All-Star Superman 4K UHD

All-Star Superman(2011) premieres for the first time on 4K UHD with HDR.

The Production: 4/5

All-Star Superman is a 2023 re-release of the 2011 DC Universe Animated Original Movie, now available for the first time on 4K UHD with HDR.  All-Star Superman is a self-contained story of a dying Superman whose flirtation with mortality compels him to reveal his secret identity at long last to Lois Lane and confess his love for her, as well as save the planet Earth one last time in the name of truth, justice, and the American way(trademark reserved).  In the process, Superman has his seemingly final confrontation with Lex Luthor, and fights off the Parasite.

All-Star Superman is a fairly faithful adaptation of the series of the same name created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, which won the Eisner Award for 2006.  The series is faithfully adapted by writer Dwayne McDuffie(Justice League Unlimited).  Sadly, McDuffie passed away shortly before this film was released in 2011.  To their credit, the animation artists even mimic the stylized artwork created for the comic series by Frank Quitely.  This film was produced by Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm, alumni of Superman: The Animated Series.  The voice cast includes James Denton(Desperate Housewives) as Superman/Clark Kent, Christina Hendricks(Mad Men) as Lois Lane, Anthony LaPaglia(Without A Trace) as Lex Luthor, and Ed Asner(Lou Grant) as Perry White(typecasting as a newspaper editor?).

All-Star Superman is an entertaining rendition of the Superman legend that stands well on its own as an original story, even as it resonates with the best parts of the live-action versions of this character.  The original story on which this film is based mixed in biblical allegory, the Hercules legend, and bits of Joseph Campbell in equal parts to create an epic story for the Man of Steel(trademark reserved).  The original comic book series, on which this film is based, was geared towards hardcore fans.  As such, some of the more obscure characters in this film may not have any meaning for a casual viewer.  Everyone has heard of Lex Luthor, but how many people are familiar with the Parasite as a member of Superman’s rogues gallery?  You do not have to know Samson and Atlas(who?) from Project Cadmus to enjoy All-Star Superman, but it helps.

Video: 4/5

3D Rating: NA

Audio: 4/5

All-Star Superman appears on 4K UHD by default in English DTS-HDMA 5.1 audio.  The audio is fine with dialogue properly audible over sound effects and music compositions.  The terrific score composed by Christopher Drake is served well with true fidelity on the audio.

Special Features: 4.5/5

Special features on the 4K UHD disc include all of the following:

An All-Star Adaptation(7:57):  This all new featurette covers the adaptation of All-Star Superman from graphic novel miniseries to animated film, with comments from director Sam Liu, producer Bruce Timm, character designer Dusty Abell and composer Christopher Drake.

All-Star Salute To The Silver Age(7:16):  Much of All-Star Superman is based on the Silver Age Superman comics of the 1950s and 1960s edited by Mort Weisinger.  This all new featurette has comments from director Sam Liu, producer Bruce Timm, character designer Dusty Abell and composer Christopher Drake regarding the influence of those comics on the graphic novel series and this film adaptation.

The Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison(9:35);  Original writer Grant Morrison talks about his ideas and influences in creating the graphic novel series and shares some of his original sketches for the viewers.

Commentary:  This feature length commentary is provided by producer Bruce Timm and original writer Grant Morrison.

All-Star Superman Digital Comic:  This feature allows the viewer to see pages and panels from the original comic book series, which is navigable by the arrows on your remote control.

Superman Now(33:45):  This informative featurette accompanied the original 2011 release, and features writer Grant Morrison and DC Comics publisher Dan DiDio discussing the original DC “All-Star” comics line and the development of the original comic series.

Also included is a Blu-ray disc of the film and a paper insert with validation code for digital copy of the film via the MoviesAnywhere app.   The Blu-ray disc is the original release from 2011, and includes the following special features that are not ported over to the 4K UHD disc:

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Sneak Peek(11:40):  This featurette from 2011 previews the then-upcoming release of this film about the Green Lantern Corps., with comments by producers Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm, voice actors Nathan Fillion and Henry Rollins, and others.

Virtual Comic: All Star Superman:  This presents panels from the first issue of the comic series which is navigable with your remote control.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Sneak Peek(12:12):  This featurette is a preview of the animated film while it was still in production, with comments by producer Bruce Timm, voice actors Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Andre Braugher, Summer Glau, and others.

Bruce Timm’s Picks:  This consists of the 2 continued episodes from the excellent Superman: The Animated Series.  The episodes feature Kryptonians coming to Earth, which resonates with the story in All-Star Superman.  The episodes are “Blast From The Past Part 1″(19:53) and “Blast From The Past Part 2″(21:26).  Unfortunately, the video presentation of these episodes on disc in 2011 was not optimal, as the disc was authored with aliasing and other visual artifacts.  If you like these episodes (and you probably will, since they are terrific!), you are encouraged to check out the Superman: The Animated Series Complete Blu-ray set, which has these episodes in high definition 1080p.

Batman: Under The Red Hood trailer(1:19):  This is a trailer for the 2010 animated feature film.

Overall: 4/5

All-Star Superman comes recommended in its re-release on 4K UHD, with digital copy and the original Blu-ray included.  The feature is interesting to watch, even as the story jumps around somewhat, and the video and audio presentations are fine.  I cannot say that the feature picks up much in the way of improved video presentation on 4K UHD over the Blu-ray disc, however, this purchase is a no-brainer if you do not have the original release.  Give credit where credit is due to the studio as well for creating a couple of brand new special features, in addition to the original ones from the 2011 release.  Do not be surprised if watching this film gives you the itch to read the original comic book series.

All-Star Superman (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Digital) [4…

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Timothy E

Timothy has worked background in theatrical features and television, just for the fun of it, in films directed by Peter Segal and Christopher Nolan. His favorite film star is Bugs Bunny, and Timothy has discovered that most of the problems in life can be solved successfully (strangely enough) by asking “What would Bugs Bunny do?” Timothy has been involved with the Home Theater Forum since 2007 and has reported from Comic Con, interviewed Bruce Campbell and Danny Trejo, and reviewed classic animation and new theatrical releases on disc.