New to Blu: November 13 – 19

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw

➢ “This is an excellent Ultra HD presentation that looks great on my large screen. What struck me from the onset is the lifelike reproduction of the textures captured by the camera’s lens. Whether it be the finest minutia in physical features or rough textures on the surfaces of buildings, streets, interiors of offices/warehouses/chop shops, or the vistas of the shooting locations, the imagery is gorgeous.” — AVSForum.

➢ “The 1080p Blu-ray disc for Hobbs & Shaw was about as perfect as you can get for 1080p, but the 4K UHD disc amps it up a considerable amount and improves even more upon perfection. Shot with Arri Alex Minis and SXT cameras (2.8K and finished at 2K for the master), the disc shows some rather significant improvements over the Blu-ray. Colours are deeper and more consistently rich with the HDR+, and the back ground textural details really do show some great improvements.” — AV Nirvana.

➢ “Hobbs & Shaw‘s 1080p transfer squeezes all it can from the format. The picture is sharp and refined, with no apparent shortcomings to note, not even any obvious source noise distractions or compression artifacts. The picture excels in close-up, where pores, hairs, sweat, vascular muscles, and tattoos are format showcases for clarity and definition.” — Blu-ray.com.

The Lion King

➢ “The Lion King arrives on UHD Blu-ray with a 4K presentation that is absolutely extraordinary on multiple levels. Although the film was captured in 6.5K, the presentation on this disc is rendered using a 2k Digital Intermediate. Despite the lack of a true 4K transfer, the preservation of its 1.85:1 aspect ratio allows the film to take full advantage of the extra ‘negative’ resolution. As a result, the image quality on this disc is insanely detailed.” — SuperHeroHype.

➢ “What we have here is the crispest, cleanest, most sensationally detailed and three-dimensional looking picture I’ve ever seen in my living room. Its depiction of everything from the fur and feathers of the countless animals on show to the surrounding flora, deserts, valleys and rocky outcrops is just immaculate.” — Forbes.

➢ “The Blu-ray release, featuring 1080p resolution, is presented in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The digital artists have rendered some beautiful images … The panoply of colours on the animals plus the lush African landscape are impressive.” — The Digital Bits.

Kind Hearts & Coronets

➢ “The release is sourced from a brand new 16-bit 4K restoration that was undertaken by the BFI and finalised at Silver Salt Restoration … After viewing the entire film my impression is that additional minor age-imperfections that existed on the previous release have been eliminated. All in all, I think that the only area where the end result isn’t entirely convincing is the grading.” — Blu-ray.com.

➢ “Looks spectacular: sharp, pristine throughout, and with an enviable grayscale with the cleanest white levels and the deepest blacks. There isn’t a spot, speck, scratch, or blotch to be seen: one of the best Blu-ray transfers of a classic British film I’ve yet seen.” — Home Theater Forum.

✽ Also new on Blu-ray are the TV series Good Omens and Chernobyl, and held over from last week Late Night, 2040, Richard Says Goodbye, My Brilliant Career (40th Anniversary), Travelers: Season Two, Danger 5: Series 1 & 2, Concrete Revolution Complete Series and Space Battleship Tiramisu Zwei Complete Season 2.

Leading the 4K-UHD re-issues is the six-disc set of Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, which includes 4K transfers of the theatrical and Redux edits well as Francis Ford Coppola’s definitive cut.

Also being dusted off in 4K are Zombieland, Hellboy, Terminator Salvation, Angel Heart, Lock Up, Moana, Frozen, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Zootopia and Big Hero 6.