New to Blu: June 6 – 12

On the eve of the theatrical release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 21) come the 4K-UHD re-issues of the first four movies in the franchise.

Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World are for sale in separate 4K-UHD volumes, with all the extras of the Blu-ray releases, and as a box set on Blu-ray.

Critics say the biggest gains over the previous Blu-rays lie in the new DTS:X Master Audio soundtracks.

“Jurassic Park looks better than ever, and its colour and contrast are strongly improved over the previous Blu-ray release, though it’s certainly not up to the level of most other films in 4K in terms of image detail,” The Digital Bits said. “It does, however, deliver a damn great DTS:X audio experience, so there’s that.”

“It’s a decent enough boost, one that most viewers will find a worthwhile increase to texture and certainly to colour,” Blu-ray.com said of Jurassic Park, “but the transfer will also leave most viewers wondering why Universal didn’t give the movie the five-star UHD treatment it deserves.”

The Digital Bits thought The Lost World a significant upgrade but described III as “a complete disappointment from a visual standpoint” while Jurassic World boasts the best transfer (“a genuinely beautiful image from start to finish”).

The Jurassic Park 4K re-issues mark the 25th anniversary of the franchise while being dusted off in UHD for its 40th anniversary is Grease.

“Paramount has restored the film with an all-new 4K scan of the original camera negative and applying Dolby Vision high dynamic range under the supervision of director Randal Kleiser,” Home Theater Forum said.

The 2160p transfer on this 4k UHD Blu-ray features both Dolby Vision and HDR10 flavours of high dynamic range. The result is one of the best looking film-based catalogue titles so far released on the format. Viewing this on an HDR10 capable display, this is a very stable image overall, with increased clarity and vibrancy probably not seen since the movie’s original 70mm engagements

“Colour dynamics are wonderful, and the Dolby Vision enhancement allows for some significant pop and expert balance,” Blu-ray.com said.

The week’s only new Blu-ray release is the reboot of Death Wish, which Forbes thought “a good movie in the ways it delivers just what it promises, as do the Blu-ray extras.”