UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - The Fugitive (1993) -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Andrew Davis' The Fugitive is coming up on its third decade, and has been released by WB as a 4k UHD disc.

And that release magnificently reproduces Michael Chapman's cinematography in every nuance and detail.

Everything is perfect. There are zero problems. And the new Dolby Atmos track grabs this modern classic by its bootstraps, and pulls it into the 21st century.

Don't know Mr. Chapman's work?

Credits as DP include Taxi Driver, The Front, Raging Bull, The Lost Boys et al. As Camera Operator, The Godfather, Klute, Jaws et al. Connections should begin to make sense.

The Fugitive is a film that not only stands the test of time, but in certain ways, gives meaning to the phrase. Viewing it again, I'm reminded of a tip of the hat to Hitchcock, as well as certain textures of In the Line of Fire.

I do have a single nit to pick, and that is the use of the word "restoration" in the marketing materials. The use of that word points fingers at those who handled the original negative at the lab, as well as those caretakers in the WB vaults, and infers that someone did something that damaged the elements to a point at which they needed restoration.

I don't believe this for a moment.

This new 4k is a magnificent re-mastering from the OCN, and there's nothing there of which to be ashamed. Color timing is meticulous and beautiful. Grain structure shines.

The re-mix of the tremendous tracks to Dolby Atmos add another layer of quality to this film which never seems to slow down for all of its 130 minutes.

Preceded by two TV series.

Packaging is a simple, yet elegant slipcover which duplicates what is held within, with certain attributes printed in gold, and a reflective background used to create a shell worth keeping on one's shelf.

Image – 5 (HDR10)

Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 7

Upgrade from Blu-ray - Absolutely!

Worth your attention - 10

Slipcover rating - 3

Very Highly Recommended

RAH


Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

See on Amazon

 

[Carl David]

Got the blu ray of this and thought I wouldn't probably make the upgrade as I generally have refrained on many 4k releases of movies which I already have on blu.

Think I will make an exception in this case due to a superior release and it also being a brilliant movie.

The first 30 - 40 minutes are exceptional.

The best start to any action movie I have ever seen. Just non stop engrossing action sequences that refuses to let you go.

Movie making at its best.

It does slow down as you can't maintain that type of thrills and suspense unless a true work of genius.

The first third of the movie reminds me a little of Apocalypse Now and 2001 due to the way it sets up scenes where you keep wanting more and it continues to keep delivering.

You keep thinking it can't keep sustaining this and yet it does again and again.

Will be a joy to see the movie probably as it looked in theaters on original release.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

Viewing it again, I'm reminded of a tip of the hat to Hitchcock, as well as certain textures of In the Line of Fire.

They were released a month apart. In the Line of Fire came out on July 9, 1993 and The Fugitive on August 6, 1993. What a summer!

 

[Robin9]

Thank you Mr. Harris for these few words. I never did upgrade from the DVD to Blu-ray disc but you've now persuaded me to make the big jump.

 

[Robert Harris]

Thank you Mr. Harris for these few words. I never did upgrade from the DVD to Blu-ray disc but you've now persuaded me to make the big jump.

Trying for humor here? Crawdaddy will shut you down. There’s no humor on HTF. This is a serious professional site.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Will be getting this UHD. Thanks Robert.

 

[John Maher_289910]

Thank you Mr. Harris for these few words. I never did upgrade from the DVD to Blu-ray disc but you've now persuaded me to make the big jump.

I never upgraded from laserdisc, so I am definitely getting this one!

 

[AlexNH]

Thanks RAH. This guy is usually accurate: https://moviemansguide.com/main/2023/11/review-halloween-h20-4kuhd-4/

Nice to hear about the glossy slip.

 

[Bartman]

From stills (from the discs) provided by two YT reviewers it appears this UHD is a revisionist presentation. The Fugitive was filmed mid winter and should look as such. In comparison with the 2013 Blu-ray, with the UHD faces are redder & the green dye in the Chicago river is almost fluorescent. The biggest problem with the 2013 Blu-ray is motion blur. With this and in all other respects the UHD is an improvement. This is the second time this year Warner has choosen a revisionist presentation, the other being The Exorcist, we expect better from them!

 

[Robert Crawford]

This is the second time this year Warner has choosen a revisionist presentation, the other being The Exorcist, we expect better from them!

Not all of us are a part of "we".

 

[Robert Harris]

From stills (from the discs) provided by two YT reviewers it appears this UHD is a revisionist presentation. The Fugitive was filmed mid winter and should look as such. In comparison with the 2013 Blu-ray, with the UHD faces are redder & the green dye in the Chicago river is almost fluorescent. The biggest problem with the 2013 Blu-ray is motion blur. With this and in all other respects the UHD is an improvement. This is the second time this year Warner has choosen a revisionist presentation, the other being The Exorcist, we expect better from them!

How do you know that the 2013 is correct?

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

From stills (from the discs) provided by two YT reviewers it appears this UHD is a revisionist presentation.

How were these new stills tonemapped?

 

[Sam Favate]

All of the reviews I’ve seen - including RH’s, above - say that this is a great-looking disc. I’m gonna go with reviews from people I read all the time over some guys on YouTube.

My copy arrived today. Going to spin it this weekend. Looking forward to showing my kids.

 

[PMF]

From stills (from the discs) provided by two YT reviewers it appears this UHD is a revisionist presentation.

And what of these opinions made by a pair of You Tube reviewers versus that of a seasoned HTF expert and archivist?

Well, as Deputy U.S. Marshall Sam Gerard would say, “I don’t care”.

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

Thank you Mr. Harris for these few words. I never did upgrade from the DVD to Blu-ray disc but you've now persuaded me to make the big jump.

I just swapped out my DVD (still sealed, and with what I believe is the Circuit City price tag . . ) with the new 4k that arrived yesterday. I opened this one at least (to get the Digital Code.)

Anyways, glad to hear it's a top notch presentation.

 

[Robert Saccone]

I read today over on The Bits that the 4K disc is based off a new 8K scan of the camera negative. First time I recollect hearing about an 8K scan done for a disc. Has this been done for other movies as well? Does this in anyway mean that we might see an 8K format down the road?

 

[Peter Neski]

Godfather? did I miss something ?

 

[Worth]

I read today over on The Bits that the 4K disc is based off a new 8K scan of the camera negative. First time I recollect hearing about an 8K scan done for a disc. Has this been done for other movies as well? Does this in anyway mean that we might see an 8K format down the road?

I can't see there being an 8K disc format ever. There may be 8K streaming at some point down the road, but for now, no film or television production is completed at 8K. And the real resolution of 35mm film is generally thought to be somewhere in the 3-4K range. The main benefit of 4K over blu-ray is HDR and the wider colour gamut.

 

[Robert Harris]

I read today over on The Bits that the 4K disc is based off a new 8K scan of the camera negative. First time I recollect hearing about an 8K scan done for a disc. Has this been done for other movies as well? Does this in anyway mean that we might see an 8K format down the road?

The scans are not done for home video. It’s all about asset protection.

 

[Kyle_D]

I watched it last night. It looks great, but yes, the colors are noticeably warmer and more saturated than past presentations, including a 35mm print I saw a few years ago with the director in attendance. I live in downtown Chicago and I am intimately familiar with many of the filming locations. The older versions looked more-or-less naturalistic to how the city looks in winter. The new release looks a bit more stylized.

Davis has been pretty open in interviews that he took full advantage of digital color grading tools for this remaster to adjust the image in ways that weren't possible when the film was first released. That said, the new look is absolutely his preference.

Well, first of all, when we made the film in '93, all I could do was make it brighter or darker, or bluer, or redder. That's all we could do in a film laboratory, so now, when you remaster and you're working in the digital world, they went back to the original negatives, which was in a vault somewhere or in a salt mine, they rescanned it, and you had this incredible range of flexibility as to what to do. So, for example, there's a scene where Tommy's leaning up against the trailer, and the lighting didn't match from one angle to the other, and I was able to go in there and take one side of his face down, and color it density-wise so it could match.

The reality is — I've told this story, I saw the movie on a $40,000 monitor when we were remastering the picture, and I think that the quality of what's available on a 65-inch high-def screen with a 4K Blu-ray is better than you'll see in any theater in the world. There's more information coming off of that monitor than we can project, and my friend Tom Holman, who was the creator of THX, the Tom Holman Experiment Crossover. I went to college with him, and he verified that, he said, "Unless you're using Dolby Digital, this is better looking." So, for people who are aficionados of high quality, the 4K Blu-ray with the new players is the way to go.

The Fugitive Interview: Director Andrew Davis Talks 30th Anniversary, 4K Remaster & Rollercoaster Production

The 4K remaster is now on shelves.

screenrant.com