UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Westworld -Season Four -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

All hail Westworld!

A beautifully crafted, and extremely expensive streaming production, that has ended its run with Season Four.

Over the four seasons, the show seemed to jump to new places and usually bring more to the table, although I'm one of those that seemed to feel a loss of focus somewhere along the way in Season 3. It came back bigger and better in 4.

For true fans, it can do no wrong.

One of the incredible elements about the series from the time the first frame hit the screen back in October of 2016, was the overall image and audio quality.

The capture format changed (and I'm going by imdb) with all seasons shot on 35mm, with differing aspect ratios, cameras, film formats and optics.

The first season was finished as 2k DI, with everything that followed in 4k. Looking at some of the scenes in the final season, the quality of the imagery is astoundingly beautiful, and a reason (presuming you're a fan of the series) to own it in 4k over streaming.

Overall, a thoughtful series, based upon not a video game, as has been rumored in some quarters, but rather an original screenplay by Michael Crichton, followed by a feature film released in 1973.

For those who revel in slipcovers and the like, Season 4 is not a Steelbook, but it is hard paper, with the edges wrapped inside to create a sturdy shell. It's a quality package from Warner Bros.


Image - 5 (Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (Dollby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 5

Highly Recommended

RAH


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[jayembee]

Overall, a thoughtful series, based upon not a video game, as has been rumored in some quarters, but rather a novel, followed by a feature film released in the 1973.

"The" 1973? As opposed to any random, run-of-the-mill 1973?

For those who revel in slipcovers and the like, Season 4 is not a Steelbook, but it is hard paper, with the edges wrapped inside to create a sturdy shell. It's a quality package from Warner Bros.

Well, we can hope that Best Buy does another exclusive SteelBook, as they did with the previous two seasons. C'mon, it's the last chance for a SteelBook. Well, until they do a Complete Series SteelBook set down the road...

 

[JoshZ]

Overall, a thoughtful series, based upon not a video game, as has been rumored in some quarters, but rather a novel, followed by a feature film released in the 1973.

The 1973 Westworld movie was from an original screenplay by Michael Crichton. It was not based on a novel. The TV show is (extremely loosely) based on that earlier movie.

How thoughtful the series is will be a matter of subjective opinion, of course. I stuck with it to the end, but the show ran out of steam somewhere in the middle of the first season and never recovered, IMO.

 

[Robert Harris]

The 1973 Westworld movie was from an original screenplay by Michael Crichton. It was not based on a novel. The TV show is (extremely loosely) based on that earlier movie.

How thoughtful the series is will be a matter of subjective opinion, of course. I stuck with it to the end, but the show ran out of steam somewhere in the middle of the first season and never recovered, IMO.

I was seeing the off-gassing of steam in Season 3.

Correct. I was conflating this with his original novel for Jaws, Jurassic Park and Congo. He did write Jaws, didn't he?

 

[jayembee]

I was seeing the off-gassing of steam in Season 3.

Correct. I was conflating this with his original novel for Jaws, Jurassic Park and Congo. He did write Jaws, didn't he?

No, but he did write The Andromeda Strain.

 

[Malcolm R]

He did write Jaws, didn't he?

He probably should have. It might be a better book.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Thanks for the review, unfortunately I was bored throughout S4 as the show had completely lost it's raison d'etre. I own Seasons 1-3 on 4k disc and they look superb, one of the very few shows to be released on the format.

 

[Lord Dalek]

For true fans, it can do no wrong.

Oh it did PLENTY wrong. That's why its cancelled!

 

[Robert Harris]

Oh it did PLENTY wrong. That's why its cancelled!

If I had to select one that had to cease production, I’d go with Westworld over Deadwood.

 

[Worth]

The 1973 Westworld movie was from an original screenplay by Michael Crichton. It was not based on a novel. The TV show is (extremely loosely) based on that earlier movie.

How thoughtful the series is will be a matter of subjective opinion, of course. I stuck with it to the end, but the show ran out of steam somewhere in the middle of the first season and never recovered, IMO.

Yup. Convoluted does not equal profound.

 

[JoshZ]

Yup. Convoluted does not equal profound.

A common failing of most things the Nolans touch.

 

[Lord Dalek]

A common failing of most things the Nolans touch.

I blame Joy more for how the wheels fell off.

 

[JoshZ]

I blame Joy more for how the wheels fell off.

Let's not shortchange Jonathan Nolan's responsibility here. He wrote The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar without her, and those were both likewise convoluted messes.

 

[Richard Kaufman]

If I have not watched any of Westworld yet, and am contemplating it, does season four end with all kinds of unresolved issues that will annoy the viewer? Or does it come to some sort of satisfactory conclusion?

 

[JoshZ]

If I have not watched any of Westworld yet, and am contemplating it, does season four end with all kinds of unresolved issues that will annoy the viewer? Or does it come to some sort of satisfactory conclusion?

The Nolans claim that they had a five-year plan. However, this is the kind of show where nothing will ever get resolved. It could've been on for 20 seasons and would still leave everyone frustrated.

Not to spoil anything specific, but one of the problems with the show is that the Nolans constantly rewrite and ret-con things that happened earlier. Just when you think you have a handle on what's going on and what it's all about, they pull the rug out from under you, and everything you just watched turns out to have been a lie. By the third iteration of that, it's clear that there is no "truth" in the show. They were just going to keep doing it over and over again until the network told them to stop. Their "five-season plan" would've turned into a "six-season plan," or "seven-season plan," or "ten-season plan," for however long they could keep getting away with it.

So, no, there's no satisfying conclusion, and was never going to be.

 

[TonyD]

Oh it did PLENTY wrong. That's why its cancelled!

I feel like there was more to it then that.

 

[Lord Dalek]

If I have not watched any of Westworld yet, and am contemplating it, does season four end with all kinds of unresolved issues that will annoy the viewer? Or does it come to some sort of satisfactory conclusion?

Its not necessarily "unresolved" but the ending is far from satisfatctory either.

Frankly I can't think of a single HBO show that didn't end in a way that pissed off its audience since...The Leftovers? Maybe?

 

[Keith Cobby]

The Nolans claim that they had a five-year plan. However, this is the kind of show where nothing will ever get resolved. It could've been on for 20 seasons and would still leave everyone frustrated.

Not to spoil anything specific, but one of the problems with the show is that the Nolans constantly rewrite and ret-con things that happened earlier. Just when you think you have a handle on what's going on and what it's all about, they pull the rug out from under you, and everything you just watched turns out to have been a lie. By the third iteration of that, it's clear that there is no "truth" in the show. They were just going to keep doing it over and over again until the network told them to stop. Their "five-season plan" would've turned into a "six-season plan," or "seven-season plan," or "ten-season plan," for however long they could keep getting away with it.

So, no, there's no satisfying conclusion, and was never going to be.

That's how I feel about the show (you've described it more eloquently than me). I'm a big fan of the Nolans' work but it seems like too much complexity for it's own sake, a good example is the terrible mess Lisa Joy made of her film Reminiscence.

 

[JoshZ]

Frankly I can't think of a single HBO show that didn't end in a way that pissed off its audience since...The Leftovers? Maybe?

Six Feet Under had just about a perfect conclusion.

 

[MJL]

RAH - just want to flag that some of your recent reviews (e.g. Carrie 4K UHD) are not showing up (at least for me) on the main "A Few Words About" page... I only noticed that review plus couple of other newer ones (Usual Suspects) in the "Similar Threads" box at the bottom of the page. Thx!