UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Gladiator II -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

I'm a huge Ridley Scott fan. Always have been since I first saw The Duellists back in the late '70s. He followed that up with a small sci-fi film that seemed to catch on. It was entitled Alien. And that...

was followed up by another sci-fi - Blade Runner (1982). I was invited to a private 70mm screening of Blade Runner, and got to thank him. Good guy. Brilliant filmmaker.

So here we are, with many more projects created, and many in the pipeline at 87 years old.

I mention the history for after viewing Gladiator II on 4k UHD, I came away mesmerized by the size and quality of the production, and liking - not loving, but liking the film very much. Denzel Washington's performance is one for the ages.

And I fear to admit that I occasionally confuse Pedro Pascal with Paul Mescal.

Gladiator II is one of those perfect, reference quality discs that those who revel in 4k should own just for the sheer exhilaration of its perfection.

Steelbook collectors will obviously grab a copy before the first edition goes away and prices soar.

For those who wonder about such minutia, the film was shot with an Arri Alexa LF with Panavision optics, yielding a 4.5k image finished at 4k.

Audio is Dolby Atmos, and is yet another lease-breaker.


Image (Dolby Vision)

Forensic - 10
NSD - 10

Audio – 10 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 10

Worth your attention - 10

Slipcover rating - 10 (Steelbook)

Looks like Film - n/a

Very Highly Recommended


RAH

 

[Sam Posten]

I’ve been tempted to just get the stream but guess I will look fornan4k disk

 

[SD_Brian]

And I fear to admit that I occasionally confuse Pedro Pascal with Paul Mescal.

Same. I got the two of them mixed up during the opening battle sequence, which got the whole endeavor off on the wrong foot. The least they could have done was give them slightly different facial hair or name tags or something. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the least of this movie's problems.

Spoiler: The bigger problems being...

I found it impossible to care about any of the characters or situations, and the movie as a whole was too much of a rehash of the original.

 

[Greg Krewet]

I’m glad somebody said it. 2 of the lead characters look so much alike that it detracts from the flow of the movie. I’m surprise that very few people have commented on the sensational performance of whoever
Plays Dondus. A true star in the making

 

[Robert Harris]

I gave G II another viewing, and came away far more pleased. There are so many layers going on here, with overlaps of politics, traitors and their inter-relationships with the two extremely odd boy wonders, that one can get lost.

A second viewing solved all my problems, including being able to tell the two male leads apart.

A magnificent production. My hat is off, once again, to Sir Ridley!

And always nice to see the wonderful Derek Jacobi back in Roman dress. If anyone is unfamiliar with I, Claudius, now is your chance.





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.

https://www.amazon.com/Gladiator-UH...0408040&sprefix=gladiator+2+4k,aps,119&sr=8-2

 

[B-ROLL]

I gave G II another viewing, and came away far more pleased. There are so many layers going on here, with overlaps of politics, traitors and their inter-relationships with the two extremely odd boy wonders, that one can get lost.

A second viewing solved all my problems, including being able to tell the two male leads apart.

A magnificent production. My hat is off, once again, to Sir Ridley!

And always nice to see the wonderful Derek Jacobi back in Roman dress. If anyone is unfamiliar with I, Claudius, now is your chance.





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.

https://www.amazon.com/Gladiator-UHD-Steelbook-Blu-Ray-Digital/dp/B0DNKJKCHL/ref=sr_1_2?crid=18W52OO8K81FU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Yh6HG0uckac4g-rTbJZfCDABNbrvzjZyZhaYGbV7yTVJbhf033D_TWwC50Hgs0J0cMpVh7_xio7JdNSzbxZ7xekzaaFvyu5ZWDswDmkCk9BPnYsJOlYZZpCSa0bGXM7AS_xhdVRcbZOGNlGZroy6lOHwYcmYWJ1HtH2I8nd5369RaJcvsT5c-nhuMsCIIngoXroGNiNQU2BRP_Ko_gUNTOTwb1zRr3XgHScXZtozMbM.Z6JmgjOR5f1Y8fiA-EZGTsq_PtnvQJLKZ46wL9c0RQ4&dib_tag=se&keywords=gladiator+2+4k&qid=1740408040&sprefix=gladiator+2+4k,aps,119&sr=8-2

He had basically the same hair coif on a telly programme that was on The PBS ...

...

 

[Allansfirebird]

Finally watched this a few weeks ago when it dropped on Paramount+ and was pleasantly surprised... minus some dodgy VFX with those monkeys. Pretty incredible Ridley's still operating at a consistently pleasing level as he nears 90.

Now, if we could get a physical release of the extended cut of his Napoleon, which I liked a bit more than GladIIator.