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Dennis Burger

Review: V for Vendetta

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V for Vendetta

review | V for Vendetta

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This call for anarchy amid societal decay is eerily more relevant now than it was at the time of its release in 2005

by Dennis Burger
updated July 2, 2023

It’s been a few years since I sat down with James McTeigue’s 2005 adaptation of Alan Moore’s seminal anti-fascist comic book from the early-to-mid ‘80s—so long, in fact, that I worried as I prepared to digest the new 4K HDR release of V for Vendetta via Kaleidescape that it would feel outdated. McTeigue’s film was, after all, made in response to the second Bush administration, and by that point the comic book, although a nearly unparalleled work of sequential art, was starting to feel like a bit of an artifact, rooted as it was in the Thatcher era.

That concern couldn’t have been more off-base, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. I know that as an unabashed Moore devotee, I’m supposed to dismiss the film, and its script by the Wachowskis, as a toothless dilution of the anarchistic themes of the original. But the years have been kinder to the movie than the comic, to the point where the adaptation is shockingly more poignant, relevant, ominous, prophetic, and indeed instructive than its inspiration. And I say that as someone who still holds the comic in the highest regard.

My ambivalence comes mostly from the fact that when V for Vendetta was released, it seemed a little cartoonish, over-the-top, and heavy-handed in its allegory. Fast-forward to 2020—roughly the year in which the film is set—and it almost feels as if it didn’t go far enough in envisioning the dystopian near-future. It’s as if it’s plotted a course for itself that’s exactly the opposite of Marx’s observation about the repetition of historical entities: What first appeared as farce now reads like tragedy. I’ve always liked the film but I’ve never quite taken it as seriously as I now think it deserves to be taken. 

I could pick nits about the unnecessary changes the Wachowskis made in adapting the book to film, but one thing that can’t be denied is that McTeigue absolutely made the right call when he chose to embrace the cinematic form in his adaptation. Just as the comic was built on a foundation of classic literature and illustration, then pushed toward the cinematic, McTeigue builds his film on a foundation of classic cinema, then pushes it toward the comics.

It isn’t just the reliance on classic Hollywood clips and stylistic references to earlier films that firmly root this adaptation in the cinematic tradition, though. McTeigue also made the brilliant choice of casting John Hurt—whom audiences associated with his turn as Winston Smith in Michael Radford’s adaptation of 1984—as the Big Brother-like autocrat in this imagined future. This not only highlights the differences between the dystopian futures forecast by Orwell and Moore, but also serves as a subtle but effective warning about the oppressed becoming the oppressors.

Overall, V for Vendetta is an aesthetically dark film, which doesn’t leave much room for a high dynamic range grading that pushes contrasts to the extreme. But Kaleidescape’s 4K/HDR download does add a lot of richness and detail to the shadows and allows the occasional specular highlight more room to breathe without blowing out. As such, this ends up being one of the rare remasters where the increased resolution is just as impactful as the enhanced dynamic range.

Details and textures look simply spectacular in this new transfer, and although it’s unlikely V for Vendetta will make any videophile’s Top 10 list for best HDR releases of the year, cinephiles will go nuts over just how much more filmic this presentation is. The differences are subtle, but they add up to a much more faithful representation of the camera negative, from which this new transfer was sourced. This may not be the title you pull out to push your projector to its limits, but it’s the most faithful home video transfer I could imagine for V for Vendetta.

The new Dolby TrueHD Atmos remix is definitely demo-worthy. V for Vendetta has always suffered somewhat in the intelligibility department by virtue of the fact that its main protagonist wears a rigid and resonant Guy Fawkes mask over the remains of his face, and anything less than flawless fidelity makes some of his vocalizations less than distinct.

V’s alliterative and magniloquent lines have never been delivered as clearly as they are in this remix, and the film’s soundtrack—which runs the gamut from Tchaikovsky to Stan Getz & João Gilberto—has never sounded this powerful and beautifully resolved. The overhead speakers are a bit overused at times, but that probably means that most people will find the height effects perfectly appropriate. At any rate, given the choice between a slightly distracting at times Atmos mix and the muddled fidelity of the old, compressed 5.1 track, I’ll take the former any day.

I do wish the Kaleidescape download included the new bonus features added to the UHD Blu-ray release. All we get are carry-overs from the original DVD release. But no matter. V for Vendetta stands on its own, without the need for supplementation.

At least, I think it does. Watching the film now, though, I can’t help but think that audiences still haven’t completely gotten it. Yes, its iconography has been appropriated by hacker groups and the hashtag resistance. But its moral—that if you have principles and the courage of your convictions, you can win the support of the people—still struggles to break through the noise. If we don’t learn that lesson, our future will be even darker than the one portrayed herein.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | Details and textures look simply spectacular in this 4K HDR transfer, and cinephiles will go nuts over just how much more filmic this presentation is

SOUND | The Dolby TrueHD Atmos remix is definitely demo-worthy, with V’s alliterative & magniloquent lines delivered clearly and the music tracks powerfully & beautifully resolved

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Review: The Addams Family

The Addams Family (1991)

review | The Addams Family

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As uneven as it is, Barry Sonnenfeld’s directorial debut remains the best take on the Addams Family to date

by Dennis Burger
updated June 1, 2023

You probably don’t need me to tell you that Barry Sonnenfeld’s 1991 riff on The Addams Family is far from a perfect film. But allow me a few minutes to convince you it’s still worth your time, especially now that it’s been restored in 4K.

I know it’s uneven and choppy, and that you can feel the absence of essential connective tissue and the presence of scenes tacked on at the last minute. There’s also the tonal inconsistency, given that the film never quite knows how far it wants to distance itself from the ’60s TV adaptation of the same comic. Sometimes it strays so close that comparisons between the two versions are inevitable (especially in its use of music from the David Levy/Donald Saltzman production), while at other times it asks for the freedom to introduce more of the macabre elements Chas Addams saw as essential to his original comics. In the latter respect, the film often goes too far.

There’s also the fact that Anjelica Huston—who certainly looks the part of Morticia—plays her part with inconsistent levels of sincerity but never quite enough. And seriously, what’s up with all the MC Hammer songs? Those have aged even worse than I could have imagined.

But it’s been 30 years since The Addams Family debuted on big screens (to put things in perspective here, only 27 years had passed between the debut of the sitcom on ABC and the premiere of the film), and I’m pleasantly surprised to find that many other aspects of this adaptation have aged much better than I remembered.

The production design, for one thing, is phenomenal. The cinematography is often fantastic (even if it’s a bit inconsistent, since the film burned through two DPs before director Sonnenfeld stepped behind the camera himself to finish the shooting). Young Christina Ricci was so fantastic as Wednesday that her portrayal has become iconic. And Raul Julia will always be the platonic ideal of everything Gomez Addams should be, despite my overwhelming preference for the ’60s sitcom otherwise, defanged as it may have been.

The Addams Family is also a lot more fun than I remember, and although one could accuse me of damning the film with faint praise, it’s infinitely better than the 2019 animated film and its 2021 sequel. What’s more, it sets up what I consider to be a vastly superior sequel: 1993’s Addams Family Values.

At any rate, the film has recently been restored and remastered in 4K under the supervision of Sonnenfeld, and if you—like I—appreciate The Addams Family despite the flaws resulting from its troubled production, you’re in for a treat. For the first time on home video, it genuinely looks like photochemical film, and all that implies. There’s an organic chaos to the imagery that’s been missing until now, and although detail and sharpness are variable from shot to shot, the image is rife with interesting and inviting textures I’ve never before seen at home. True, the enhanced resolution does no favors to the compositing work involved with most shots involving Thing, but practically every other aspect of the picture benefits from the restoration. Even the opening credits—which can often look quite dodgy on films of this vintage and budget level—positively pop off the screen. To call Kaleidescape’s presentation of this transfer an upgrade over the old Blu-ray release would be an understatement.

The audio, meanwhile, comes in the form of a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack that I believe is the same as the Blu-ray release. No matter—it’s a surprisingly robust surround mix that delivers exactly the right level of immersion, with great panning and soundstaging, and just the right amount of oomph.

Unfortunately, though, Paramount has seen fit to release this 4K restoration in such a scattershot way that you have some decisions to make about how and where to purchase it. The UHD Blu-ray comes with two cuts of the film—the original theatrical edit, and a new restoration that extends the “Mamushka” dance between Gomez and Fester, which was trimmed as a result of test screenings. Despite supplying Kaleidescape with artwork pointing toward the extended “Mamushka” scene, the studio only gave the provider the theatrical cut.

They’ve also withheld the bonus features included on the disc (and, incidentally, included with most other digital releases of the film), which comprise a new introduction to the “More Mamushka!” version by Sonnenfeld, a retrospective documentary on the making of the film, and an archival featurette.

A far bigger problem is that Paramount has only given Kaleidescape an SDR transfer of the 4K remaster to work with, whereas the disc will feature an HDR10 grade and most other digital services present the film in Dolby Vision. I can’t speak to how much of a difference HDR makes in this case, as I’ve only seen the UHD/SDR transfer, but it’s still disappointing.

None of this is surprising. Paramount has a history of treating this film (and especially its sequel) quite poorly. Still, at a price of $14.99 for the new restoration, it’s hard to complain too much—especially if you’re an old fan like me. And I do emphasize the “old” part there. The Addams Family isn’t the most kid-friendly adaptation of its source material. And much like its characters, it’s erratic, occasionally incomprehensible, and a touch too mean-spirited . . . but nonetheless lovable, all things considered.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | For the first time on home video, The Addams Family genuinely looks like photochemical film, and all that implies.

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is a surprisingly robust surround mix that delivers exactly the right level of immersion, with great panning and soundstaging, and just the right amount of oomph

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Review: Love Actually

Love Actually

review | Love Actually

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Richard Curtis’ vaguely controversial romcom-ish classic looks just fine in HD on Kaleidescape

by Dennis Burger
updated June 20, 2023

Love Actually is probably the most misunderstood of all Richard Curtis’s directorial efforts. That’s not to say it’s his best (that would be About Time by a country mile), nor is it his worst, but it seems that most people are so concerned with fitting Love Actually into their own preconceived boxes that almost no one engages with what it actually is. On the one hand, you have viewers who embrace it as the perfect romantic comedy, when in fact it’s mostly a subversion of that genre’s most saccharine trappings. On the other hand, you have the pecksniffian morality police who never resist the opportunity to tell you how much this movie fails to perfectly live up to their woke sensibilities and how you’re a bad person if you actually enjoy it because most of its characters make bad choices.

Both camps miss the point. Love Actually is hardly a rom-com. (Even the trailer gets this wrong.) It’s a comedy about love, and that’s something altogether different. It’s been accused of being a movie that has no idea what love is about, but it’s far more accurate to call it the story of people trying to figure out what love is and sometimes failing to do so.

The all-star ensemble cast is huge, and its characters run the gamut from Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to Portuguese housekeeper, but they’re all imperfectly awkward human beings doing their best to find or hold onto or comprehend love in its many forms, from childhood infatuation to forbidden obsession to meaningful intellectual connection, from platonic love to the complicated-but-undeniable bond between siblings and the developing ties between stepson and stepfather. Only a handful of the relationships in the movie have anything to do with romance. But they’re all, in their own way, about love.

It’s obvious that Curtis isn’t trying to convey any lessons here, nor is he making moral judgments (which is why I think it so offends some viewers). Love Actually is simply intended to be relatable and empathetic, both in its warmest moments and in its most fumbling, insecure, and idiotic. And it succeeds wonderfully, which makes it one of my favorite Christmas movies, whether or not it’s objectively one of the best.

And yes, it is a Christmas movie, despite arguments to the contrary. Any number of angry keyboard warriors have tried and failed to point out that the story here could have just as easily been told at or around Valentine’s Day. I think they’re confusing it with any number of half-hearted knockoffs that have followed in the 17 years since Love Actually debuted.

Of course, it’s a Christmas movie! And not merely because of the setting or the fantastic live rendition of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” at the end. It simply isn’t a traditional Christmas movie—of which Curtis is well aware, as evidenced by cheeky references to lobsters at the Nativity and so forth. Instead, it’s a story that does its best to grapple with a more modern notion of Christmas, one where the traditional extended family structure isn’t necessarily the only norm anymore.

Above all else, Love Actually is simply a sweet and sentimental, awkwardly charming good time, and one of those rare movies that’s actually best enjoyed in good company. It’s neither a masterpiece nor an affront to moral standards, but I can’t imagine letting a Christmas season pass without watching it with friends, family, or loved ones. That plants it firmly in “must own” territory.

If you don’t own it already, I would argue that Kaleidescape’s presentation is the way to go. Kaleidescape has the UK cut of the film. The only differences between the UK and US edits are in the music, but I prefer the former by a good bit. To the best of my knowledge, Universal only released the UK cut on Blu-ray in 2009, and has replaced it with the US version in subsequent rereleases, of which there have been a few.

The movie is presented in HD only, but that’s totally fine. Keen-eyed viewers will notice an overall softness to the image, but before you think this would be rectified by a 4K redux, look a little closer. Viewing the HD release at cinematic proportions, you can notice a fine grain structure that indicates plenty sufficient detail in the transfer, meaning the softness is inherent to the cinematography. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of additional crispness or nuance to be extracted from the negative.

Colors are bright and vibrant enough for this sort of flick, so I lean toward thinking HDR wouldn’t do it a whole heck of a lot of good, either. If you’re holding out for a 4K remaster of Love Actually, I just can’t imagine one is on the horizon. And that’s OK, since this likely isn’t a movie you dig into for the audiovisual experience. Granted, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix does a great job of keeping dialogue clear and intelligible, and the fidelity of the soundtrack music is spot-freaking-on. In the end, that’s exactly what you would hope for.

Extras are sparse here. There’s the forgettable audio commentary track, and that’s really it. The deleted scenes from the Blu-ray are missing, but you can find those on YouTube. What really matters is that the movie itself is presented in delightfully distraction-free quality, with a full-bandwidth soundtrack and no compression issues to be seen.

If you’ve never seen Love Actually and you need a little silly and adorkable escapism this holiday season, this is well worth the price of a download. Will it change your life? No. But if you don’t find yourself guffawing through tears by the time the end credits roll, you’ve got the heart of a Grinch.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | Presented in HD only, colors are bright and vibrant enough for this sort of flick and likely wouldn’t be significantly improved in a 4K HDR release

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix does a great job of keeping dialogue clear and intelligible, and the fidelity of the soundtrack music is spot-on

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Review: Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy (2004)

review | Hellboy (2004)

It might not be as faithful to the comics as the 2019 remake, but del Toro’s take is by far the better movie

by Dennis Burger
updated June 10, 2023

Try as we might to be objective, the truth is that those of us who make at least part of our living reviewing films bring some significant biases to the table. So, I should likely go ahead and show my cards in this case: Im a massive fan of Mike Mignolas comic-book series Hellboy and all of its spinoffs, from B.P.R.D. to Abe Sapien to Lobster Johnson to Frankenstein Underground.

I tell you that not because it really has any bearing on the quality of Guillermo del Toros 2004 big-screen adaption of the comic, but more as a heads-up that things might get a little geekier than usual in this review. The thing is, when Hellboy hit theaters, most people had probably never heard of the comic book, and so had little concern for how faithful it was to the source.

Times have changed, though, and fandom has become more toxic across the board in almost every respect, so its become trendy to bash the movie for taking some significant liberties. Theres still no denying that in bringing the characters and mythology of the Mignolaverse to the screen, del Toro decided to adapt and interpret rather than be a slave to the printed page.

And to that I say, Thank goodness.” You only need to look at the most recent cinematic adaptation of Hellboy—Neil Marshalls unimaginative regurgitation of the comic stories Darkness Calls,” “The Wild Hunt,” and The Storm and the Fury”—for proof that translating material between two mediums isnt as simple as copying and pasting. The 2019 Hellboy reboot is truer to the storylines, dialogue, and even the overall structure of the comic than the 2004 film. But the new film, in its attempt to be a gritty R-rated gorefest, overlooks the comic books profoundly ironic humanity.

That emotional human core is exactly what del Toro latched onto it formulating his own version. And most of the deviations from the comics storyline it leans heavily on, “Seed of Destruction,” ultimately boil down to bringing themes about family to the forefront and building the rest of the story around them. This motivation results in some substantial character changes—Selma Blairs Liz Sherman, for example, bears only the most superficial resemblance to her comic-book counterpart.

A subtler deviation comes in the form of a slight genre shift. Whereas del Toros Hellboy maintains the gothic horror and action elements of its inspiration, the comics folklore underpinnings do get dropped in favor of pure fantasy. But all of these modifications work in service of Hellboy as a movie no matter what you want to say about their effect on it as an adaptation. 

For its 15th anniversary, Sony Pictures has graced Hellboy movie with a ground-up 4K restoration, which serves as the source of Kaleidescapes recent UHD/HDR release. This release proves once again that films shot on 35mm film stand to benefit more from UHD/HDR than do newer, all-digital efforts.

The imagery here is sumptuous—reference-quality in virtually every respect, with the exception of a handful of computer-generated effects that dont quite stand up to the quality of their practical counterparts. But even the worst of Hellboy 2004s CG effects look better than the best of Hellboy 2019s, so dont take this as too harsh a criticism. Overall, this new remastered transfer is simply stunning.

Unsurprisingly, the high dynamic range transfer really flexes its muscles in portraying the films shadows, of which there are plenty, although it does take the opportunity to dazzle at times. The biggest improvement over the decade-old 1080p transfer, though, is in the more refined handling of the mostly muted color palette. Though theres no denying that there’s oodles more detail onscreen here than weve ever seen on any previous home video release of Hellboy. Textures, too, get a big boost, all the way down to the fine organic grain structure of the original film elements.

Im not quite as sweet on the new Dolby Atmos remix of the movies soundtrack. But if you like tons of overhead sound effects, youll be in heaven, because the remix never misses an opportunity to employ the height channels to their fullest effect. It often does this in the interest of atmosphere, which is where this remix really worked for me. When the action cranks up, though, so do the height channels, and I found it to be a little too distracting, although thats a common complaint on my part when it comes to object-based surround sound.

The good new is, over-done though it may be, the Atmos remix is utterly seamless, and sounds exactly the way I imagine the movie would have sounded if modern audio technology had existed in 2004. The new mix maintains all the dynamic oomph that has made this movie a go-to home theater demo since the DVD days, and it does so while also maintaining excellent dialogue intelligibility and unimpeachable fidelity for the movies memorable score.

If, on the other hand, you fall into my camp when it comes to Atmos, you may be disappointed to find that the new Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround remix available on the recent UHD Blu-ray release is missing from the Kaleidescape download. The only other soundtrack options here are low-bitrate Dolby Digital (not Plus, just Dolby Digital) 5.1, and DTS-HD Master Audio stereo.

The UHD/HDR download is also missing not one, but two new audio commentaries recorded for the theatrical cut of the movie, which is also missing here. The Kaleidescape version includes the Directors Cut only, which—to be fair—is a substantially superior cut of the movie, even if its differences mostly amount to five or six seconds of footage here and 30 or 40 seconds of footage there. Also missing is a 15th-anniversary retrospective called To Hell and Back, along with a brief new introduction by director Guillermo del Toro.

But buying the UHD version on Kaleidescape also gives you access to the Blu-ray quality download, which brings with it a cornucopia of wonderful bonus features, most notably the six-part documentary The Seeds of Creation, which at 143 minutes runs longer than the movie itself. So youre really not missing out on too much unless youre an audio commentary junky like I am.

If youre not a bonus feature completist, theres really nothing about this release to criticize. Hellboy is a fun, beautifully shot, often sweet, and utterly charming movie thats better served by this new 4K remaster than any previous home video effort. The improvements in picture quality—especially in terms of color, shadow detail, and black levels—cannot be overstated.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | The imagery is sumptuous—reference-quality in virtually every respect, with the exception of a handful of computer-generated effects

SOUND | The Atmos remix is utterly seamless, and sounds exactly the movie would have sounded if modern audio technology had existed in 2004

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Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

review | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Tarantino takes a self-reflexive look at his body of work in his ninth film, which stays true to the look of its era

by Dennis Burger
updated June 5, 2023

There’s a truism about golf that focusing on your grip and overthinking your swing is the easiest way to sabotage your game. I’m not really sure how true that is because the closest I’ve ever gotten to a golfball field was the Mountasia mini-golf course that used to sit where my favorite barbecue joint now resides. But I’ve heard the same said of everything from tennis to endurance racing to sex so I’ll assume there’s some validity to it.

Given that, it’s sort of amazing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s ninth and reportedly penultimate film, isn’t an absolute swing-and-a-miss. Throughout the film’s 160-minute runtime, it’s pretty obvious Tarantino obsessed over every aspect of not just this film but his entire oeuvre, as well as every single trope that has defined his style.

I won’t dig too much into the plot for numerous reasons but suffice to say the story centers on the relationship between an actor who is past his prime and the longtime stuntman who functions as his right hand, confidant, and personal assistant of sorts. The interactions between these two—played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Bratt Pitt, who turn in some of the best work either has ever committed to the screen—form the bedrock of what could almost be described as a tone poem about the end of an era, personally, culturally, and politically. It’s a rumination on the changing landscape of Hollywood and of society as a whole at the end of the turbulent 1960s.

While DiCaprio and Pitt stand at the center of this loose tale, though, they can’t really be described as its heart. That function belongs to Margot Robbie, who positively mesmerizes as Sharon Tate, one of a number of real-world figures who populate the wholly (and I do mean wholly) fictionalized world of Tarantino’s film.

His handling of Tate as a character is honestly one of the film’s most fascinating elements. He doesn’t put her on a pedestal, objectify her, or turn her into some magical, mythical, or tragic creature. He instead humanizes her, to a degree I’ve never seen in any of the fictionalized or dramatized portrayals of her. Combined with Robbie’s pitch-perfect portrayal, this gives her a presence that feels somewhat out of proportion with her relatively limited screen time, not to mention the minuscule amount of dialogue given to her.

Once Upon a Time leans hard on a number of tried-and-true Tarantino tropes, though not always in the expected ways. As always, pop music plays a huge role in the soundtrack, though Tarantino seems less interested in digging up long-forgotten deep cuts like “Stuck in the Middle with You” or “Flowers on the Wall,” relying instead of iconic cuts that evoke the era and the personal emotions he’s exploring.

Another trope he seems to be consciously grappling with is violence. I’ll admit, I’ve never had the problem with his use of gore and splatter as some critics, if only because it’s generally so over-the-top and obviously cartoonish that there’s only the most tenuous relationship between his violence and real-world bodily harm. In Once Upon a Time though, not only is the violence massively downplayed, it’s also shockingly realistic. That combination—the overall lack of bloodshed combined with an undeniable lack of glorification or sensationalism when it does appear—honestly makes the two or three brief violent scenes the exact opposite of cartoonish. In fact, they’re so brutal as to be difficult to watch.

It seems to me this is intentional. Indeed, one of the minor recurring themes is the representation of violence in movies and TV (including Tarantino’s own previous efforts). Unsurprisingly, it’s a theme he handles with a hefty helping of Gen X irony, but the fact that he’s handling it so blatantly in the first place can’t go unnoticed.

You also can’t help but notice that Tarantino agonized over the look of the film. Shot on a combination of 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film stock, the color portions are outright dazzling, even if the image seems to be a revolt against current digital video standards. If you’re a videophile, be prepared for some seriously crushed blacks, overly ruddy skin tones, primary colors that sizzle with near-neon intensity, and a defiant lack of dynamic range, especially on the lower end of the value scale.

I don’t say this as a criticism of the home video transfer. The Ultra HD/HDR presentation on Kaleidescape seems absolutely true to Tarantino and cinematographer Robert Richardson’s artistic vision. I’m merely giving you a heads-up that if you go in expecting near-infinite shadow detail and subtlety in the color palette, you’re going to be a bit taken aback by what you see here.

On the other hand, this is one of the few modern films that genuinely takes advantage of Ultra HD resolution, since it was finished in a 4K digital intermediate. The wider color gamut, as compared with the older HD home video standards, allows the extra intensity of those vibrant primary hues to shine through unscathed.

Interestingly, despite the overall lack of dynamic range on display, there is one very dark scene that would have benefited from the dynamic metadata of Dolby Vision HDR. I know a Dolby Vision master was created for digital cinema exhibition, although the best we have on home video is an HDR10 grade that does a wonderful job of handling the one or two rare instances of high-intensity brightness, most notably in the TV-pilot-within-a-film that comprises so much of the second act.

Overall, it’s a gorgeous film that is well-served by this home video presentation. It simply isn’t what most people would consider home theater demo material, because it has absolutely no interest in acting as such.

The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack accompanying the Kaleidescape download also does a wonderful job of delivering the film’s mix, which runs the gamut from safe and unobtrusive to unapologetically playful, depending on the needs of the scene. There are creative uses of the surround soundfield that will likely go unnoticed unless you’re taking notes and critiquing the mix from a technical perspective, and other, more obvious surround-sound tricks that seemingly serve Tarantino’s meta-purposes of making a film about filmmaking. But all of this really takes a backseat to what matters most: The fidelity of the soundtrack music and the intelligibility of the dialogue, both of which are unimpeachable.

For those who love some of Tarantino’s films and outright loathe or are bored to tears by others, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an interesting work. It isn’t perfect or consistent, but it is utterly captivating—so much so that I’ve been unable to think about much else since watching it.

Will it stand the test of time? Who knows? I will say this, though: After taking a bit more time to sort out my own thoughts on the film, I’m eager to dive back in and explore it at least one more time.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | This gorgeous film is well served by Kaleidescape’s Ultra HD/HDR presentation, which seems absolutely true to what Tarantino and cinematographer Robert Richardson intended

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack does a wonderful job of delivering the film’s mix, which runs the gamut from safe and unobtrusive to unapologetically playful, depending on the needs of the scene

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Review: Superman: The Movie

Superman: The Movie (1978)

review | Superman: The Movie

The 4K HDR release smooths down the rough edges while keeping the charm of the original, 1978 film intact

by Dennis Burger
updated June 3, 2023

Let’s talk about courage for a moment—not the courage it took for Ilya and Alexander Salkind to make a sentimental and sincere big-budget superhero film when there was no precedent for that sort of thing. Nor the courage it took for director Richard Donner and casting director Lynn Stalmaster to take a risk on unknown Christopher Reeve for the lead role, when so many other famous names were contending for the red cape and spit curl. You’ve no doubt heard those stories before.

Let’s talk instead about the courage it took for Warner Bros. to release a 4K HDR version of Superman: The Movie in 2018 that preserves all of the celluloid flaws (and charms) of the original cinematic release in an era where so many studios are glossing up, de-noising, sharpening, and generally attempting to modernize the standouts in their classic-film catalogs.

This is one of those films I buy on any new home video format the day it’s released, which isn’t to say every home video release has been a major improvement over the ones before it. This is an intentionally soft and heavily filtered film, after all. It lacks rock-solid blacks and there’s a prominent graininess to the image, especially in special-effects shots.

If Kaleidescape’s 4K HDR release weren’t true to all of that, it would be a bit of a betrayal. So why release it in 4K HDR at all? What stands out most in this release as compared with previous efforts (including the Blu-ray quality 1080p version of the film, also included with the Kaleidescape download) is the richness and saturation of its colors, especially in the early sequences in Smallville.

Before that, the scenes on Krypton also get a nice boost from the enhanced brightness afforded by HDR. I finally think I get what Donner was going for with those silly reflective suits Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and Lara (Susannah York) wear as they ponder the fate of their infant child before rocketing him off to earth. They have a pop and sizzle here they’ve never had on home video before.

Other than that, it’s as if a layer of haze has been wiped off of the film. Granted, what was buried under the haze was a late-’70s work of photochemical film. It’s fuzzy, it’s muted,and its effects shots look kinda laughable. But that’s long been part of the charm of this film, so kudos to Warner for having the cajones to release it as such, and kudos to Kaleidescape for delivering it with all of its textures and nuances intact.

This isn’t the movie you’re going to whip out if you simply want to show off all of your projector’s or TV’s pixel-pumping, high-contrast capabilities. Still, it’s hard to deny that this is the best that Superman: The Movie has ever looked or will likely ever look. I daresay the original 70mm print didn’t shine this brilliantly the first time it was spindled through the projector on opening night in 1978.

One thing worth noting is that the Kaleidescape version doesn’t include the new Atmos remix included with the UHD Blu-ray disc. I’m not sure how you feel about that, but I don’t miss it. The new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that is included is a big step up from previous efforts, especially with its rich, bombastic delivery of John Williams’ iconic score. The fidelity here is flawless yet it isn’t an outright betrayal of the film’s original aesthetic.

Am I alone in this, though? Would you rather see a classic like Superman: The Movie presented as a product of its time, in the best possible light of today’s home video technology? Or would you prefer that the studio iron out the grain, sharpen up the edges, slap on a fresh coat of paint, and try to make the film look (and sound!) more like the current crop of superhero flicks that owe so much to this cherished classic?

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | The 4K HDR release preserves all of the celluloid flaws (and charms) of the original cinematic release while bringing richness, saturation, and a new vividness to the colors

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a big step up from previous efforts, especially with its rich, bombastic delivery of John Williams’ iconic score

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Review: Spirited Away

Spirited Away (2001)

review | Spirited Away

The 1080p presentation is able to capture the look of this anime classic without compromise

by Dennis Burger
Updated May 28.2023

Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece, Spirited Away makes me long for a time machine. Not necessarily so I could dial back the last 18 years and view the film again for the first time (although that would be a treat) but so I could capture my impressions after having just seen the film with fresh eyes.

I say this only because I come to Spirited Away with so much baggage that I find it difficult to discuss the film in and of itself. After nearly two decades of reading doctoral theses about linguistic symbolism, of devouring literary and film analyses, of falling down rabbit holes of spiritual, religious, and philosophical themes and the their interconnections it isn’t easy to simply sit back and consume the film as a work of art.

So I did the next-best thing. I sat beside my wife this weekend as she experienced this weird and captivating journey for the first time. Glancing out of the corner of my eye to see her giggle and applaud, weep and gasp, I was reminded of that first viewing. And I was also reminded that you don’t need to know a damned thing about Spirited Away to appreciate it as one of the best animated films ever made.

So forget all of the symbolism and the film’s deep ties to Shintoism and Japanese cultural norms (some admirable, some deplorable). What makes Spirited Away work as a two-hour adventure ?

The animation certainly helps. Not only is this Miyazaki’s most visually stunning work, it also represents perhaps the most artful (and subtle) marriage of hand-drawn 2D and computer-rendered 3D animation ever committed to the screen. The worlds of the ten-year-old hero Chihiro (both the material and spirit worlds) seem more real and tangible than most cinematic settings captured in live action.

But it isn’t merely the animation that creates this perception,. What makes Miyazaki a master filmmaker is that he understands how to lead the viewer through a story and its world in such a way that it doesn’t feel like a passive viewing experience.

Perhaps the best example is the denouement, in which Chihiro must travel to confront the twin sister of the sorceress who stole her name and employed her in a bathhouse for gods and spirits. In most films—especially fantasy films—her journey would have been written as an epic quest, fraught with danger and excitement. But in Miyazaki’s hands, though, it is a quiet and contemplative train ride. This shouldn’t work, but it does, on two levels: It gives both little Chihiro and the viewer alike a chance to reflect and to catch our breaths together.

It’s a technique Miyazaki employs in most of his films, and one he describes using the Japanese word ma, which roughly translates into “pause” or “gap”. But no film—by Miyazaki or any other filmmaker—makes such effective use of this technique as does this scene. And it works so well here because this ma isn’t simply a quiet break from the action. It also gives the viewer the opportunity to revel in Spirited Away on the level of pure audiovisual experience. It may be the first time most viewers fully appreciate how seamlessly the 2D and 3D animation are blended. It might also be the first time you have room to truly meditate on Joe Hisaishi’s melancholic score. 

Spirited Away has been likened to stories like The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with good reason. It is, on one level, an amazing coming-of-age tale. But, despite its deep roots in Japanese mythology and folklore, there’s something uniquely universal about Spirited Away.

The film rewards further exploration, sure, but that would be pointless if it wasn’t worth watching over and over again purely on its own terms, with its obvious themes about greed and kindness and the nature of the self. Force me to construct a list of films that demand to be owned rather than merely rented and Spirited Away would be on it.

Thankfully, Kaleidescape’s download is a wonderful way to own the film. We’re presented with both the original Japanese soundtrack and the surprisingly good English-language dub (overseen by Pixar’s John Lasseter) in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The film defaults to Japanese with English subtitles, but if you’re watching with younger viewers (or simply refuse to read captions), the English dub maintains the delightful score, as well as the effective and atmospheric sound mix. Both versions use the surround channels and subwoofer to extend the worlds of the film out into the room, and to give both weight and depth to the onscreen action.

Kaleidescape does present the film without the bonus features found on both Disney’s 2015 Blu-ray release and the 2017 follow-up by GKIDS, but those bonus goodies did little to enrich the film. What’s more important is that the Kaleidescape presentation is superior to the already excellent 2017 Blu-ray. You could complain that Spirited Away isn’t available in 4K but this better-than-Blu-ray-quality 1080p presentation lacks for nothing in terms of capturing all the details of the original animation. There’s a second or two here or there that might benefit from a wider color gamut but without the ability to A/B this transfer against a hypothetical 4K re-scan of the film elements, I can’t say that for sure.

What I can say is that this belongs in your collection whether you’re a fan of Japanese animation or not. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself so enraptured by Miyazaki’s magical worlds that you end up exploring the rest of his catalog almost immediately. If you’re looking for a little guidance, I would suggest next diving into My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle, both of which are also available on Kaleidescape, along with rest of Studio Ghibli’s long-form catalog.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | This better-than-Blu-ray-quality 1080p presentation lacks for nothing in terms of capturing all the details of the original animation

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix uses the surround channels and subwoofer to extend the worlds of the film out into the room, and to give both weight and depth to the onscreen action

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Review: The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

review | The Bridge on the River Kwai

The 4K HDR/Atmos version surpasses all previous home releases, breathing new life into the David Lean classic

by Dennis Burger
updated May 26, 2023

The Bridge on the River Kwai has never been a great-looking film, at least not in my lifetime. Whether via VHS, widescreen VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, or even high-definition Blu-ray, it has long been plagued by an overly contrasty, crushed, murky look that didn’t quash its emotional impact but nonetheless seemed like a missed opportunity, especially given the film’s lush setting.

Given that the biggest problem marring the look has been blacks that are too black and highlights that are too bright, an HDR release may seem somewhat pointless—or even perhaps detrimental. But if anything, The Bridge on the River Kwai’s 4K HDR release via Kaleidescape does a wonderful job of conveying the difference between contrast and dynamic range. The HDR grade does darken the darks a little, and brightens the highlights spectacularly, but the most important thing it does is introduce more steps between those two extremes, breathing subtlety and richness into the shadows and bringing the image to life in ways I never would have imagined possible. In short, it delivers the nuances inherent to the original film that have never survived before now in the transition to home video.

That’s not to say that the film now looks perfect. Kwai was shot with cobbled-together CinemaScope cameras without the benefit of zoom lenses. As such, the very first scene we see, of a soaring and circling hawk, was quite obviously blown up extensively, resulting in an overly grainy, noisy mess.

Thankfully, such scenes are rare. A more common occurrence, though, are the optical fade transitions between scenes. These have always looked rough but here they look even rougher, if only by comparison to the gorgeous presentation of the rest of the film. It appears that these fade transitions weren’t sourced from the original negative that served as the basis for the bulk of the restoration but look at least a generation removed, and my guess is that in restoring the film, they had to pull the fades from a print. So you’ll go from a vibrant, gorgeously textured scene into an overly contrasty, noisier fade, then right into another lovely scene.

Until you get used to this, the transitions can be a little more jarring in the 4K HDR presentation than they are in the Blu-ray-quality download also included with this release. So, you’re left with a choice: Do you watch the film in truly lovely quality with the occasional, fleeting downgrade to a second-generation source or do you opt for a sort of bleh-but-acceptable presentation that’s more consistent from beginning to end?

I’ll opt for the former any day, secure in the knowledge that this is absolutely the best The Bridge on the River Kwai will ever look. I’m guessing the original negatives for those fade transitions were damaged beyond repair in post-production, so there’s no good source for additional restoration. But once you accept the fact that a second or two here and there will look a little less than stunning, the HDR download—released here in its proper 2.55:1 aspect ratio, not 2.40:1 as the tech specs would indicate—is an absolute revelation.

The Kaleidescape download is also supported by a 5.1 surround soundtrack that seems to be identical to the 2010 Blu-ray release (which itself was based on the restored and enhanced audio track I believe I first remember hearing on the 1994 LaserDisc release). There are some additional ambient sound effects I don’t remember hearing on the VHS releases, which I no longer have the ability to play. The good news is, this isn’t one of those ham-fisted surround remixes that attempt to make the film sound more modern. Everything in the mix evokes the original (which I think was a four-track magnetic soundtrack).

I almost completely skipped the Atmos soundtrack included with this release since I’m not fond of that format for movies to begin with, much less 60-year-old classics. But I’m glad I gave it a listen on a whim. It sounds like the mix was mostly based on the 2010 remix, which itself was based on the 1993 reconstruction of the original audio elements, but there are a few key differences. Dialogue that was obviously overdubbed sounds less obviously overdubbed, and the height channels open up the sound field and expand the film’s ambience in a truly subtle but effective way. If you’re looking for a soundtrack that pushes your ceiling speakers to their extremes, keep on looking. But if you’re looking for an audio experience that’s true to the original, just with some extra breathing room, give this one a listen—even if you like Atmos less than I do.

As for extras, you’ll have to download the Blu-ray-quality version from Kaleidescape to check them out but it’s worth the extra effort. In addition to a trio of period promotional materials, as well as a short documentary about film criticism made for USC film students, there’s a fantastic retrospective documentary by Laurent Bouzereau made for the two-disc collector’s edition DVD release from 2000. While somewhat glossing over the film’s historical inaccuracies, the doc is a bit more forthright than most retrospectives and is certainly worth a look.

Even if you don’t care about supplemental material, though, The Bridge on the River Kwai belongs in any good film collection. This isn’t one you want to wait for TCM to air, since it rewards repeated viewings. Consider, for example, how its complex themes evolve as you shift attention from William Holden, Alec Guinness, and even Sessue Hayakawa, and focus on one above the others as the story’s main driving force. It isn’t really until you watch it again, placing all three on equal footing, that you can get to the heart of what the film is about: The consequences of ideology crashing into principles, when neither completely comports with reality.

And unless you’re still buying discs, Kaleidescape is about the only way to own this 4K HDR presentation, since for whatever reason Vudu, Amazon, and many other digital providers are limited to the HD release.

Again, The Bridge on the River Kwai isn’t a technically perfect film, but Kaleidescape’s presentation so far exceeded my expectations that all of the above nitpicking feels like pedantry. For the first time, the film lives in a form that’s worthy of the best display in your home. And if for whatever reason you’ve never seen it, I’m a little jealous that this is how you get to experience for the first time.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | The HDR grade introduces more steps between the dark and bright extremes, breathing subtlety and richness into the shadows and bringing the image to life in ways that weren’t possible on home video before now

SOUND | The Atmos mix makes dialogue that was obviously overdubbed sound less obviously overdubbed, and the height channels open up the sound field and expand the film’s ambience subtly but effectively 

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Review: Easy Rider

Easy Rider (1969)

review | Easy Rider

Helped by a 4K HDR upgrade, this counterculture classic proves to be surprisingly relevant to the present

by Dennis Burger
updated May 24, 2023

The last time I sat down to watch Easy Rider was sometime in 1990. Sixties nostalgia was in full swing since grunge hadn’t really exploded and given the burgeoning decade something resembling its own identity. I was in my late teens and the film was barely in its twenties, and yet it felt archaic to me—a time capsule, if you will. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t compelling, but I think I mostly saw Easy Rider as something akin to a 95-minute music video for some of the best tunes dominating classic rock radio at the time. And sure, I understood its lasting influence on American New Wave cinema, but it still struck me as little more than a nostalgia trip and a disjointed one at that.

Fast-forward 30 more years, and Easy Rider feels relevant to me in ways I couldn’t have imagined before digging into Kaleidescape’s 4K HDR release. For me, Easy Rider isn’t just a hop into the Wayback Machine. It’s a relatable portrait of a turbulent and divided America; of senseless violence and othering; of rage and misplaced resentment boiling over into identity politics and spilling out into interpersonal strife; of the end of an era.

And sure, it’s not quite like looking out the window—the clothing looks more like costumes and some of the characters feel more like caricatures. But, despite all that, Easy Rider still feels like it has something to say about our present moment in history for perhaps the first time since its release in 1969. (I’m reminded of a popular adage in geek culture: “All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.” I’m also reminded of the oft-quoted observation by Marx: “All great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice . . . the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”)

Part of the film’s reinvigorated applicability may have something to do with its structure—a series of loosely connected vignettes that barely add up to a plot. According to legend, most of what was left on the cutting-room floor when the film was whittled down from 220 to 95 minutes could be considered story. And what we’re left with is more of a moment-to-moment experience than anything else. And I think this forces a bit of reflection on what the film leaves unsaid: The racial tensions of the era, the conflict in Vietnam, the political infighting. Despite the fact that it doesn’t mention any of the above, all of this looms large over Easy Rider. And since they’re not explicit, it’s easy to impose some of our own sociopolitical strife in their place.

The new 4K HDR transfer also helps immensely, at least when it comes to getting immersed in the weirdness of Easy Rider. If you know the film well, you may be wondering what the enhanced resolution does for the imagery. The short answer is: Not much. In large part, really nothing. But the expanded dynamic range and enhanced color gamut bring the cinematography to life in ways home video simply hasn’t been capable of doing until recently.

I’m reminded of my observations about the new 4K HDR release of The Wizard of Oz. In similar respects, Easy Rider benefits not only from more vibrancy and purity of colors, but also from the selective intensity of primary hues. In past transfers, the entire palette had to be boosted or muted, brightened or darkened universally. With HDR, dazzling Crayola-colored reds and blues comfortably share the screen with more subdued pastels and weather-worn pigmentations, and intense flashes of light comfortably share the frame with deep shadows that nonetheless contain nuance. Peter Fonda’s flag-adorned chopper practically glows against a backdrop that’s more often than not dull and dingy. For the first time, the home video presentation of Easy Rider actually looks and feels like film, and thankfully the restoration efforts—while cleaning up dirt and scratches and other ravages of time—have done nothing to rob the footage of its wonderfully organic and grainy photochemical chaos.

Of course, there’s not much that could be done with the sound mix. The iconic soundtrack music sounds amazing in both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and stereo mixes. But the dialogue and other on-set audio still sound as if they were recorded with a couple of tin cans and some string, and there’s not much to be done about that short of egregious meddling.

The Kaleidescape download also comes with a couple of bonus goodies: An audio commentary with Dennis Hopper and an hour-long documentary from 1999 called Shaking the Cage. I would recommend skipping the former, since it provides a rather unbalanced perspective on the making of the film. Perhaps if Sony Pictures owned the second commentary track included with the Criterion Blu-ray release—featuring Hopper, Peter Fonda, and production manager Paul Lewis—it would be worth a listen.

You get everything you could want from a commentary and more from Shaking the Cage, which should be viewed as an essential companion piece—almost more like annotations for Easy Rider than a traditional making-of retrospective. You don’t get much in the way of insight into the themes and mysteries of the film, but rarely have I seen a more unbridled examination of the personality conflicts, fights, compromises, and sheer pandemonium behind the making of any film. In some ways, it’s almost more entertaining than Easy Rider itself.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | The 4K HDR transfer’s expanded dynamic range and enhanced color gamut bring the cinematography to life in ways home video hasn’t been capable of until recently

SOUND | The iconic soundtrack music sounds amazing in both the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and stereo mixes, but the dialogue and other on-set audio still sound as if they were recorded with a couple of tin cans and some string

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Second Thoughts: Apollo 11

Apollo 11 (2019)

Second Thoughts | Apollo 11 (2019)

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The 4K HDR version of this visually stunning document of the Apollo 11 mission is a must-have for any serious movie collection

by Dennis Burger
updated May 4, 2023

If you’ve read my review of the original HD release of Todd Douglas Miller’s documentary film Apollo 11 from earlier this year, you may recall that it was a more of a rant than a proper critique. Not about the film, mind you. Apollo 11 still stands as one of the best cinematic efforts of 2019, especially in the more straightforward, less editorial approach it takes in capturing this monumental moment in history.

The rant was instead about the home video release, which was originally HD only, with no mention of a UHD/HDR followup. This was doubly troubling because Apollo 11 is among a handful of films released at that time to actually be sourced from a 4K digital intermediate. In fact, its original film elements were scanned at resolutions between 8K and 16K. Given that most modern films, especially Hollywood tentpoles, are finished in 2K digital intermediates and upsampled to 4K for cinematic and home video release, the lack of a UHD option for Apollo 11 was as infuriating as it was puzzling.

Thankfully, that mistake has been rectified. Apollo 11 has since become available in UHD with HDR on most major video platforms, including disc and Kaleidescape, with the latter being my viewing platform of choice. I mentioned purchasing the film in HD via Vudu in my original review but that purchase didn’t offer any sort of upgrade path for UHD the way Kaleidescape does.

I did a lot of speculation in that first review about the sort of differences I thought UHD would make, and having now viewed it, most of those predictions turned out to be true. UHD does reveal a lot of detail that was obscured in HD, which makes sense given that the source of so much of this film’s visuals existed in the form of 65mm/70mm archival footage.

One of the biggest differences when comparing the HD and UHD releases is in the textures of the Saturn V rocket. Ribbing in the first three stages that dwindle to nothing in HD are clear and distinct in UHD. The little flag on the side is also noticeably crisper, and the stars in its blue field stand out more as individual points of whiteness, rather than fuzzy variations in the value scale.

As predicted, the launch of Apollo 11 also massively benefits from HDR grading. The plume of exhaust that billows from the rocket shines with such stunning brightness that you almost—almost—want to squint.

One thing I didn’t predict, though—which ends up being my favorite aspect of this new HDR grade—is how much warmer and more lifelike the imagery is. In the standard dynamic range color grade of the HD version, there’s an undeniable cooler, bluer cast that never really bothered me until I saw the warmer HDR version. Indeed, the HDR grade evokes the comforting warmth of the old Kodak stock on which the film was captured in a way the SDR grade simply doesn’t.

The new UHD presentation does make the grain more pronounced in the middle passage of the film—where 65mm film stock gives way to 35mm and even 16mm footage. But that has more to do with the enhanced contrast of this presentation than it does the extra resolution. HD is quite sufficient to capture all the nuances and detail of that lower-quality film. But the boost to contrast does mean that grain pops a little more starkly.

That does nothing to detract from the quality of the presentation, though, at least not for me. And even if you do find this lush and organic grain somewhat distracting, I think you’ll agree it’s a small price to pay for the significantly crisper, more detailed and faithful presentation of the first and third acts.

It’s a shame Universal, the film’s home video distributor, has decided to hold back bonus features. The featurette included with the UHD Blu-ray release, which covers the discovery of the 65mm archival footage, is missing here—although it’s widely available on YouTube. And only Apple TV owners get access to an exclusive audio commentary. Then again, given how badly the studio fumbled the original home video release, it’s no real surprise they’ve dropped the ball on making the bonus features widely available.

But don’t let that turn you off of the film. This is one that belongs in every movie collection, especially now that it’s available in UHD.

Dennis Burger is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

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