"The Florida Project" follows a precocious six-year-old whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder amidst hard times. On a stretch of highway just outside the most magical place on earth, six-year-old Moonee (Prince) and her ragtag band of playmates spend an unforgettable summer at The Magic Castle, a budget motel where she lives with her unstable mother (Vinaite), managed by Bobby (Dafoe). Bobby's stern exterior hides a deep reservoir of kindness and compassion as he watches over the kids' adventures, protecting them from some of the harsher realities of life. (Gary Reber)
Special features include the making-of featurette "Under The Rainbow" (HD 22:01), cast and crew interviews (HD 49:46), bloopers and outtakes (HD 02:46), upfront previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.
The 2.38:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed on Kodak Vision3 film stock with the Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 film camera system and in digital with the Arri Alexa Mini and Apple iPhone S6 camera systems and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format.This is a very, very low-budget production with hand-held camera work. Color fidelity is saturated with ugly hues depicted in the cheap motels and cheap retail operations in nearby Disneyworld. Quality is inconsistent throughout. The distant Disneyworld brief nighttime fireworks look the best. This is a disturbing real-life depiction of poverty in Florida. (Gary Reber)
The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack, while credited as a multi-channel production, actually has only very, very low-level ambience in the surrounds and there is virtually no .1 LFE or deep bass. The sound is frontal focused and essentially mono for the most part. At the very beginning and end there is music, which spans the channels and delivers bass and .1 LFE energy, but that's it. This is a very mediocre soundtrack. (Gary Reber)