Brad Pitt’s Action-packed Sci-Fi Thriller, AD ASTRA, Landed on Digital December 3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD December 17
Brad Pitt gives a powerful performance in this “absolutely enthralling” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), sci-fi thriller set in space. When a mysterious life-threatening event strikes Earth, astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) goes on a dangerous mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
Certified-Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes™, critics have hailed AD ASTRAas “a thrilling interstellar epic” (Rodrigo Perez, Playlist). Add AD ASTRA to your digital collection on Movies Anywhere December 3 and buy it on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD December 17.
AD ASTRA Blu-ray Special Features:
Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary by James Gray
Director/writer James Gray’s film AD ASTRA (a Latin term meaning ‘to the stars’) is a rare find – an outstanding science-fiction film more interested in ideas than scary critters. AD ASTRA takes place in an unspecified future, described as “a time of conflict and hope”. Brad Pitt stars as Roy McBride, an astronaut so calm his pulse doesn’t rise even when he’s introduced tumbling free-fall to Earth from aSpace Antennain the upper atmosphere. An electric surge has caused Roy’s latest project’s destruction, along with thousands of other catastrophes worldwide. It’s soon clear the energy blasts are coming from Neptune. That’s the location of the ‘Lima Project’, a lost expedition lead by Roy’s father (and American hero) Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) thirty years earlier. Roy and a small crew are enlisted by Colonel Pruitt (Donald Sutherland) and others for a mission that will eventually take him to Neptune by way of the Moon and then Mars. Roy’s new mission is to determine if his father is alive, discover why he wants to threaten the extinction of life on Earth, and to destroy the Lima Project.
From this synopsis, AD ASTRA does not sound too different from most films about space travel, but there is a whole lot more to this intelligent film than the sci-fi hook. The thought-provoking, two-hour film is a welcome change of pace from summer no-brainers. It’s complex, but not hard to follow and the fact that it is smart does not mean that it’s not entertaining. There’s a chase scene featuring space pirates on moon-buggys that provides conventional excitement. There’s humor in the sequence where Roy flies Virgin Airlines to the moon where his stewardess charges him $125 for a pillow, then the moon is presented as an amusement park with an Applebees and families lining up to have their photos taken with phony space creatures. While there are no extraterrestrials on display, there is one shocking reveal involving a homicidal primate on a ghost ship that will having audiences jumping out of their skin.
AD ASTRA has its preposterous moments, especially when Roy travels untethered in his space suit through the rings of Saturn holding a screen shield to ward off flying space rocks and another scene when Roy scales the outside of a rocketship to gain entry just as it’s taking off. But if the physics of AD ASTRA can be hard to swallow, the film still enthralls. Grey is such a potent filmmaker that he is capable, for long stretches at a time, of sweeping you up in his vision. His complex, virtuoso camera moves and elegant compositions rise to the celestial occasion. It’s helmed by DUNKIRK cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema who delivers a richness of depth and color, especially the inkiest of blacks. Its unobtrusive use of digital effects means that you never feel pulled out of the story while composer Max Richter’s score delivers the right amount of passion. Brad Pitt is terrific in a low-key, introspective performance that channels Gary Cooper more than the swaggering Cliff Booth from the Tarantino film. It’s mostly Pitt’s show though Donald Sutherland and Ruth Negga both shine in small parts. One of the best films of the year, AD ASTRA is a trip well worth taking.
20th Century Fox has released a special preview of the intense, action-filled “Moon Rover” sequence from AD ASTRA, coming to theaters on September 20, 2019. Starring Brad Pitt, AD ASTRA is a paranoid thriller in space that follows Roy McBride (Pitt) on a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
Director James Gray (THE LOST CITY OF Z, THE IMMIGRANT) and director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema (INTERSTELLAR, DUNKIRK) researched actual images of the Moon from the Apollo lunar missions to ensure an authentic look that will surely be breathtaking on the big screen.
AD ASTRA stars Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.
Watch the special extended clip now.
CNET says: “Pitt stunningly embodies the astronaut stepping into the crushing vacuum of space and the even more desolate vacuum left by a missing father. Pitt is masterful in conveying both supreme, unshakeable capability and aching, spiraling vulnerability. It’s not as charming as his laid-back stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but it may be the better performance.”
Variety says: “James Gray, the director and co-writer of “Ad Astra,” is the furthest thing you could imagine from a space dude; he’s a rigorous indie filmmaker known for such fine-grained fare as “The Lost City of Z,” “The Immigrant” and (my favorite Gray film) “Two Lovers.” But in taking on his first blockbustery sci-fi project, he handles the vast logistical challenges of staging an epic space adventure with a surefire hand and a sense of detail, pace, and control that are notably accomplished, if not quite Kubrickian. Gray proves beyond measure that he’s got the chops to make a movie like this.”
Indiewire’s David Ehrlich says in his review: ““Ad Astra” is one of the most ruminative, withdrawn, and curiously optimistic space epics this side of “Solaris.” It’s also one of the best.”
The ArcLight Cinema in Hollywood has an out-of-this-world display in their lobby. WAMG took these pics two weeks ago.
Check out the IMAX trailer.
Suit up and get tickets now to see it in theaters September 20.
20th Century Fox has released a new trailer and poster for AD ASTRA. Starring Brad Pitt, the film follows an astronaut as he travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father. The mission unravels a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet.
Directed by James Gray, AD ASTRA stars Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.
AD ASTRA arrives in theaters everywhere onSeptember 20, 2019 fromThe Walt Disney Studios.
Watch the trailer now.
The timing of the release date couldn’t be more perfect considering the anniversary of Apollo 11 50 years ago this year. This looks amazing and is definitely one of our must-sees of 2019.
SYNOPSIS Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.
20th Century Fox has released the official trailer and poster for AD ASTRA. Starring Brad Pitt, the film follows an astronaut as he travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father. The mission unravels a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet.
Directed by James Gray, AD ASTRA stars Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.
AD ASTRA arrives in theaters everywhere on September 20, 2019 from The Walt Disney Studios.
Watch the official trailer.
I love that this is being released close to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon mission. Gray has previously helmed Little Odessa, The Yards, We Own The Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant and The Lost City of Z.
The film is co-written by Ethan Gross who worked for three seasons on the FOX science-fiction series Fringe, as executive story editor and writer.
Here’s the official SYNOPSIS:
Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.
The score is by Max Richter, with cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema.
From Collider’s interview with Gray in 2017.
Gray co-wrote a film called Ad Astra with Ethan Ross that revolves around a slightly autistic engineer whose father left 20 years ago on a one-way mission to Neptune in order to find signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence. As an adult, he now sets out to travel the solar system to find his father and discover why his mission failed.
With Lost City of Z now hitting theaters, word came that Gray was eyeing Ad Astra—which has been in the works for a year—as his next film, with Brad Pitt potentially starring no less. So when Collider’s own Steve Weintraub spoke with Gray at the press day for Lost City of Z, he asked if Ad Astra is indeed his next project with Pitt in the starring role:
“Yes, yes, and yes. I’m terrified by it. The science-fiction genre is so tricky because there are elements of fantasy usually involved, and there are also fantastical elements. What I’m trying to do is the most realistic depiction of space travel that’s been put in a movie and to basically say, ‘Space is awfully hostile to us.’ It’s kind of a Heart of Darkness story about traveling to the outer edge of our solar system. I have a lot of hopes for it but it is certainly ambitious… It starts shooting July 17th, so not too far away. I’m filled with terror, but that’s fine (laughs).”
