New to Blu: August 16-22

August 20, 2017 0 Comments

It’s an ultra-big week for 4K-UHD and vintage releases on Blu-ray.

Alien: Covenant (and prequel Prometheus), John Wick: Chapter 2 and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword are out on 4K-UHD while the original Far From the Madding Crowd, Slaughterhouse Five, Mulholland Drive, Chinatown, Amazon Women on the Moon, The Godfather Trilogy, The Graduate, The Dambusters and The Untouchables are being dusted off on Blu-ray (some for the first time).

The Digital Bits said Covenant was “gorgeous” in 4K: “This is a dark and moody film, shot using mostly practical lighting, so contrast is extremely important.

“Shadows and highlights are incredibly detailed, with gorgeous texturing. Colours are rich and vibrant.”

“Alien: Covenant‘s Blu-ray presentation is a largely impressive affair,” Blu-ray.com said.

“Aside from some soft looking CGI, sharpness and clarity are typically excellent, and as with virtually all of Ridley Scott’s films, there’s an awful lot to look at even when the story falters.”

“John Wick: Chapter 2 is absolutely stunning on 4K UHD Blu-ray with its 2160p transfer that has been processed with HDR10,” Home Theater Forum said.

“Colours are deeply saturated with more natural gradations. Contrast is improved upon over the 1080p Blu-ray, with deeper blacks that retain more shadow detail.”

“The Blu-ray arrives with a reference quality audio and video presentation that’ll leave the house exhausted from the beautifully choreographed action,” High-Def Digest said.

“King Arthur‘s UHD treatment accords with the results generally obtained from 2K sources: better, but not dramatically so,” Blu-ray.com said.

“The Blu-ray exhibits all the usual advantages of a big-budget studio production acquired and completed entirely in the digital domain.

“Blacks are solid, detail and sharpness have the clarity that contemporary viewers take for granted, and the image is free of noise.”

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