Not a lot of people saw Robert Redford’s recent production, The Conspirator, but that isn’t stopping Lionsgate from giving the film one hell of a Blu-Ray and DVD release. The Conspirator, which follows the trial of Mary Surrat, one of the possible conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, will hit Blu-Ray and DVD on August 16.
With a "deluxe" Blu-Ray edition and two-disc DVD set, The Conspirator will come chock full of historically relevant extras. My biggest beef with most historical movies is they don't often go out of the way to provide relevant historical documentaries and insights into past events. A good percentage of the people down with this type of film are even more down with documentaries and the like, and its nice to see there will be “The Conspirator: The Plot To Kill Lincoln” documentary, an “Introduction” featurette explaining the historical value of Redford’s film, and several segments concerning Mary Surratt’s real-life trial including one called “Mary Surratt: Guilty or Innocent.”
Going above and beyond with the historical stuff is great, but luckily, both releases will come with other extras as well. Both editions of The Conspirator will come with commentary from Robert Redford, as well as costume, props, and production design featurettes. There will also be a military trial featurette and an “Introduction to the American Film Company” bit. All in all, both the Blu-Ray and DVD releases seem pretty solid and will run you $39.99 and $29.99, respectively. All you’ll get extra with the Blu-Ray release are image galleries and video commentary, so the Blu-Ray isn't over-the-top the nicer release--although James McAvoy on Blu-Ray isn't half bad to look at.
With a cast featuring the likes of Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Justin Long, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood, and Alexis Bledel, don’t be dazzled by the intense acting pedigree of The Conspirator. The film doesn’t dwell on the Lincoln assassination and spends a lot of time inside a courtroom. However, if this is a period you are interested in, it’s definitely worth a watch. With this extensive release, it’s looking like it might even be a good buy.
