Blu-ray Review: Blinded by the Light

By John Corrado

It’s already one of my favourite movies of the year, and now Warner Bros. is releasing the Sundance hit Blinded by the Light on Blu-ray this week. The film follows Javed (Viveik Kalra), a British-Pakistani teenager in the 1980s who finds himself through the music of Bruce Springsteen, with the American rocker’s lyrics about the working class experience speaking to his own life as the son of immigrants in Luton.

One of the many things that I loved about Blinded by the Light is how Javed uses the music of Springsteen to stand up against racism and oppression, and the film works as a delightful and very moving tribute to his music. If you are a fan of The Boss, you really owe it to yourself to check this one out. For more on the film itself, you can read my full review from the summer right here.

The Blu-ray also includes the two short but worthwhile and informative featurettes Memoir to Movie and The Most Crazy Thing, which both feature director Gurinder Chadha and writer Sarfraz Manzoor, whose own memoir inspired the film, talking about bringing a version of his story to the screen and the early support for the project they got from Springsteen himself. They are followed by about ten minutes of deleted and extended scenes. A digital copy of the film is also included in the package.

Blinded by the Light is a Warner Bros. Home Entertainment release. It’s 118 minutes and rated 14A.

Street Date: November 19th, 2019