The Book of Clarence Blu-ray Review

After an incredible directorial debut with 2021’s The Harder They Fall, multi-hyphenate filmmaker Jeymes Samuel recently returned with his sophomore effort The Book of Clarence. The film is an ode to the massive Biblical epics of Hollywood’s past, but with a modern and musical flair that is quickly becoming Samuel’s trademark. LaKeith Stanfield stars as the titular Clarence, a skeptic and hustler that lives in Jerusalem during the final years of Jesus Christ’s life and ministry. 

The Book of Clarence is quite literally unlike any other film around right now, but an unfortunate January release window led to Samuel’s epic bombing at the box office. It made just over $6 million, coming nowhere close to its reported $40 million budget. Sadly, a lot of people missed this in theaters, but this is the time when a home release really gets to shine. 

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released The Book of Clarence on Blu-ray and DVD this week, following the previous debut on digital platforms. For those who actually saw the movie and loved it, or who want to give it a chance for the first time, the new Blu-ray release provides the best opportunity to do so.

For this review, we’re taking a deep look solely at the Blu-ray edition of The Book of Clarence, not the DVD or digital formats. Let’s dive in…

The Disc

The 4K Ultra HD format is all the rage in physical media, and The Book of Clarence is certainly a film that would benefit from the enhanced visual and audio experience. Samuel’s score with some of those Biblical epic visuals makes it a great fit for a premium format. Unfortunately, The Book of Clarence didn’t get that full 4K rollout, likely because of its poor performance at the box office.

It would be nice to have a 4K edition of this movie, and one could eventually be in the cards if The Book of Clarence finds a second life on home video and streaming. For now, however, the Blu-ray will have to do, and it’s more than serviceable release. The 1080p visuals do enough to put you right in the action and the Dolby 5.1 audio track is solid. 

In a world where a lot of films aren’t released on any physical mediums, it’s just great to have The Book of Clarence out on a quality disc. 

One thing worth noting — that likely won’t matter to everyone but could bother some — is that this Blu-ray doesn’t come with a DVD or digital copy. That’s not really a pro or con when it comes to judging the Blu-ray itself, it’s just something you should know if you are hoping to get those additional formats along with your Blu-rays.

The Features

Where The Book of Clarence Blu-ray really excels is in its special features. One of the biggest complaints with current physical media is the lack of time and effort put into making the home release worthwhile. That wasn’t the case with The Book of Clarence, which comes with plethora of features to enjoy.

Unlike the DVD and digital releases, the Blu-ray edition of The Book of Clarence comes with a horde of deleted scenes, which is typically a favorite feature amongst digital media collectors. And this isn’t one of those situations where there are just a couple of extended bits labeled as deleted scenes. The disc features over 51 minutes of deleted scenes and scene introductions. There’s a ton of extra footage in here. The disc also features a commentary with both Jeymes Samuel and LaKeith Stanfield, which is a breath of fresh air in a time when commentary tracks can be so rare.

Here’s the full list of special features included on the Blu-ray:

• Commentary with Jeymes Samuel and LaKeith Stanfield
• Band of Brothers: Meet the Cast
• Song of Songs: An Epic Collaboration
• The Gospel of Jeymes: On the Set With Jeymes Samuel
• Book 4: Making the Film — Gag Reel
• Deleted Scenes With Filmmaker Introductions

The Verdict

The Book of Clarence is a special, one-of-a-kind film from perhaps one of the most singular voices working right now. Samuel’s imagination and utter fearlessness make for an experience you aren’t going to find anywhere else, and it’s so much fun to see a fresh spin on a genre as classic as the Biblical epic. The film definitely has its detractors, but it’s an experience worth exploring for yourself.

As for the Blu-ray itself? This is one of the better non-4K studio releases in recent memory. Sony really packed this thing with extras — extras that you actually want to see, not just meaningless puff pieces that help fill up a menu. This disc gives fans a chance to explore so many of the ins and outs of an interesting production, and offers a ton of insight into the mind of Jeymes Samuel.

This is the kind of movie that, if you like it, you’ll want to watch as much you possibly can as soon as it’s over. The Blu-ray provides more than enough behind-the-scenes content and additional footage to satisfy even the film’s biggest fans.

The Book of Clarence is now available to purchase on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD. A copy of the Blu-ray was provided for the purposes of this review.