Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

1917 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 12, 2022

Note: Collectors who value beautiful packaging and non-disc swag as much as whatever technical merits are in store had better start clearing some significant new shelf room for this impressive new series being distributed by The Film Vault. What's perhaps also going to be exciting for physical media buffs is that this new collection is being curated from both the Warner Brothers Discovery and Universal catalogs, which hopefully will increase the opportunities for appealing choices.

1917 is given the "Number 4" slot in The Film Vault's opening salvo of releases, and that means the new distributor has evenly split its first quartet of offerings between the two catalogs it is advertising it's culling its releases from, with Blade Runner 4K and GoodFellas 4K coming from the Warner Brothers column, and Scarface 4K and this film coming from Universal, though rather interestingly in that regard, and I'm assuming due to various licensing deals, this actually comes branded as an eOne (i.e., Entertainment One) effort. This may or may not augur what the future has in store for The Film Vault, but 1917, despite its title, is the newest of the features The Film Vault is initially offering, and in some ways it's one of the most interesting.

Perhaps due to its still relatively recent vintage, 1917 hasn't had the glut of prior releases on Blu-ray that some of the other initial offerings from The Film Vault has. In this case, instead of the extended "reading assignments" I've (jokingly) doled out in some of my previous reviews of The Film Vault's releases, here you only need to look over two by Martin Liebman, his 1917 Blu-ray review and probably more saliently his 1917 4K Blu-ray review. While I'll offer a few more comments below, I'll just cut to the chase and say that this release seems to duplicate the excellent technical merits and supplements that Marty covers in his reviews.

1917 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

1917 is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of The Film Vault with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. This is quite simply reference quality material across the board, and one of the most interesting things about it from my perspective is how an "apparently" drab palette can attain all sorts of new nuance and highlights courtesy of HDR and/or Dolby Vision. But as Marty mentions in his review of Universal's own 4K release, while the increased dynamic range may be technically a kind of amazing addition given the perceived blandness of so much of what is depicted (color wise, obviously), there's also an appreciable uptick in general detail and fine detail levels throughout the presentation. A lot of bandwidth has been expended discussing the film's underlying "no edits" conceit, but what is so consistently remarkable is how both Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins manage to so inventively frame things so that fine detail on things like the burlap sacks lining the trenches or the ragged uniforms the soldiers can be so precisely rendered. The 1080 disc here is kind of a mini-revelation of its own, but if you want to see how subtle and yet noticeable the improvements in a 4K UHD presentation can be, look no further than this release.

1917 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

1917 features a fantastically immersive Dolby Atmos track that makes the most of what this technology has to offer in terms of both horizontal and vertical placement of effects, and there are any number of outstanding moments courtesy of things like biplanes flying overhead or the shock of explosions emanating from both the subwoofer and Atmos speakers simultaneously. The sound design is often intentionally chaotic, but rather amazingly, it's always brilliantly clear and well prioritized. Dialogue, effects and score are all presented flawlessly and with sometimes breathtaking dynamic range (of the audio variety this time). Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

1917 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On Disc Supplements

Both of the 1080 and 2160 discs in this package contain the same slate of supplements. More details on these are available in either/both of the above linked reviews by Marty.

• The Weight of the World: Sam Mendes (HD; 4:29)
• Allied Forces: The Making of 1917 (HD; 12:01)
• The Score of 1917 (HD; 3:52)
• In the Trenches (HD; 6:59)
• Recreating History (HD; 10:25)
• Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Sam Mendes
• Feature Commentary with Director of Photography Roger Deakins

Packaging and Non Disc Swag

The Film Vault is obviously gearing these releases toward serious collectors, in terms of offering a unified appearance and the same sort of non disc supplements included in each package. The outer box is approximately 9" high by 7 1/8" wide by 1 5/8" deep. The box has an acetate O-ring slipcover branded with both the film title and The Film Vault's logo as well as numbering. This rigid clamshell box is emblazoned with newly commissioned key art and itself features a kind of cool magnetic clasp that opens to disclose a whole host of goodies. A CD sized digipack (in its own slipcover) holds both the 1080 and 2160 discs, there is a rather beautiful if possibly useless exclusive individually numbered crystal display plaque (again with the film's title), four collectible art cards (on glossy cardstock) with film facts, four character cards also on glossy cardstock, and a "tobacco tin" envelope enclosing two photos of Schofield's family. All of the preceding are enclosed in another branded envelope. I've uploaded a picture of the packaging under the appropriate tab on the main review interface.

1917 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

1917 as a film has been rightly celebrated for its amazing technical brilliance, and that same commendation should be afforded to the superior technical merits of this 4K UHD presentation. The Film Vault also throws in some handsomely designed packaging and non disc swag. Highly recommended.