A few words about…™ They Live – in 4k UHD Blu-ray

As Scream Factory continues to mine the Universal library, they’ve offered another of
John Carpenter’s ’80s films.

As noted in an earlier review, he’s a wonderful filmmaker who can move readily between big budget, beautifully produced films, and B level fare.

This is another of the Bs.

I’m presuming for Carpenter completists, it’s a beautiful image harvest, and a quality 4k release. I’m just not understanding the 4k rationale for this one, as there’s little truly 4k about it. Everything is fine, with a track upgraded to Dolby Atmos.

Image – 5

Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from Blu-ray – Yes

RAH

Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

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dpippel

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Robert Harris

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As Scream Factory continues to mine the Universal library, they've offered another of
John Carpenter's '80s films.

As noted in an earlier review, he's a wonderful filmmaker who can move readily between big budget, beautifully produced films, and B level fare.

This is another of the Bs.

I'm presuming for Carpenter completists, it's a beautiful image harvest, and a quality 4k release. I'm just not understanding the 4k rationale for this one, as there's little truly 4k about it. Everything is fine, with a track upgraded to Dolby Atmos.

Image – 5

Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from Blu-ray – Yes

RAH

 

sbjork

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Aug 1, 2020
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Real Name
Stephen
I watched it last weekend and it is a fantastic disc. The original cinematography has its limitations from Eighties lenses and film stocks, but at a minimum I think that the grain is handled much better in 4K than it was on Blu-ray. It is very fine, but looks natural without having any added noise or other artifacts from compression. The HDR also deepens the contrast, though the colours are still mostly muted. Personally I think that it is worth the upgrade, but everyone's mileage may vary.
 
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