Nerdly » ‘Eddington’ Blu-ray Review

28th Oct2025

‘Eddington’ Blu-ray Review

by Jason Lockard

Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Austin Butler, Emma Stone | Written and Directed by Ari Aster

Political issue films have been a cornerstone of cinema since its earliest days – dating back to 1939, when Frank Capra directed Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Over the decades, filmmakers have explored politics from every angle and agenda, giving us classics like Malcolm X, Milk, Dr. Strangelove, The Manchurian Candidate, and many more.

In July 2025, the political drama Eddington arrived in cinemas, though it faced tough competition from lighter fare such as Smurfs and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Now, it’s getting a second chance to reach audiences, as A24 has released Eddington on a sleek digipack Blu-ray edition — the perfect opportunity for viewers to discover (or revisit) this compelling drama.

In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.

Eddington was written and directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Beau is Afraid), and he does a wonderful job steering this cinematic ship – balancing the tension with dark humour perfectly; plus the film’s visuals really are stunning and transport the viewer back to a time we would all like to forget.

The film’s cast is exceptional it includes Joaquin Phoenix (Joker), Pedro Pascal (Gladiator II), Luke Grimes (TV’s Yellowstone), Deirdre O’Connell (TV’s The Penguin), Micheal Ward (The Book of Clarence), Amélie Hoeferle (Night Swim), Clifton Collins Jr. (Nightmare Alley), William Belleau (Killers of the Flower Moon), Austin Butler (Elvis) and Emma Stone (Poor Things).

If there is one thing that this film has going against it, it would be that it revolves around the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is just starting to gain a bit of normalcy after the horrible effects of this time and the virus is still not eradicated, and people are still contracting it. I think it is a bit too soon to explore the subject in film. But that is my humble opinion.

Eddington has been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p and presented in 1.85:1. The audio track is an English Dolby Atmos track. There are also subtitles in English and Spanish. The transfer of Eddington is crisp and clean. The depth of detail in the film transfer is simply stunning. The colours and the flesh tones on this transfer are amazing. The audio is clear as a bell. There are certainly no problems hearing the dialogue.

Now this Blu-ray release has a couple of bonus extras that make this release just a little bit better, besides the packaging, which is a digipak slipcase along with art cards. On this disc, there is a bonus featurette of “Made in Eddington,” an over 30-minute feature with interviews and behind-the-scenes videos with the cast and writer/director Ari Aster.

Eddington is a good political drama, but it probably would have played better a few years down the line. As far as the physical media release goes, I enjoy A24’s digipack releases, but I just wish there was more to this release.