Disclosure Day
Universal Pictures
Original Release Date June 12th, 2026
Written by David Koepp (screenplay), Steven Spielberg (story)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell
Language English (Spanish and French options available) (subtitles available)
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by "Doc" Hunter Bush,
MovieJawn Staff Writer & Podcast Director, cohost of the Hate Watch/Great Watch Podcast
Overview:
Disclosure Day comes to 4K and Blu-ray from Universal Pictures. Directed by Steven Spielberg who you may know from a legendary career in movies, the film is a return to a subject matter, benevolent aliens, that Spielberg hasn't addressed this directly in decades. Universal's release of Disclosure Day features a wonderful video transfer and audio package with bonus features that are comprehensive, if small in number.
The Movie Itself: 4 stars
I think Disclosure Day is an extremely self-aware movie. This is Steven Spielberg approaching the end of his career, and he's emotionally intelligent enough to not just know it, but to actively reckon with it. That's what Disclosure Day is, a man who has always loved aliens both wishing that he would get to know the truth within his lifetime, and earnestly hoping that mankind will have the maturity to handle that truth without him there to guide us.
This is the guy who popularized the "friendly alien" idea. It for sure existed in multiple forms of media before Spielberg ever touched on it, but between Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), no one has ever done as much positive PR for little green men. Almost any popular depiction of aliens interacting with humans that has come since has owed something to Spielberg's vision, either directly or indirectly. And now he is taking what is most likely his last at-bat in a genre that he loves and helped to codify. I mean, he also directed War of the Worlds (2005), which is decidedly in the "unfriendly alien" camp, but that's an adaptation while the others are original stories from Spielberg, as was Disclosure Day.
To be clear, I don't think and certainly do not hope that Steven Spielberg passes or retires anytime soon, but I think he is considering and addressing his legacy. And much as I'd love to see it personally, I can't imagine he'll be making science fiction for the rest of his career. So with Disclosure Day, I feel like he is offering his final say in the matter of alien / human relations.
Disclosure Day features the kind of fleet-footed action, optimistic leads, character-based humor, knowable villains, and sense of wonder that you could expect from a Stevie Speils sci-fi adventure. It follows Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor as two unknowing stewards of a stockpile of information that a powerful government organization doesn't want to become public. Beyond just being better-staffed and better-funded, this agency, WARDEX, also has access to alien technology giving them an incredible advantage over two ostensibly normal folks. The film is essentially a chase across the country with our two underdogs, at first separately and eventually together, trying to avoid capture long enough to blow the lid off of the whole deal.
The action is solid, the performances are good even if I think the characters are a little flat, and I really enjoyed the world constructed around the narrative, but ultimately I find the film to be anticlimactic. Spielberg is not what I think of as a less-is-more filmmaker necessarily, but here he seems to be choosing to end on a powerfully ambiguous note. This is perfectly in fitting with the endings to both Close Encounters and E.T., but feels less exciting since the persons being directly affected at the climax of Disclosure Day are, essentially, everyone.
The Packaging: 3.5 stars
This is a perfectly acceptable and handsome release, with a slipcover and disc cover depicting the same image: Margaret (Emily Blunt) looking up through the silhouette of a cardinal, which is a very meaningful animal within the narrative of the film. The slipcover reproduces the image with a slight reflective effect on it. Beyond that, it's your standard black 4K case with both the 4K and Blu-ray disc inside. Nothing revolutionary, but not shabby by any means, and looks great on a shelf.
The Video: 4.5 stars
Y'all. This is Steven Spielberg working with Janusz Kaminski! In case you don't know, Kaminski is not only one of the GOATs of cinematography, he has worked with Spielberg consistently since Schindler's List (1993)! If you've seen a Spielberg film from the last 30 years and thought "Damn, this movie looks incredible!", that was in no small part due to Kaminski. Spielberg is arguably one of the most natural cinematic talents in the history of the art form and his directing style is largely built around constructing a solid master shot that demands less coverage. This requires the scene be lit in such a way as to allow the camera to move from set-up to set-up without cutting to adjust the lighting.
This has led to Kaminski becoming synonymous with swaths of light coming into scenes from natural and logical points (windows, etc.) in a way that feels like natural lighting, with some of the inherent downsides, but is really anything but. Disclosure Day has this lighting, and no matter how you may end up feeling about the film, I imagine you'll agree it looks incredible. Obviously, this is a recent movie, and that can make the quality of the visual package feel less impressive than a film that required a lot of restoration work, but I assure you: Disclosure Day's visual presentation is fabulous.
The only reason I'm not giving it the full five stars is that I think the film spends a little too much of its run time in the beige and blue area of the color spectrum. I know there are reasons for that, and the film is playing a balance game between cooler tones and warmer tones, and what feelings those hues evoke in the audience, but it can still feel a little same-y the deeper into the 2 hour, 25 minute run time you go.
The Audio: 4.5 stars
If you thought Steven Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski have had a long collaborative relationship, wait til I tell you that composer John Williams has been working with Spielberg since JAWS (1975); so basically Spielberg's entire career! In fairness, Williams did take time away from some Spielberg projects to become one of the most famous film composers in history, with titles like Star Wars (1977), Superman (1978), and Home Alone (1990) in his repertoire! The man is a legend and while his score for Disclosure Day isn't as iconic as his more well-known works, it perfectly supports the film and its themes.
Balance-wise, this release is damn solid. I've got a three-channel soundbar and didn't have any issues with scenes being either too loud or too quiet. Williams' score is minimal, focused on using just a few instruments to tease out a melody or underscore an emotion, and very few instances of elaborate orchestral flourish: a gentle clarinet melody behind a character who is feeling something uncanny, or mild discordant tones when tensions begin to rise.
The Supplements: 4 stars
The bonus features here might be small in number, but overall they pack a punch. The stand-out is the Encountering the Unknown featurette, a nearly hour-long making-of document of the kind that we rarely get anymore. Every aspect of the film is discussed by cast and / or crew from the film's conception, to its ethos, where Spielberg asks "Wouldn't it be wonderful for people to know that this was true?" and refers to alien craft seen in the real world as UAPs, which proves he's a real one. There's also tons of points of interest for the process sickos: Getting to see the sheer number of approaches combined into certain sequences, or getting a peek into how the WARDEX central control room set was conceived and realized instills that classic "the magic of the movies" feeling we are sorely lacking in an era where the answer to most questions is increasingly "I dunno, a computer did it".
Admittedly, I wish there were more with John Williams, the featurette on how he came out of retirement at ninety to do this film is less that five minutes long, and I'm certain many people would love a peek into his process. But that aside, I can't really be too disappointed. The man has given plenty to cinema, he deserves to enjoy retirement. I wouldn't have been mad at a commentary track, but with the speed at which Spielberg tends to work, I'm guessing he was busy.
- Encountering the Unknown: Inside Disclosure Day (54:03) (HD)
- Spielberg & Williams: A Legendary Collaboration (4:09) (HD)
Final Thoughts: Highly Recommended
I know that I may not sound super hot on this film, and I'm not: it's a perfectly solid film, but despite how expertly crafted it is, when its coming from such a master of moviemaking, and is obviously a subject they care so deeply about, that feels maybe worse than if a less experienced filmmaker had made it? It's still an enjoyable ride, with a few really fantastic moments, and excellent supporting performances from Colman Domingo and Colin Firth.
If you haven't seen it, I might knock my rating down to just a Recommended, because it can feel like a lot of build up to a very abrupt ending, even if you're on the same wavelength as the film. If however, you dug the movie and want to know if this is a good version to bring home, OR you're fanatical about the way a few of the greatest craftsmen in film ply their respective crafts, I really think you'll enjoy this.
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