Pre-Order Pitch Black (2000) (4k UHD) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[sleroi]

I found this to be quite an interesting 4k.

For instance the opening shot of the ship in space, space is so highly resolved that it looks like a black board with white dots painted on it.

But then inside the dark, neutral colored ship, small bits of color really pop in flashes. Like a neon green cord on a uniform or graphics on monitors.

The outdoor scenes during the yellow sun look golden and are crystal clear. There is an amazing shot with a pale white actress next to a latino actor and the contrast in skin tones is stunning.

But the scenes with blue and purple suns, while equally highly resolved, come off as bad day for night.

And while the first half of the film has great color and resolution, the second half, being shot to resemble ambient light, is quite grainy. I understand this is intentional, and looks quite good. But im not sure it benefits at all from 4k.

Ive never owned this on blu ray and am sadly still only 5.1 equipped. So no regrets on a $20 purchase. Lots of extras too. But id try and find a few reviews before upgrading if I already owned it.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Just got this from my P.O. box (Amazon). I found it interesting that there’s no BluRay included with the UHD. Does Arrow normally release films this way?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Just got this from my P.O. box (Amazon). I found it interesting that there’s no BluRay included with the UHD. Does Arrow normally release films this way?

Arrow hasn't released very many titles on UHD. However, their release of Flash Gordon was similar, as it did not include a BD, either.

 

[TravisR]

Just got this from my P.O. box (Amazon). I found it interesting that there’s no BluRay included with the UHD. Does Arrow normally release films this way?

Arrow hasn't released very many titles on UHD. However, their release of Flash Gordon was similar, as it did not include a BD, either.

Blue Underground has done the same thing with their UHD releases. The special features disc is a Blu-ray but the movie is 4K only.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Watching now. The brightly lit scenes look really good, and when the light disappears, things get somewhat grainy. I forgot how entertaining this film is.

 

[Tino]

I think it looks terrific. A definite noticeable upgrade from the previous Blu. Well worth the $20 I paid.

 

[dpippel]

I think it looks terrific. A definite noticeable upgrade from the previous Blu. Well worth the $20 I paid.

My copy is coming tomorrow. Can't wait!

 

[David Norman]

Just got this from my P.O. box (Amazon). I found it interesting that there’s no BluRay included with the UHD. Does Arrow normally release films this way?

Hard to say usually -- this is only the 2nd and both came out within a week of each other

 

[Sam Posten]

We requested a review copy but sadly it did not show.

 

[JohnRice]

As I said, I was fairly lukewarm on it overall. I don’t doubt it’s an improvement over the BR, which is quite old.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I think it looks terrific. A definite noticeable upgrade from the previous Blu. Well worth the $20 I paid.

I’ve been happy with the blu, but if this release had atmos, I would have snapped it up. In what ways is it an upgrade?

 

[Tino]

I’ve been happy with the blu, but if this release had atmos, I would have snapped it up. In what ways is it an upgrade?

Resolution. Colors. Even sounds better to me than the old Blu which I sampled. Pretty much in every category. You won’t be disappointed Johnny.

 

[Tino]

Bill Hunt gave the video an A-

Pitch Black was shot on 35 mm film (in Super 35 format) using Panavision camera and lenses. It was finished on film at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio using a skip-bleach photochemical process, with visual effects produced digitally in 2K resolution and printed back out to film. For its release on Ultra HD, the original camera negative was scanned in 4K, with restoration and color grading supervised by the director (both Dolby Vision and HDR10 options are available and are of similar quality) resulting in a new 4K Digital Intermediate. Both the Theatrical Cut and Director’s Cut are included here in 4K. The new scan results in notably greater fine detail and more refined texturing than the previous Blu-ray presentation, though you don’t notice it right away. Because visual effects open the film—and those were produced at lower resolution—you really have to wait until the ship crashes on the surface to see the improvement. The high dynamic range makes a big difference though, and you do spot this right away. In the crash sequence, it deepens the cockpit shadows while giving instrumentation lights a real pop, yet there’s abundant detail in both. The fiery reentry plasma looks genuinely hot, and sparks and flashes have an ever greater glare. But again, the presentation really shines on the surface. The planet in the film has three suns, each of which gives off a different quality of light. Over the course of the film, the color and brightness shifts constantly, always extreme enough to look like a truly alien environment, and the added color bit depth and expanded contrast really enhance the stylized look. One final note on the subject of VFX for a moment: The good news is that they do hold up pretty well (save perhaps for the very final shot of the film, a perspective view flying over the planet’s ring plane).

 

[Colin Jacobson]

We requested a review copy but sadly it did not show.

They sent mine late - both BD and 4K. Both came early this week...

 

[Johnny Angell]

Resolution. Colors. Even sounds better to me than the old Blu which I sampled. Pretty much in every category. You won’t be disappointed Johnny.

Well, damn it! I just ordered it. It is a favorite movie.

 

[JohnRice]

Well, damn it! I just ordered it. It is a favorite movie.

Then you should get it. The soundtrack was disappointing to me, but the good (the hot daylight shots) is very good, and the bad (the night shots) is not so good.

 

[Tino]

Well, damn it! I just ordered it. It is a favorite movie.

Hope you enjoy it Johnny. Now bring on the sequels, both of which I also enjoyed. Especially the epic Chronicles. Should look tremendous in 4K.

 

[Tino]

So pretty much all the reviews I’ve read have been extremely positive.

The main question seems to be whether it’s worth upgrading from the old bluray. I think it’s pretty obvious that it is.

Pitch Black 4K UHD Blu-ray review - Entertainment Focus

A spectacular 4K release for this modern cult favourite.

entertainment-focus.com

Pitch Black (2000) 4K Blu-ray review: Dir. David Thwohy

A stellar release from Arrow Films for a pretty solid sci-fi/horror flick…

www.google.com

Pitch Black 4K UHD Review

The unrelenting cynicism and Vin Diesel's manufactured cool leave Pitch Black overly repetitious.

www.doblu.com

Pitch Black 4K Blu-ray Review

Review of the 4K Blu-ray release of Pitch Black, with Vin Diesel, in Dolby Vision

www.avforums.com

Pitch Black (4K UHD Review)

You know, there’s nothing I like more than a savvy little sci-fi thriller, one that’s smart, with great effects (low-budget or not) that doesn’t pretend to be anything more than what it is. That’s Pitch Black in a nutshell.

thedigitalbits.com

 

[Johnny Angell]

My 4K Pitch Black just arrived. The first thing I noticed is there is only the 4K disc. That seems unusual. There are more extras on this new release. I dug out my blu ray and I noticed this is a A.UK disc. I don’t remember why I ordered it that way. According to the box, there is no directors cut on the blu ray.

I’m too lazy right now to load the blu ray and see if there is a director’s cut, but I don’t remember the menu asking me to select a movie version. Anyone now what the differences between theatrical and director’s are?

BTW, this UK disc is titled “Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black.

I’ll be checking this out tonight.

 

[Vegas 1]

A definite upgrade for me as I only had the old DVD.