In November of 1963, the assassination of president John F. Kennedy shocked the world, and vice president Lyndon B. Johnson suddenly found himself in charge of the nation at a time when race relations were rocky at best. The African American community had put all of their hopes and dreams behind John F. Kennedy’s plans for civil rights reform but now all of the former president’s hard work was in danger of crumbling. And so, despite warnings and opposition from both sides of the aisle, president Johnson made the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the primary focus of his surprise presidency.

HBO’s All The Way, which is based on Robert Schenkkan’s play of the same name, follows a year of Johnson’s life—from the moment he became president, his efforts to convince congress to pass this landmark civil rights bill, through his election in 1964. Bryan Cranston reprises his Tony Award-winning performance as LBJ, and it’s easy to see why he took home that award. Cranston is amazing in this film, he embodies this former president completely, making you instantly forget you are watching an actor in make-up. Johnson is a very complicated man, and these nuances in his personality are played to perfection. Johnson can be rude, crude and brash, but everything he does seems to be grounded in genuine care and concern. It’s truly a marvel to see him putting his master manipulation and intimidation skills to work to get people to do what he wants them to.

In a seemingly-impossible task, Johnson must try to convince the Southern congressmen to pass civil rights legislation to which they are deeply opposed, while also getting pressure from his own party to keep the upcoming election in mind, and not to lose the party’s vote in the South. While Johnson works his angle, he has trusted Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey (Bradley Whitford) try to garner support from the liberal congressmen and civil rights groups. Meanwhile, Martin Luther King, Jr. (Anthony Mackie) supports LBJ’s efforts to pass this law—despite his removal of the right to vote clause—but must find a way to appease the concerns of both conservative civil rights leaders like Roy Wilkins (Joe Morton) and the more militant activists like Stokely Carmichael (Mo McRae). But race relations get even more heated when three young civil rights workers are murdered, causing the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover (Stephen Root) to get involved, and making matters even worse.

The film is extremely well acted—the star-studded cast also includes Ray Wise (“Everett Dirksen”), Melissa Leo (“Lady Bird Johnson”) and Frank Langella (“Sen. Richard Russell”), among others. And, despite the progress we’ve made over the past 50 years, it’s amazing how topical and relevant the themes of this film still are today.

The Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds great. Being based on a play, this film is more dialogue-heavy, and the audio track makes this clear and easy to comprehend. The video presentation provides a beautiful, detailed recreation of the era. The Blu-ray contains both UltraViolet and Digital HD copies of the film, as well as a short behind-the-scenes featurette about Bryan Cranston’s transformation into LBJ, and a 10-minute discussion about the people and events portrayed in the film.

What’s Included:
Film: (2:12:01)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Spanish DTS Digital Surround 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil)

Digital HD (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2021)

• HD Digital copy redeemable via iTunes or Google Play
• Ultraviolet Digital HD copy redeemable via Vudu or Flixster

Extras:

• Bryan Cranston Becoming LBJ (1:55)
  Makeup artists Bill Corso and Anne Morgan, costume designer Daniel Orlandi and star Bryan Cranston demonstrate and discuss the process of transforming the actor into our nation’s 36th president.
• All The Way: A Walk Through History (10:06)
  A discussion of the state of race relations in 1963 in the Jim Crow South, the rise of the Civil Rights movement, the personalities of Lyndon B. Johnson & Martin Luther King, Jr., and how the film’s story still resonates with today’s culture. Includes interviews with historians Michael Eric Dyson, Doris Kearns Goodwin & Andrew Young, playwright / screenwriter Robert Schenkkan, executive producer Jay Roach, and stars Bryan Cranston (“Lyndon B. Johnson”) & Anthony Mackie (“Martin Luther King, Jr.”).

Final Thoughts:

All The Way is a superbly-acted, well-done look into the life of president Lyndon B. Johnson and the struggle he went through to get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed. Many of the themes explored in the film still resonate with today’s political climate. The Blu-ray presentation is excellent, and includes two digital copies of the film, but only a small collection of bonus material. This film is definitely worth checking out based on Bryan Cranston’s stellar performance alone, but also for the rest of the star-studded cast and a fascinating look into the life of a very unique, complex former president.