On the brink of World War II, 9-year-old Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) is sent away by her mother to live with a working-class foster family in Germany. While Hans Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) is happy to welcome the girl into their home, his ornery wife Rosa (Emily Watson) is worried about having another mouth to feed. While Liesel quickly finds a friend in next-door neighbor Rudy (Nico Liersch), her first day at school doesn’t go so well when the others discover she cannot read. Hans decides to teach Liesel how to read—starting with a book she stole during her train ride to Germany, “The Gravediggers Handbook”.

As the months progress, the political atmosphere is heating up. At a book burning, Liesel steals another book from the bonfire, and that is the next book she and Hans read together. Soon, she cannot get enough, “borrowing” books whenever she can to satiate her new thirst for words. However, things are getting worse—Jewish businesses are being raided and Jews are being rounded up. One evening, in the dark of night, the son of a Jewish man who saved Han’s life during the war, Max (Ben Schnetzer), shows up seeking refuge. The Hubermann’s take him in but now live in constant fear of being caught. While Sophie and Max become friends and learn from one another, the atrocities of the war are always close at hand.

The Book Thief takes the interesting approach of being narrated by Death. He has a dry, sharp wit and sense of humor. He provides a running commentary on the events, and on the lives of those he touches—as he states, sooner or later he touches everyone’s life once.

Despite all the death, and the atrocities of the era, the film is about hope and the resiliency of the human spirit. We see how Liesel is able to touch the lives of all of those she comes in contact with.

I have not read the original novel, so I cannot make any comparisons with the film. However, at times I felt the film was too long. At the same time, the “book thief” aspect of the story was such a minimal part of the film that I wondered if there was something lost in translation of the novel to film.

That said, the film itself is very moving, with excellent performances by the main cast. Relative newcomer Sophie Nélisse is extraordinary in her role she is able to show the growth of Liesel from the shy, soft-spoken young girl who first arrives in Germany to the the more-mature young woman at the end of the film. And Geoffrey Rush’s performance makes Hans a relative we all wish we had in our lives while Emily Watson is amazing as Rosa—a woman whose abrasiveness becomes a heartwarming quality, allowing viewers to see the love she has under that tough outer skin.

The film looks great, with a crisp clear picture, and the audio really complements the film. The use of bass and surround sound helps bring the film to life, making the viewer feel like he or she is right there as the air raids are happening.

As for bonus features, there a four deleted scenes, and an interesting 4-part, 30-minute featurette containing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:10:59)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, Portuguese DD 5.1, Russian DTS 5.1, Czech DD 5.1, Hungarian DD 5.1, Polish DD 5.1, Turkish DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish, Ukrainian

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 3/11/2017):

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Flixster, Google Play or Vudu

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (6:34)
  A collection of four deleted scenes that add some more background as well as some more fun moments between Rudy and Liesel. Play All or select from “Read a Good Book”, “Papers?”, “‘I Can’t Leave Now'”, and “A Quick Look”.
• A Hidden Truth: Bringing The Book Thief To Life (31:05)
  A collection of behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews. Play All or select from:
  • An Inspirational History (5:00)
    The film’s creators talk about the origins of the novel and bringing that story to the big screen. Features interviews with author Markus Zusak, producers Karen Rosenfelt and Ken Blancato, and director Brian Percival.
  • Finding the Thief and Her Family (9:38)
    The cast and creators talk about the casting of the film, working with the actors and playing their roles. Features behind-the-scenes and audition tape footage, and interviews with author Markus Zusak, director Brian Percival, producers Karen Rosenfelt and Ken Blancato, and actors Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer and Nico Liersche.
  • Bringing the Past To Life (10:21)
    The creators talk about finding the locations, building the sets, making the costumes and shooting in Germany. Star Sophie Nélisse gives a tour of the sets.
    Features behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Brian Percival, producers Ken Blancato and Karen Rosenfelt, production designer Simon Elliott, author Markus Zusak, costume designer Anna B. Sheppard, and actors Sophie Nélisse, Nico Liersche and Ben Schnetzer.
  • The Legend and the Music (6:22)
    Legendary composer John Williams and director Brian Percival talk about bringing the film’s themes to life in music. Includes footage of the Williams conducting his orchestra.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:18)
• Sneak Peek (8:09)
  Play All or select from trailers for The Grand Budapest Hotel, 12 Years a Slave, Killing Kennedy, Romeo & Juliet, and Homeland Season 2.

Final Thoughts:

The Book Thief is a moving, emotional journey that shows that hope and the human spirit can still prevail among the death and the atrocities of war. The main cast give extraordinary performances, and the Blu-ray contains top-notch visual and audio presentations. The bonus features are a bit minimal, but what is included is entertaining. The film is definitely worth a look.