“Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know.”
– Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) in Disclosure Day
For much of his career, filmmaker Steven Spielberg has examined the tensions that exist within humanity, whether it’s the desire to uplift capitalism over public safety (Jaws), the hubris that comes with world domination (Raiders of the Lost Ark), the cruelty we allow (Schindler’s List), or the things we allow ourselves to give up in the name of “growing up” (Hook). But, more than any of these things, Spielberg has looked to the skies and pondered the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrial life. Is it treated with wonder amid the disquieting uncertainty (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), with childlike curiosity and optimism (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), or with abject horror (War of the Worlds)? Via a new script by David Koepp (Jurassic Park; War of the Worlds) based upon a story from Spielberg, sci-fi adventure Disclosure Day asks a different question about the same subject but intentionally doesn’t provide an answer. Rather, it leaves things to the audience to grapple with — a Rorschach test to complete all on their own. What is certain, however, is that the home release offers roughly an hour of bonus materials to learn more about the making of the film and the filmmaker’s intention.
If you’re interested in a spoiler-free review of Disclosure Day, head to EoM Contributor Gabe Lapalombella’s initial release review. Moving forward, specific details to the narrative are likely to be discussed.
While the rest of the world is on edge as global tensions rise toward a brand-new world war, Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is in possession of a large data cache that his employer, Wardex, would prefer not see the light of day, even going to the lengths of kidnapping his girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson), as leverage. Upon a successful rescue, the two head to a place Daniel’s never been while awaiting word from his contact for next steps. Meanwhile, meteorologist Margaret (Blunt) is having the weirdest day as suddenly she can understand and speak languages she’s never studied, can read people’s thoughts, and can even enter their perception, resulting in her gaining the attention of some shadowy figures, as well. Neither Daniel nor Margaret know what’s happening to the other, nor do they know the total ramifications of their connection, but it is time for them to come together. It’s time for Disclosure Day.
The following home release review is based on a 4K UHD Blu-ray retail copy provided by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE).
Disclosure Day fascinatingly starts in the third act of one story and the first of another. The story opens with the supposed trade of materials between Kellner and the mysterious Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) with the audience absolutely in the dark outside of the fact that we know something’s going down, one side is made of shadowy, government types, and that advanced weaponry is in the mix. In the escape with Jane, we learn about the possibility that Daniel is a terrorist, but the John Williams (Raiders of the Lost Ark; Jurassic Park) score and Spielbergian direction tells us that he’s not. So much has already happened and we’re thrust into it, forced to make our choices about who’s right and wrong before we know the full scope of what Daniel’s carrying and why he stole it in the first place. Then the film slows down with the introduction of Margaret, first shown at work before transitioning to her at home — she’s energetic, she’s kind, and always moving, until a cardinal lands on the dining table she shares with boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell) and everything changes for her. Whereas Daniel’s storyline is full of intrigue and thrills, the colors both heightened and desaturated indicating the isolation that he’s forced into, Margaret’s is warm and inviting, calm and playful, until she arrives at work and chaos ensures. Then, the two stories converge along with the visual styles as suddenly anything feels possible with a mix of highly stylized CG sequences (to explain why these two are our central characters) and practical stunt work to ensure that the risks appear possible (thereby keeping the audience on their toes and on the edge of their seats). What’s truly fascinating about this is how the film isn’t about the intrigue, the will-they-won’t-they survive or get their story out. It’s not even about whether or not life on other planets is real (it is and we’re given evidence very early within the film’s near-150-minute runtime), but about humanity and whether or not we can cope with this revelation.
Amusingly, the second Trump administration has not only confirmed the existence of alien life, they’ve updated the government site addressing this, though its entire design appears more like an ARG for Disclosure Day. The reveal, when it came, arrived with a thud, not providing the distraction from whatever they were hoping to avoid (RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES) because, in the greater scope of everyday life and world issues, no one cared about what this new information meant. In the world of Spielberg, however, this is news that literally stops the world and makes one wonder whether a new global war will actually take place. Of course, Disclosure Day does this by placing forward a central idea that empathy is the greater power over fear. That empathy, if cultivated, can break through barriers and allow people to live in harmony. When this notion is brought forward by Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), the leader of the Wardex defectors, to Noah, Noah denigratingly refers to Hugo as a “bleeding heart.” This is the conflict of the film, not whether or not aliens are real or whether or not humanity deserves the truth, but the implication that empathy equals weakness. Everyone deserves gentleness, even you, dear reader. It is not weakness to treat someone with care, to provide aid or support, or to consider your neighbor as you would yourself. Even within the larger concept of religion (introduced by Jane as a former nun and through her relationship with Abbess Sister Maura (Elizabeth Marvel)) that asks whether or not intelligent alien life disrupts the entire idea of religion or the existence of a G-d (it doesn’t), Disclosure Day presents an idea that what binds us is more powerful than what separates us and that by living a life of openness, of faithfulness, a greater bond is forged within humanity that would allow one to reach up and travel the stars (metaphorically or literally). If you want to control people, you tell them what or who to fear, but, if you want to uplift them, to help them grow, you show them what connects them to everything else. It’s an incredibly optimistic message and one that more would do well to consider as tensions across countries rise due to governmental officials using their selfishly-inspired free will to guide them toward breaking long-established alliances in favor of catering toward former foes whose guiding principle seems to lean more toward avarice and not social responsibility.
This being a home release review, we’re going to pivot now to the home edition. Be advised of a few things before going forward. First, there are the digital edition, three types of physical editions (DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD), and a limited edition 4K UHD steelbook. Second, the press release states that the included bonus features on the Disclosure Day home release are exclusive to specific retailers, but the physical edition seems to be consistent across each retailer. It’s currently unclear if the use of “exclusive” means that you can only get the bonus features through the home edition *or* if someone like Wal-mart has a different set of features than DiabolkikDVD, but this needs to be determined. What is clear is that there appear to be two distinct bonus features provided with the version provided by UPHE: a deep-dive into the making of the film via the nearly-hour long “Encountering the Unknown: Inside Disclosure Day” and four-minute tribute to composer John Williams on his 30th project with Spielberg titled “Spielberg & Williams: A Legendary Collaboration.” Via the 4K UHD edition provided by UPHE, I can confirm that these two are available on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs, as well as the digital edition when accessed through MoviesAnywhere and Apple TV. As advertised, “Encountering the Unknown: Inside Disclosure Day” is the comprehensive making-of that fans of Disclosure Day are going to want to start with. Some of this material has been released previously through the various videos shared by Universal Pictures in the run-up to the theatrical release, however, this is significantly longer and more detailed as Spielberg, the cast, and crew take us on location to see how they made the film, as well as provide their own insights into the production’s intentions. Likewise, the four-minute “Spielberg & Williams: A Legendary Collaboration” is as just like it says – an honorarium for the two collaborators on the 30th project together across 52 years. Any well-known score attached to a Spielberg title was drafted by Williams. Williams has, of course, worked on other projects that have touched pop culture (the Bride & Groom Davidson walked back down the aisle to Williams’s “Theme from Superman: The Movie”), but the two are so intricately linked through their many projects that one cannot name a Spielberg title without humming a Williams tune and vice versa.
In terms of the on-disc presentation, it’s a bit of a mixed bag related to the fact that UPHE decided to put the hour of bonus features on the same disc as the 4K UHD presentation when the 4K UHD is a BD66 disc. What does this mean exactly? It means that the 4K UHD disc can only hold 66 GB of data. Even though BD66 discs are dual-layered (which enables them to hold more data and improves fidelity), due to the length of the feature and the bonus features, there’s a great deal of data that needs to be compressed in order to fit. If UPHE had opted to either use a BD100 (100 GB disc that’s triple-layered) or locked the bonus features to the Blu-ray and digital editions, the 4K UHD presentation would have more space to exist on the disc, which would, in turn, result in improved fidelity when played at home. This is demonstrated by the bitrate of the film which lingers in the 70-80 Mbps range while spending a good amount of time in the 50 Mbps range. Considering that the max bitrate for a 4K UHD disc is in the 120s and that most boutique discs (think Criterion, Arrow, Vinegar Syndrome, etc.) have presentations in the 80 – 100 Mbps range, this UPHE-created presentation doesn’t permit the on-disc presentation to exist to the standards set by the theatrical presentation. Admittedly, this is all stuff that tech-focused audiences or cinephiles are going to notice and/or hold to a higher standard. The average person buying this edition for their collection is going to be satisfied as there’s no visible or auditory drop in quality when the bitrate shifts. The sound is immersive, the detail and crispness of the image holds — this is what folks want from a home-viewing experience. It’s just not reference material.
Disclosure Day is a fascinating handshake with E.T. (1982). The latter focuses on children and their experience with the extra-terrestrial, the Amblin Entertainment story of growing up and trusting one’s instincts. It’s a story that inspires home, uplifts community (it’s a group of neighbor kids helping the escape), and communicates that the truth is something people can handle. Disclosure Day, however, has an antagonist who operates under the philosophy of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) who believes a person to be intelligent and rational, while people are fearful and stupid. Though the film ends with the start of a sentence, “Listen …,” a request to lean forward, to remove fear, to be open, it doesn’t make a direct declaration as to whether it believes humanity (or its audience) is going to go one way or the other. It very much leaves things open and unconcluded. This is the handshake wherein a child’s film tells us what’s right and wrong, but an adult story asks the audience to make their own choice. Some see Disclosure Day as an attack on religion (it’s not), while others may read it as yet another “do aliens exist” tale in Spielberg’s catalogue. I’d argue that Disclosure Day is a story of hope, of optimism, of a desire to remind people that if we were to listen to a different perspective, we’d find that we’re stronger as a unified organism than when we allow dissenting voices who only speak of what to fear, of what problems exist, to take center stage. Stories like Disclosure Day, Project Hail Mary (2026), Our Effed Up World (2026), The Saviors (2026) all imagine a world wherein the consequences of working together versus pursuing conflict are quite clear. “Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know” isn’t just a statement seeking to reduce stress, but a reminder that fear clouds perception whereas being open to possibilities can only bring peace.
Disclosure Day Special Features*:
- Encountering the Unknown: Inside Disclosure Day: Join Steven Spielberg, Emily Blunt, and the rest of the cast in this over 50-minute look at the filmmaking secrets and real-life inspirations behind the movie. (54:08)
- Spielberg & Williams: A Legendary Collaboration: Steven Spielberg celebrates composer John Williams in a touching tribute commemorating their shared cinematic legacy. (4:08)
*Exclusive Bonus Features at Participating Retailers
Available on digital July 21st, 2026.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD August 25th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Disclosure Day website.
To purchase, head to the official Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Disclosure Day webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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