4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.
Starring: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Levi Miller (II)Family | 100% |
Fantasy | 82% |
Adventure | 80% |
Sci-Fi | 22% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It's admittedly been quite a number of years since this reviewer read Madeleine L'Engle's classic novel A Wrinkle in Time, but even the passage of time is not enough to note some deviations from the story that might upset fans who hold the novel in high esteem, of which there are many. While this is certainly not the most faithful, or the finest, film adaptation out there, Director Ava DuVernay (Selma) crafts a heartwarming story of personal growth and adventure through amazing places. The film might have won over more hearts had it deviated a little more from the book and sold itself with an unrelated identity, but for those who can set aside comparative critiques and watch the movie as it is and judge it on face value, chances are they'll see the film as a centrally tender, though certainly a little weird and rough around the edges, story of self discovery and imagination.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
A Wrinkle in Time's UHD disc offers a fairly substantial upgrade over the Blu-ray. Disney's 2160p/HDR-10-enhanced presentation takes the image to new
heights with generous improvements across the board. And that's quite an accomplishment considering the Blu-ray's excellence, at least in isolation.
The 10-bit HDR color enhancement is the home run
feature on the UHD. The increase and saturation, boldness, stability, and intensity are obvious from watching the film after viewing the Blu-ray, but a
comparison really shows just how big of a step forward the film on this format takes. The film looks comparatively plain and sometimes even dull and
depressed on Blu-ray, contrarily
dazzling with a newfound color clarity on UHD. Whether extremely bright sun-drenched green fields and bold blue skies or darker locales where light
only peers through and shines on fairly drab objects (Who's house in chapter three), the add to sheer vitality alone makes the upgrade to UHD well
worth it. Even as the film was reportedly finished with Dolby Vision coloring, which is not on this disc,
the HDR-10 enhancement is a winner that brings an already exquisitely colored movie to startlingly intense, clear, and robust life. The Blu-ray is simply
not capable of this level of color accuracy and pop.
The movie was photographed at a resolution of 3.4K. It's necessarily upscaled, but the increase in sharpness and clarity, while not as radical as the
coloring, is another boon for the film on UHD. It's not often substantial, but the add in textural definition to elements such as hair, makeup, costumes,
skin, and environments -- all of the movie's basics, really -- are appreciable, just not always radical. The added stability and intensity of the coloring
certainly
helps, but the added resolution also highlights finer visual subtleties while finding a greater overall clarity and sharpness to everything from
shot-dominating landscapes to intimate character close-ups. Black levels are stable, and forget about spotting any source or encode artifacts. While
this
is not the absolute cream of the crop on the UHD format, it's a very strong presentation, particularly for a digitally photographed movie, and it's well
worth the upgrade from 1080p.
A Wrinkle in Time's UHD disc features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack as opposed to the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless presentation that leads the Blu-ray. While this track suffers from the same low volume-itis as the Blu-ray (though perhaps not quite so low as previous Disney releases), the Atmos track does offer a very good, robust, sometimes near-substantial listen that's a tick or two better than the 7.1 offering. Its primary draw is the increased spacial volume the overhead speakers offer. One of the best points of comparison, as well as one of the best sound moments in the film, comes in chapter seven when large-scale reverberation significantly heightens the listening area and expands on the 7.1 track's ability to open the stage to recreate the very cavernous location and the vocal bounce through it. Various high-energy, large-scale moments present with refined surround implementation and seamless stage traversal. Large maneuverings and sound rushes are followed by haunting, floating, discreetly positioned voices at the 54-minute mark that poke out of the stage from all directions. Low end engagement is not prodigious. Bass kicks in with modest authority at several moments, including a dense action scene at the 58-minute mark, though it's clear there's not quite as much pure depth and punch as the scene would seem to demand. Atmospheric effects are nicely implemented throughout the film, recreating everything from large open fields to school playgrounds with ease. Dialogue is clear and commands the stage with no issues of note.
A Wrinkle in Time's UHD disc contains no extras, but the bundled Blu-ray offers several, including deleted scenes, a commentary, and a
making-of. A Movies
Anywhere Digital copy code is included with purchase, though it's worth noting that on the insert where the code should be, there's a big old blank
spot. Whether that is bad luck or a widespread problem I cannot say, but I do have a query out and will update this review with any new information.
Update 5/29/18: Disney is stating that the missing digital code is due to random error.
A Wrinkle in Time has come under attack from a number of different fronts. It's an imperfect adaptation and an imperfect movie, but it's also warm and tender and very sincere. Will that be enough to silence naysayers? Maybe not, but take the name away and this becomes a very serviceable, sometimes even very good, film with a good message and a strongly beating heart. Disney's UHD offers a very good upgrade over an impressive Blu-ray, particularly in terms of color depth and vitality but also textural clarity. The Atmos track is fine at the proper volume. All of the Blu-ray's supplements carry over into this package. Recommended to those willing to give it a chance through the noise.
2018
2018
includes 40-Page Gallery Book
2018
2018
2018
2016
2016
2018
2015
2013
2013
40th Anniversary Edition
1982
The Star Beast / Wild Blue Yonder / The Giggle
2023
2009
2016
2010
2018
2010
2014
2019
80th Anniversary Edition
1939
30th Anniversary Edition | US Version
1984
Limited Edition Collector's Set
1982
2014
2008