The annual Top 10 4K UHDs: 2025
- High-Def Watch Staff
- 2 hours ago
- 17 min read
TRUE 4K MASTERING / HDR SCREENSHOTS
THE LIST of movies is the very best in 4K viewing from a physical disc. The criteria required the source to be mastered in 4K or higher and nothing less.
No upconversion from 2K to 4K on this list. A big surprise, most of the top 4K discs were originally captured on 65mm or 35mm film stock. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment just edged out Universal Pictures with the most 4K titles in our Top 10 and honorable mentions. While Arrow Video, The Criterion Collection, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures tied in a distant third.
(Click an image to scroll the larger versions)
Julie Andrews plays the free-spirited young postulant Maria, who loves to sing and the mountains. The Mother Abbess sends Maria to the home of retired naval officer Captain Georg von Trapp, played by Christopher Plummer, to be the governess to his seven
children.
NO. 1 – “THE SOUND OF MUSIC: 60th ANNIVERSARY EDITION”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 1965; G for everyone; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home 4K, Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: “The Sound of a City: Julie Andrews Returns to Salzburg” documentary (2015)
IN 2024, word started to circulate that Disney’s restoration house, under the supervision of Kevin Schaeffer, was planning a major restoration of the family favorite “The Sound of Music” to celebrate its 60th Anniversary. My sister and I, along with our parents and hundreds of others, filled a former Vaudeville theater six decades ago, to see Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and the delightful seven children as the von Trapp family singers on the large silver screen.
In February, Disney finally provided the details, that fans of all ages would get the opportunity to experience the heart-warming film, winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, for a short theatrical run in on over 1,000 screens in 30 countries. At that same time, it would be released on the five-inch 4K Ultra HD disc and digital 4K.
VIDEO
The on-screen results are staggering. The resolution is so impeccable, when the helicopter tracks toward Julie Andrews and she does the famous 360-degree turn with her arms stretched out singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” I got goosebumps, seeing it for the first time on my nine-foot screen.
It’s clearly one of the very best restorations ever produced, with its stunning resolution and HDR10, and Dolby Vision color grading and contrast levels. Schaeffer said during a recent YouTube interview that they scanned the original TODD-AO 65mm camera negative in 8K, “so that gives us a crisper, sharper, clearer picture than before.” The super fine film grain is tight and consistent throughout, and the mountain vistas with huge billowing clouds are detailed and flawless.
Still, there were challenges, despite receiving the “best of care.” There were stains, dirt, warping, scratches, and inherent issues with camera jitter and bumps – especially during the opening helicopter sequence as the camera maneuvered through the Austrian Alps. Those moments were smoothed out digitally, and the complete restoration took nine months to scan and correct the imperfections.
AUDIO
The previous 50th Anniversary Edition eight-channel DTS-HD soundtrack was upgraded to the new Dolby Atmos for height speakers. It’s used sparingly for the Oscar-winning Best Sound and Best Music Score adaptation from the original Rodgers & Hammerstein Broadway production. Unforgettable tunes “Edelweiss,” “My Favorite Things,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” and “Do-Re-Mi” are dialed mostly toward front speakers. Andrews’ vocals are superb, helping her earn a second Academy Award nomination as Maria. The previous year, she won the Best Actress golden statue as Mary Poppins.
– Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer
Oscar-nominated Michael B. Jordan gives a remarkable performance as Smoke and Stack, twins who return to the Mississippi Delta, after fighting in World War I and running booze for Al Capone to open a juke joint.
NO. 2 – “SINNERS”
4K Ultra HD, 2025, R for strong, brutal violence, language, sexuality; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: The feature “Blues in the Night: The Music of Sinners”
WHO KNOWS? If Ryan Coogler’s Uncle James had never played the mighty Howlin’ Wolf's recording of “Wang Dang Doodle,” he may never have made “Sinners.”
And that would be a shame, because his “love letter” to the man who introduced him to the blues is one of the year’s best movies and, given its exceptional video and audio presentation, is bound to finish 2025 on more than a few top 4K lists.
“Music is the most accessible art form,” Coogler says in the feature “Blues in the Night.” “If you want to take a look at our story, you kind of have to start there.”
VIDEO/AUDIO
Shot in 65mm super widescreen and 70mm IMAX, “Sinners” (2.76:1 & 1.78:1 aspect ratios) looks phenomenal. Cotton fields stretch into the distance with startling clarity, black levels are deep and rich, and detail is wonderful, even in the shadows. Arkapaw also makes effective use of soft focus to illustrate the characters’ isolation. In his review for Slant magazine, Jake Cole points out that Coogler consulted Christopher Nolan about shooting in IMAX. The 4K presentation of “Sinners,” he writes, “is comparable in its flawless replication of high-gauge celluloid as the UHD of Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’.”
The reference-quality Dolby Atmos soundtrack is a revelation, too. Full and deep, there’s no competition between the faint, off-screen dialogue and the fine-tuned score by Coogler’s frequent, Oscar-winning collaborator, Ludwig Goransson (“Black Panther,” “Oppenheimer”).
– Craig Shapiro
Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) and soon-to-be-retiring Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) investigate a series of gruesome murders in an unnamed urban metropolis.
No. 3 – “SE7EN”
4K Ultra HD, 1995; R for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings and for strong profanity; Digital copy Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: The commentary with director David Fincher, cinematographer Darius Khondji, production designer Arthur Max, editor Richard Francis-Bruce, and author Richard Dyer.
SINCE the introduction of the 4K Ultra HD format in the spring of 2016, David Fincher’s neo-noir whodunit “Se7en” has been at the top of the most requested 4K titles list. To celebrate its 30th Anniversary, Warner Bros. finally released “Se7en” on 4K Ultra HD in early 2025.
The U.K.’s Empire movie magazine selected Fincher’s film No. 2, right behind Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” for the Top 20 best Murder-Mystery Movies. Empire said, Fincher who got his start making music videos and commercials, shrugged off “the controversy and disappointment” of his first film, “Alien 3,” “rebounding in fine style with this pitch-black story of deadly sins-inspired torture and slayings.
VIDEO
Warner scanned the original Super 35 camera negative (2.39:1 aspect ratio) in 8K, and Peter Mavromates, head of Fincher’s post-production team, handled the mastering. The digital corrections, retouching, and color grading were rendered in 8K and then downconverted to 4K for this presentation.
The black levels are super inky black, without any crushing of shadows, as the film’s trademark blacks are the deepest and darkest possible. Cinematographer Darius Khondji (“The Lost City of Z,” “The Interpreter”) used a variety of film stocks to get the contrast levels he wanted. The production was filmed in Los Angeles, an unidentified wet urban metropolis. Sorry, the physical disc only gets the standard HDR10, while the digital gets the more flexible Dolby Vision grading.
Everything was encoded onto a 100 GB disc, keeping the video bitrate in the low 40 Megabits per second to over 100 Mbps, averaging in the 60 Mbps range. The HDR peak brightness hits 549 nits and averages 97 nits.
AUDIO
Oddly, the soundtrack did not receive a Dolby Atmos upgrade, but American Cinematheque says the original 5.1 sound elements were restored by Ren Klyce, into a new six-channel DTS-HD soundtrack. The results are excellent, as the sound design provides an enveloping experience from front to back.
— B.K.III
During the 1970s, Ryan O’Neal had become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. He plays a poor Irishman, Redmond Barry, who enlists in the British Army and eventually becomes Barry Lyndon, marrying the wealthy Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). Her eldest son, Lord Bullingdon (Leon Vitali), is at her side.
No. 4 – “BARRY LYNDON: THE CRITERION COLLECTION”
4K UHD & Blu-ray; 1975; PG for violence and brief nudity
Best extra: Interview with critic Michel Ciment
STANLEY KUBRICK, whose impressive oeuvre contains some of the most memorable, iconic works in the history of cinema, often based his films on a contemporary book.
For the saga of “Barry Lyndon,” Kubrick went way back to 1844, and a picaresque serial by William Makepeace Thackeray. It tells of the rise and fall of fortune in the life of an Irish farm boy named Redmond Barry (Ryan O’Neal). When his love for a local, wealthy girl backfires, Barry sets out on a journey that includes being a soldier and a gambler, which eventually introduces him into high society.
VIDEO
The original open matte 35mm camera negative was scanned in 16-bit 4K, and then matted to 1.66:1 aspect, as specified by Kubrick to the theater projectionist in 1975.
The 2000 2K master, supervised by Kubrick’s assistant Leon Vitali, served as a color reference for the new HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading. The colors are natural and perfectly saturated with their gorgeous painterly imagery, which won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for John Alcott (“2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange”) for its breakthrough low-light scenes. It was the first film to be captured with only candles; in one scene, only three were burning. The film grain is more pronounced and defined on the 4K Ultra HD. And it's slightly darker than the previous Criterion Blu-ray, with darker blacks and more detailed highlights.
The majority of the scenes were captured with natural light, and filmed in real stately homes to create that ‘romantic period.’
AUDIO
The original Mono track had been previously restored, and the creation of the six-channel DTS-HD soundtrack was derived from the Mono mix in 2000. The Oscar-winning score features works from the grand composers, including Bach, Handel, Mozart, Paisiello, Schubert and the Irish folk band The Chieftains. We know Kubrick preferred Mono, but to our ears, we liked the 5.1 track.
Sir Michael Hordern’s first-rate narration never gets lost in the remastered soundtrack.
— Peggy Earle
Lawrence Kasdan’s “Silverado” was filmed during the dead of winter in the high desert country of New Mexico. Kevin Kline plays Paden, the drifter whom we first meet alone in the desert in his long johns.
No. 5 – “SILVERADO: 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 1985; PG-13 for violence and profanity; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: A carryover commentary with three historians who explore co-writer/director Lawrence Kasdan’s desire to follow the lines of a classic John Ford Western.
WESTERNS HAD BECOME extinct by the 1980s, but “Silverado” gave the genre a boost with its band of young actors: Kevin Kline (Paden), Kevin Costner (Jake), Scott Glenn (Emmett) and Danny Glover (Malachi). The unlikely foursome ride into Silverado, run by Brian Dennehy (the corrupt Sheriff Cobb).
Kasden’s script is witty and adventurous, celebrating every Western trope: the ambush, the break out of jail, shootouts, saloons and gamblers, a cattle stampede, and a fantastic showdown. His smart and sharp dialogue rules, reminiscent of his earlier work on “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981).
VIDEO
Sony scanned the original 35mm camera negative in 4K, originally captured in the Super 35 format, extracting a good dose of natural film grain throughout. The composite opening title sequence still suffers from larger grain and lesser sharpness, but overall, the clarity is far superior from detailed close-ups to the vista Western landscape, compared to the previous 2K mastered Blu-ray (2009), which is included in the set.
The HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading deliver a neutral color palette with brighter and more controlled highlights, while the Blu-ray pushed an excess red/orange tint. The black levels are first-rate on the 4K, with fine detail in the shadows.
Overall, the frame is looser, with more horizontal space on the left, right, and vertically compared to the 1080p disc. The Super 35 format gave filmmakers and the studios the ability to frame the film as needed, since, in-camera, the full 4-perf image was captured.
AUDIO
Sony produces a new high-powered Dolby Atmos soundtrack, with a rousing score from Bruce Broughton (“Tombstone”). The sound, where sharp shooting dialogue balances with blazing gunfights; were nominated for Oscars.
Sony’s 4K restoration is one of their best for 2025.
— B.K.III
Ian Richardson is Mr. Book, leader of The Strangers, a subterranean sect that controls the city with a telekinetic power called Tuning, and Rufus Sewell stars as John Murdoch, who, in true film-noir fashion, is suspected of a series of murders that he doesn’t remember committing.
NO. 6 – “DARK CITY: LIMITED EDITION”
4K Ultra HD, 1998, Director’s Cut: unrated, violence, sexuality and brief nudity; Theatrical Cut: rated R, same
Best extra: Pick one - the new commentary with director/co-writer Alex Proyas, the hourlong feature with Proyas, the production crew, and star Rufus Sewell, the visual essays on the movie’s psychology and film noir connection, or the four essays in the 58-page booklet.
NO ONE can say Arrow Films didn’t pull out every, single stop for this definitive release of “Dark City.”
Besides the new features mentioned above, the UK distributor added another new commentary with the enthusiastic hosts of the “Film Versus Film” podcast, archival commentaries by Proyas, co-writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer, and the late Roger Ebert (one of only six in his career), Proyas’ introduction, and a 2008 retrospective and feature on the film’s themes.
Not done: The Director’s and Theatrical cuts (2:39.1 aspect ratios) were flawlessly remastered in native 4K, graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision and approved by cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (Proyas’ “The Crow,” “The Martian”). Arrow also sprung for a new Dolby Atmos (TrueHD Core) audio track to go along with the original DTS-HD MA 5.1 and stereo 2.0 tracks.
VIDEO/AUDIO
The earlier 2K master was tapped for some sequences in the Director’s Cut, giving the nod to the Theatrical Cut for overall consistency, but only by a hair. By all means, watch The Director’s Cut first. As another review noted, Arrow’s 4K UHD transfer maximizes “the depth of this darkly lit film while also bringing out the full range of its sickly greens and alien blues.” Everything pops from the Strangers’ ghostly faces to the bursts of red. Detail could not be sharper; grain is evenly distributed.
Everything was encoded onto a 100 GB disc with the video bitrate running consistently in the upper 80 Megabits per second, while the HDR10 brightness peaks at 915 and averages at 690 nits.
The new upgraded Dolby Atmos audio is also up to snuff, mixing the grinding sounds of the city with the droning score by Trevor Jones (“The Last of the Mohicans”). The sometimes hushed dialogue and myriad ambient effects get equal play.
— C.S.
Meryl Streep plays Danish Baroness Karen Blixen, and Robert Redford as the soft-spoken aristocratic hunter and pilot Denys Finch Hatton.
NO. 7 – “OUT OF AFRICA”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 1985; PG for brief nudity and smoking; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), DirecTV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), Xfinity (4K), Verizon (4K)
Best extra: The 72-minute carryover documentary “A Song of Africa.”
UNIVERSAL PICTURES has held a soft spot for Sydney Pollack’s adaptation of “Out of Africa.” Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Director, the sweeping epic was given a complete 4K restoration – with the likes of Spielberg’s “Jaws,” and Oscar winner “The Sting” – during the studios 100th anniversary in 2012.
Based on the life and writings of Danish Baroness Karen Blixen (pen name Isak Dinesen), who spent 17 years in East Africa, overseeing a coffee plantation during British colonial rule. She returned to her native country in 1931 at age 46, divorced, penniless, and brokenhearted. “But her greatest feat of alchemy was a poetic memoir called ‘Out of Africa,’” the narrator says during the documentary.
The film has two “high-voltage stars,” the late Roger Ebert said in his four-star 1985 review. Meryl Streep as the baroness, who listened to actual recordings of Blixen to develop her Danish accent. And, Robert Redford as the soft-spoken aristocratic hunter Denys Hatton, while Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer plays the mostly estranged husband Bror. Then there’s Africa, the other leading star.
VIDEO
For over a decade, the 4K master sourced from the open matte 35mm camera negative lay dormant. However, for its 40th anniversary, we finally received the 4K Ultra HD release (1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio).
The Oscar-winning cinematography from David Watkin (“Chariots of Fire”) has always been striking, but never has it looked crisper and more detailed from the 80-day production, mostly filmed at the Shaba National Game Reserve in Kenya. The colors are well-saturated and natural, thanks to its expanded Rec. 2020 spectrum. The blacks are deep and detailed, particularly during night scenes, thanks to its HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading. The HDR10 maximum light level is 1000 nits, and max frame average is 184 nits.
Everything was encoded onto a 100 GB disc, with the video bitrate ranging from the upper 30 Megabits per second to nearly 100 Mbps, keeping the natural fine-grain fully intact.
AUDIO
Universal has upgraded the soundtrack with Dolby Atmos, pushing some effects to the height speakers. Composer John Barry’s (“Dances with Wolves”) lush and romantic Oscar-winning score still shines. The wide soundstage of orchestrated strings and brass is mostly front and centered, along with the dialogue.
For a generation that has mostly passed, this was a favorite, and with
this terrific 4K release, perhaps it will connect with a new generation.
— B.K.III
(1) Lily-Rose Depp plays newlywed Ellen Hutter, who is seduced by Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgård. Many scenes are toned in a bluish, black-and-white palette. (2) Husband Thomas Hutter tries to comfort Ellen after disturbing seizures.
NO. 8 – “NOSFERATU”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 2024; R for bloody, violent content, graphic nudity, and some sexual content; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), YouTube (4K)
Best extra: Commentary by writer/director Robert Eggers
ROBERT EGGERS (“The Witch,” “The Lighthouse”) breathes new life (so to speak) into F.W. Murnau’s 1922 expressionist silent horror classic “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.”
Eggers wrote and directed this resurrection, with a cast that includes Lily-Rose Depp (“The Idol”) as Ellen Hutter and Nicholas Hoult (“Juror #2,” “Warm Bodies”) as her husband Thomas, with Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Bill Skarsgård as the “undead” Count Orlok.
Set in 1838 Germany, young newlyweds Ellen and Thomas are living frugally, hoping Thomas will get a good position in the real estate office of Herr Knock (Simon McBurney). Knock hires Thomas, and his first assignment is a lengthy voyage to the Transylvanian castle home of Count Orlok, to get the contract signed for a house he purchased.
VIDEO
Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke reunite for their fourth feature-length film, and Blaschke also received an Oscar nod for his imagery from “The Lighthouse.” All of their films have been captured on old-school 35mm film. This time, it was in the Super 35 format (1.66:1 aspect), using Panavision Arriflex, Arricam ST cameras, and Kodak 5219 stock, which was scanned and mastered in TRUE 4K. Nearly 85 percent was captured with high-speed 35mm lens, a semi-wide angle perspective. They purposely filmed each scene without any over-the-shoulder shots.
Overall, the imagery is stylish, dark, and shadowy, as many scenes are captured with only candlelight, and all of the scenes are desaturated, while some are a blueish black and white. The HDR10 peak brightness is super low, only 189 nits and averages only 45 nits, while everything was encoded onto a 100 GB disc.
On-screen clarity is superb, especially with the numerous wide shots, as the film grain is natural and tight.
AUDIO
The 4K and Blu-ray both include the atmospheric Dolby Atmos soundtrack with plenty of effects to your height speakers. And your subwoofer will get a strong workout from the LFE channel.
The moody orchestrated score from Robin Carolan (“The Northman”), will keep you on the edge of your seat, and it received a nomination for Original Score from the BAFTA (British Oscars).
— P.E.
French actor Pierre Niney in the lead role of the young sailor Edmond Dantès, who is arrested on his wedding day.
NO. 9 – “THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, 2024; Not Rated
Best extra: B-roll behind-the-scenes footage (no English subtitles)
AFTER the successful French productions of “The Three Musketeers – Part I: D’Artagnan and Part II: Milady,” both released in 2023, starring Francois Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, and Eva Green, writers Alexandre de La Patelliére and Matthieu Delaporte decided to tackle another 19th-century French classic from author Alexandre Dumas.
This time, it’s the revenge saga “The Count of Monte-Cristo,” and like “The Three Musketeers,” there is plenty of swordplay and adventure. The writing duo shows the same respect for the original 1,300-page tale about a falsely imprisoned man – shades of Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables”! The two authors were contemporaries, both born in France in 1802, and both influenced by their times – the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Yet, while Hugo’s work focused on politics and social turmoil, Dumas’ showcased rebellion and spirited adventure. Once De La Patelliére and Delaporte finished their script, they found their jobs weren’t done, and also helmed the nearly three-hour production from the director’s chair.
As a collaboration with French producer Dimitri Rassam and studio Pathé, the grand, old-fashioned film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. It received a rousing 12-minute ovation, with French actor Pierre Niney in the lead role of the young sailor Edmond Dantès, who’s arrested on his wedding day. His fiancée, Mercedes Herrera (Anaïs Demoustier) is stolen by one of the three ruthless men who initiated the false charges of treason. After 14 years at the Château d’lf island prison, Edmond makes a daring escape to reunite with his love and to execute justice on the men who framed him.
VIDEO
Canadian cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc, who also shot the two “Musketeers” films, delivers an impressive and rich tapestry for “Monte-Cristo.” Everything was filmed in France, including the historic prison, using digital cameras (2.35:1 aspect) and with a number of VFX shots: tall ships, expanded rooftops, and street scenes, all rendered in TRUE 4K.
The 4K bump in resolution compared to the enclosed Region Free Blu-ray is obvious – especially during the numerous wide shots. This Capelight Pictures release from Germany includes HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading, with a slightly darker palette and controlled highlights compared to the recent U.S. 4K release without HDR toning.
Everything was encoded onto a 100 GB disc with a video bitrate running in the mid-50 Megabits per second range. The HDR10 maximum light level hits 1000 nits, and the max frame average light is 187 nits.
AUDIO
The German 4K disc includes the original eight-channel French soundtrack with English subtitles. On my Panasonic 4K player, I could move the subtitles to the perfect spot on my nine-foot screen setup and decrease the brightness of the type. The U.S. disc features the six-channel French track and a dubbed English track.
The score from composer Jérôme Rebotier has a driving Hans Zimmer quality, with powerful, traditional orchestration and electronics. Water and environmental effects are spread across the room, with the French dialogue upfront.
This tale of revenge and treasure has been adapted over 20 times from eight different countries for the silver screen and television, but this recent French adaptation is one of the best.
— B.K.III
The courageous big-eyed grayish cat and a gang of animals try to survive a post-apocalyptic world.
No. 10 – “FLOW: THE CRITERION COLLECTION”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 2024; PG for peril and thematic elements
Best extra: Director Gints Zibalodis’ debut film “Away” (2019), also available in 4K
WITH A budget of less than $4 million and using a free and open-source 3D modeling software, Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis created last year’s animation Oscar winner “Flow.” Critics and moviegoers gave it the highest praise, earning a perfect 100 percent rating from top critics and 98 percent from audiences at RottenTomatoes.com.
Running just under 90 minutes, the enchanting fable follows a courageous big-eyed grayish cat and a gang of animals, trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world – without humans – during a Biblical-like flood. The immersive camera follows mostly at ground level, as Flow first finds refuge in an abandoned cabin. Then, as a sailboat castaway with an engaging yellow Labrador and a shy capybara, followed by a secretarybird and a neurotic lemur.
VIDEO
The animated digital files from Zibalodis and his small team of 40 artists, located in three countries, took five and a half years to complete. Everything was mastered in 4K with its 2.00:1 aspect ratio, and the resolution from close-ups to the distant landscape is stunning in its non-photorealistic painterly style. A level of post-production film grain was applied to each frame. “Flow” was encoded onto a 100 GB disc and varies from the low 60 Megabits per second to nearly 100 Mbps.
FOOTNOTE: Zibalodis decided not apply any HDR grading for this presentation, and the same for the U.K. and Germany 4K releases.
AUDIO
First off, there’s no dialogue. But Zibalodis uses environmental sounds: water, rain, wind, and animal noises to immerse you into this world in crisis in its eight-channel DTS-HD atmospheric soundtrack. He also co-composed over eight hours of music with Rihards Zalupe, but only used 15 minutes to heighten the rhythm and tone of the drama.
— B.K.III
Honorable Mentions
In alphabetical order:
(6) “High Society” (7) “A Knight’s Tale” (8) “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” (9) Shane (10) “Sunset Boulevard” (11) “Warfare” (12) “Weapons”
FOOTNOTE: The biggest disappointment with a 4K mastered disc is Warner’s “F1: The Movie,” since it was not released in the original IMAX aspect ratio of 1.90:1. And, its rocking theatrical soundtrack was also underwhelming on 4K UHD.