4K and DVD Reviews – Tripping Through Gateways

So, this one is going to be pretty short. I have already explored the films themselves. So here I am just going to look at the set itself.

Really quickly…this is my set-up:

The Television:
Samsung – 49″ Class – LED – NU8000 Series – 2160p – Smart – 4K UHD TV with HDR

The Sound System:
Samsung – 3.1-Channel Soundbar System with 6-1/2″ Wireless Subwoofer and Digital Amplifier – Charcoal Black

4k Ultra High Def Blu-Ray Player:
Sony – UBP-X700 – Streaming 4K Ultra HD Hi-Res Audio Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-Ray Player – Black

The audio in the films includes DTS:X for the 4K discs. With my sound bar, the movies all sounded great. None of the audio was muddled, and I could hear the dialog without the old pain of turning up the volume, only to rush to turn it back down when the action started.

And then there is the picture. The films benefit greatly from the High Dynamic Range treatment. This is especially noticeable in the first five films. This makes sense as they were all a bit more colorful. Honestly, the only film that just does not seem to get anything specialized from the 4k Treatment is Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Since the film’s colors are so dreary and desaturated. It is still a good and crisp picture…but it just cannot get the full benefits offered by the HDR. But still, the movies all look great.

The set includes all eight films on 4K Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray with a code to redeem a digital copy. There are no special features included on the discs, though the digital copies do appear to include the “Creating the World of Harry Potter” features included with previous blu-ray sets (at least mine do through Vudu).

I do think the video and audio make the set worth purchasing, but if you value special features, you won’t want to get rid of any earlier sets you might have.

The Little Mermaid is famous for being the film that brought Disney back to prominence as the source of classic animation. With top notch animation and memorable songs, it really earned this reputation. Borrowing from Hans Christian Anderson’s fable, Disney worked its magic by ignoring, you know, the super depressing bits.

But the film’s visual flair, music and vocal performances are effective and charming. Ariel is a lovable lead, you really root for her. In part, Jodi Benson and completed by the fluid animation. The attention paid to Ariel’s body language and facial expressions make her a character the viewer cannot help but adore.

Of course, you cannot ignore one of Disney’s finest villains. Ursula (inspired by John Waters Muse Divine) is a visual treat. Instead of a fish’s tail, Ursula has an octopus body (which doubles as her dress). She is brash and revels in her wickedness in that way only certain villains cannot without losing the audience.

And Menken’s score along with the songs he and Howard Ashman wrote are infection.

Now, what does the new Signature 4k offer? There are some new features, the most notable being Menken sitting down with five of the voice actresses from some of Disney’s biggest hits, including Ariel herself, Jodi Benson. This is not greatly illuminating but it is pretty fun.

The set also imports all the special features from the Diamond edition several years back.

The audio is great, and I don’t have much to say beyond that. The songs sound wonderful and unless you are just using your TV speakers, I did not notice anything that should trouble a viewer.

But what about the video? I was a bit concerned because, as I understand things, Disney simply used the scan of the film from the previous blu-ray edition. And at first, I felt like the 4K picture was not really any stronger than the blu-ray. However, once you get to more colorful sequences, you start seeing the benefits of the High Dynamic Range.

Overall, if you have a 4k TV and player, I think this is a pretty worthy purchase. If this is a double dip, you may want to take that into account. If you don’t care about the new features, then really, you should be fine with your prior blu-ray. The 4k version is not so drastic that you are cheating yourself with the blu-ray.

Category: 4K and DVD Reviews

4K Review: Feel the Magic (The Harry Potter 8 Film Collection, 2018)

4K Review: Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid, 1989)

Tripping Further