12 Monkeys 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

12 Monkeys 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 4, 2022

The vagaries of licensing deals can sometimes be weirdly interesting, and in that regard, it is somewhat unusual given this new release from Arrow that Universal has only very recently re-released their (1080 Blu-ray) version of 12 Monkeys, joining a veritable glut of releases of this celebrated if (for some) confounding film from Terry Gilliam. Arrow put out their own 1080 version a few years ago (see below for a review link), and as has been their custom, they're now releasing a 4K version without including their previous 1080 disc in the package. Also as has been their tradition, they have ported over all of the supplements from that previous 1080 release to this new 4K UHD outing.

Because of that aforementioned glut of releases, I can point you to both my 12 Monkeys Blu-ray review for those wanting to see what the 1080 release from Arrow had to offer, and/or to Ken Brown's 12 Monkeys Blu-ray review of that now long ago first Blu-ray release from Universal, for anyone who may require a plot summary or who wants to see what that disc looked like and what supplemental material it had on tap.

12 Monkeys 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 release. Per my above comments, and as per Arrow's standard operating practice, there is no 1080 disc included with this release.

12 Monkeys is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with a 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

Twelve Monkeys is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo and 5.1 sound.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16 bit resolution at EFilm, Burbank. The film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London. The SDR grade from Arrow's prior Blu-ray master served as our primary grading reference and this was supervised and approved by director Terry Gilliam.

The stereo and 5.1 mixes were remastered by NBC Universal.

This is another 4K UHD presentation that has some undeniable pluses, but where I'm frankly not sure the increased resolution is always a "friend" of an at times extremely gritty grain field. As I mentioned in my original 12 Monkeys Blu-ray review of Arrow's 1080 release, Gilliam's typical usage of all sorts of "bells and whistles" gives the film an inarguably stylish ambience, but things like diffusion filters and high contrast can unavoidably lead to at least a perception of "softness" or lack of fine detail. When this new 4K UHD version is firing on all cylinders, which it does quite frequently (I'd argue more so in the second half of the film), it looks fantastic, with Dolby Vision and/or HDR adding some noticeable upticks in general detail levels and especially shadow definition in the film's many dimly lit or downright dark scenes. HDR also adds some really nice nuance to the prevalence of almost dowdy brown tones that are repeatedly utilized, as well as adding a nice new coolness to some of the many blue graded sequences. The same sort of variances in the grain field that are recurrently noticeable in Arrow's 1080 version are only magnified here, and there are some pretty rough looking moments as a result (the opening vignette with James Cole (Bruce Willis) in his hazmat suit in a kind of "misty" portal device is a good example).

12 Monkeys 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This 4K UHD presentation of 12 Monkeys features the same audio options as Arrow offered on its 1080 Blu-ray, and to my ears there was no discernable difference between the two Arrow versions. The addition of a stereo track may or may not be welcomed by some fans of the film, but the LPCM 2.0 audio on this release is at times interestingly divergent from the also included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, at least in terms of some of the prioritization of dialogue, which is arguably more consistently forward in the mix in the stereo version. The surround track sounded to my ears largely similar if not absolutely identical to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the Universal release. There's still the occasionally intermittent engagement of the surround channels that Ken alludes to in his review, but there's the same forceful LFE and at times nice placement of effects and score in the side and rear channels. As Ken mentioned in his review, there are some odd "Gilliam-esque" mixing choices in the surround track, where seemingly important elements like dialogue are at least slightly buried in the cacophony of other effects this typically (for Gilliam) soundtrack offers.

12 Monkeys 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Per my comments above, this 4K UHD release repeats the same bonus material that was offered as part of Arrow's prior 1080 Blu-ray release. Supplements listed below with an asterisk (*) were also previously released on the Universal Blu-ray release of this title, and some more information on them can be gleaned from the 12 Monkeys Blu-ray review by my colleague Ken Brown.

• *Commentary by Terry Gilliam and Charles Roven


• *The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys (HD; 1:27:34) is a great archival piece by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe which documents the production of the film and includes a ton of fascinating behind the scenes material.


• The Film Exchange with Terry Gilliam (HD; 23:50) is an engaging interview of Gilliam conducted by Jonathan Romney at the 1996 London Film Festival.


• Appreciation by Ian Christie (HD; 16:11) offers the thoughts of Christie, who wrote Gilliam on Gilliam.


• Twelve Monkeys Archive (HD; 39:32) is an image gallery.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:26)

Arrow also provides a nicely appointed insert booklet which contains two excellent essays by Nathan Rabin and Ian Christie, along with stills and technical information and a cast and crew listing. Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

12 Monkeys 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As I've mentioned in other reviews of Gilliam films I've personally written, I tend to be a huge fan of Gilliam even when I'm kind of rolling my eyes (and/or ears, if ears can be rolled) at some of his stylistic excesses. Ken gave 12 Monkeys a sterling 5.0 as a film, but even as a diehard (hey, Willis is in this, isn't he?) fan of 12 Monkeys, I'm still not sure it's an unqualified masterpiece. That said, it comes pretty darned close a lot of the time, and while this new 4K UHD release may not hit the bullseye all of the time, it, too, comes pretty darned close a lot of the time. While Arrow continues not to package their 4K UHD releases with their previously released 1080 discs, they have commendably ported over all of the previously released supplements. Recommended.