While everyone knows the name “Harriet Tubman”, many may not be very familiar with her story. Harriet takes a unique approach and angle to tell the story of this extraordinary woman who helped rescue slaves via the Underground Railroad in the mid 1800s. Araminta “Minty” Ross (Cynthia Erivo) was born into slavery in 1822 in Maryland. At the age of 13 she was hit in the head by a metal weight and experienced seizures ever since. However, during these seizures, she gets messages from God in the form of visions of the future. Minty knew that two of her sisters were going to be sold before it happened, and that vision still haunts her.

As the film opens, Minty is married to free man John Tubman (Zackary Momoh), and they have just received a letter from a lawyer proving that Minty’s mother—and thus she as well—should have been freed years earlier, based on the will of Minty’s grandmother’s master. However, when presented with this evidence, master Edward Brodess (Michael Marunde), just tears it up. So Minty curses Edward Brodess in the name of God, and he ends up dying shortly afterwards. Edward’s son Gideon (Joe Alwyn) decides to sell Minty, but before he can do so, she decides to run, leaving her husband and family behind to head North. She is closely pursued by Gideon and his men, who corner her on a bridge. Desperate to escape, she she dives into the dangerous river below, exclaiming “I’m gonna be free or die”, and Gideon assumes that Minty is dead. However, guided by God, Minty manages to survive the fall, and finishes the 100-mile trek to Philadelphia, where she meets William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.). William tells her about the Pennsylvania Antislavery Society and sets her up in a boarding house owned by Marie Buchanon (Janelle Monáe). Minty gives herself the freed name of Harriet Tubman, and while Marie teaches her to act like a lady so that she can pass a free woman, William tells her about the Underground Railroad and brings her on as a conductor.

While most films about Tubman would typically go on to show the inner-workings of the Underground Railroad, Harriet skips all that, instead turning Harriet’s story into more of a superhero story. Instead of the gritty details of the long, dangerous treks the slaves make to get their freedom, we get a simple montage. Harriet heads out on mission after mission, arriving back in Philadelphia with larger and larger groups of former slaves, while a shocked William keeps falling over in his chair in surprise and admiration. To the slave owners, Harriet becomes the mysterious “Moses”, a top-hat wearing abolitionist who rides in dressed all in black, stealing their property. The slave owners post wanted posters, offering increasing ransoms for the capture of this white man who has been running off with their livelihood—little do they know it’s a black female slave causing all this trouble.

In this superhero tale, Gideon Brodess is the super-villain—he is shocked and upset when he discovers that his Minty is the one behind all of this, and so he and his gang of henchmen will stop at nothing to capture her. Meanwhile, Minty continues her work, and even gets a sidekick—a streetwise young freed man name Walter (Henry Hunter Hall). Harriet’s super-power is her visions from God. Plus she has the ability to secretly communicate with the other slaves on the plantations using spiritual songs that allow them to pass messages right under the noses of the slave owners.

The superhero analogy may make this film sound like a less-serious or comical telling of Harriet Tubman’s story, but that is certainly not the case. While the film only briefly touches on the brutal, harsh ways that slaves were treated, it does raise the issue. The film concentrates more on demonstrating how this system of slavery tore apart families, and caused emotional hardship in addition to the obvious physical pain. It also shows how Harriet used her strength, wits, and belief in God to get her through the tough situations, and when that wasn’t enough, she also had a gun.

I quite enjoyed this movie. It goes for a much more action-packed and uplifting tone, rather than the darker and more-depressing one of something like 12 Years a Slave. The film has some strong performances, especially from lead Cynthia Erivo, who delivers some really emotional speeches, and also sings some beautiful spiritual music.

Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds excellent. The picture is crisp, clean and detailed throughout, beautifully capturing both the brighter daytime scenes such as the orange sunrise as Harriet first makes it to Philadelphia, and also the darker scenes as she’s trying to smuggle out slaves. The soundtrack is also well done. Dialogue is clear, and the music sounds great, from the spirituals, to the powerful, Oscar-nominated original song “Stand Up”, and the lone modern song, Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman”, which is, of course used during one of Harriet’s montages. The audio track also provides an immersive experience throughout the film, bringing in the sounds of nature as Harriet and her group hide from the elements or trackers.

The Blu-ray and DVD discs come packed in standard HD keepcase with a slipcover. Inside is also an insert with a code to redeem for an HD Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the film. Both the Blu-ray and DVD discs contain the same assortment of bonus material, which consists of about 15 minutes of deleted scenes, 9 minutes of promotional featurettes with the cast and filmmakers, and an audio commentary from the director/co-writer.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:05:06)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French DTS Digital Surround 5.1, Spanish DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

DVD:

• 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Digital (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):

• HD digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (15:35)
  Collection of 7 deleted scenes. Play All, or select from:
  • You an Angel? (3:20)
    Harriet wakes up after her first night in the boarding house and meets her Quaker host family.
  • My Top Eye (:53)
    Harriet walks with William on the streets of Philadelphia.
  • John’s Wife (1:31)
    Harriet watches John with his new wife.
  • Hiding Fugitives, Reverend? (1:08)
    Gideon and his men confront the Reverend about hiding fugitives.
  • Meet the Committee (4:32)
    Harriet meets the other Underground Railroad committee members and learns how the system works.
  • Harriet and William (3:30)
    William learns about Harriet’s seizures, and the two share a romantic moment.
  • Banned Abolitionist Material (:46)
    Gideon finds a copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the church and has the Reverend arrested.
• Her Story (5:57)
  The filmmakers talk about telling the inspiring story of this amazing, strong woman, and why this is the right time for this movie. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer Debra Martin Chase, producer Daniela Taplin Lundberg, co-writer/director Kasi Lemmons, and stars Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet/Minty”), Leslie Odom, Jr. (“William Still”), and Janelle Monáe (“Marie Buchanon”).
• Becoming Harriet (3:37)
  The filmmakers talk about casting the role of Harriet, the star talks about playing this real-life superhero and singing live, and the other actors talk about working with the actress. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-writer/director Kasi Lemmons, producer Daniela Taplin Lundberg, producer Debra Martin Chase, and stars Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Janelle Monáe.
• Feature Commentary with Director/Co-writer and Kasi Lemmons (2:05:06)
  Director/Co-writer and Kasi Lemmons gives an interesting and informative commentary, providing additional historical information about the characters and era, pointing out which characters and plot points are based on true people/events, and sharing behind-the-scenes stories about the locations and production. She also discusses how she first got involved with the film, the spiritual songs, the complexity of the free/slaves living together in this era/location, Harriet’s visions, and more.

Final Thoughts:

Harriet provides a unique new approach to telling the story of an extraordinarily strong American woman who helped to free her own family and many other slaves during the mid 19th century, and literally helped to fight for that freedom when the Civil War rolled around. The film features some strong dramatic and vocal performances, which Universal’s Blu-ray release captures beautifully. The discs also contain a small but entertaining and informative collection of bonus material. This film/release is definitely worth checking out.