We can see why director Craig Gillespie left them out for time and emotional currency, but they are a must-see for anyone who appreciates the film as a whole… truly fascinating.

Film: B
Bonus Features: B+