The Mule on Blu-ray and DVD

The Mule on Blu-ray and DVD – a cautionary tale?

The Mule was released on home video last week here in the UK, just about a month after its release in the U.S. The U.S. version is available as a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy, while the UK version is just a standard Blu-ray.

                                   

The Mule is also available (U.S. and UK) as a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray set, again with the U.S. version also including a digital download. I have also seen at least 1 steel book edition available in France. The standard UK DVD edition seems to include the same bonus material as the higher end formats.

So, what do the fans receive as bonus material in their chosen package?  

Well, this is where it all gets rather depressing, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s getting to be quite a familiar story. Let me start with a question. Is the Theatrical Trailer becoming a lost and unappreciated art? 
I remember approaching this subject, back in the days of Gran Torino (2008), Hereafter (2010), J. Edgar (2011), American Sniper (2014) and Sully (2016) all of which neglected any sign of a trailer.. It is now seemingly the default policy (especially in regards to Warner Bros and their Eastwood titles) to drop the original theatrical trailer, a teaser trailer and/or any other essential promo material, such as TV spots, which I think is incredibly sad. It’s a policy that perhaps signifies and confirms the ‘throwaway’ and ‘disposable’ nature in which film is regarded these days. Goggle any of the above titles and the chances are it will immediately deliver a link to ‘view the trailer’. However, a great deal of fans, especially from the era of Clint’s classic years – would still like to have the trailer included in a nice clean, non-streaming version – is it so hard to include it within a Blu-ray or DVD package?

As you may have guessed, The Mule does not include any form of trailer. What it does include is also not too impressive. Again, and as far as my knowledge goes, I believe the same extras appear on both the U.S. and UK – so what do we get:

"Nobody Runs Forever: The Making of The Mule" (10:59, 1080p) – A (very) short behind-the-scenes featurette includes comments from Clint, producer Kristina Rivera, screenwriter Nick Schenk, actors Ingacio Serricchio (Julio), Andy Garcia (Laton), Alison Eastwood (Iris), and Bradley Cooper (Agent Colin Bates), as well as producer Tim Moore and other members of the cast and crew. Although it doesn't have time to go into great detail, it briefly touches upon growing day lilies, building a stash house and researching drug cartels, shooting on the road, wardrobes and costume design, stories from the set, and more. It's a little piece that arguably could and should have been longer.

Toby Keith "Don't Let the Old Man In" Music Video (2:54, 1080p / Dolby Digital 2.0) – is a pretty standard movie soundtrack video featuring clips from the film and no sign of singer Toby Keith.

And that’s it my friends. I can see the day rapidly approaching where the movie itself will cease to become a physical entity. The studios appear to be gradually chipping away around the edges, perhaps in the hope that no one will really notice… but mark my words. The better days have most certainly gone and instead been replaced by an ill wind that’s gradually blowing our way.