The 4K set is a three-disc set containing a UHD disc and two regular blu-ray discs. The UHD disc includes three different versions of the movie: the theatrical cut, an enhanced version that upgrades the special effects and makes some minor edits that Spielberg would have liked to do had he not been under a time crunch to finish the movie. Then there is a director's cut, which is essentially a different version of the enhanced version, omitting a scene that the studio wanted to include when they agreed to make the enhanced version, that Spielberg did not think should be included. Each version of the film is around the same length and tells the same story. Neither the enhanced cut nor the director's cut significantly alters the story. The UHD disc also allows you to play the enhanced and director's cuts of the film in a "View From Above" mode that provides details about the differences between the theatrical version of the movie and the version you are currently watching.
The first regular blu-ray disc contains the same content as the UHD disc, and the second has the extras. There are well over two hours’ worth of extras, some of which were made sometime around 2016-2017 for the 40th anniversary of the movie, and others that were the original behind-the-scenes material shot around the time the movie was released. There are also deleted scenes, storyboard comparisons, a stills gallery, and the theatrical trailer. So, if you like going through extras, the physical discs are a good pickup. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is good, but I would not say I was blown away by the restoration. It does look significantly better than the standard definition footage shown in the extras, but the UHD format, especially in the theatrical edition, highlights the limitations of the 1977 special effects.
Overall, the movie is good to very good. It is definitely a bit dated, and parts of it do not hold up all that well. You can definitely tell it was made in the late 1970s and has the look and feel of that period. Interestingly, in some of the newer bonus material, Spielberg said that he would not make the movie the same way today as he did back then, because of how his perspective changed as he got older. That said, it is definitely worth checking out.
No comments:
Post a Comment