Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie ![United States United States](https://images3.static-bluray.com/flags/US.png)
4K Ultra HD + Blu-rayDisney / Buena Vista | 2023 | 356 min | Rated TV-14 | Dec 03, 2024
Movie rating
| 7.2 | / 10 |
Blu-ray rating
Users | ![]() | 0.0 |
Reviewer | ![]() | 3.5 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.5 |
Overview click to collapse contents
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K (2023)
After the fall of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
Starring: Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna SakhnoDirector: Dave Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel
Adventure | Uncertain |
Sci-Fi | Uncertain |
Fantasy | Uncertain |
Action | Uncertain |
Drama | Uncertain |
Specifications click to expand contents
Video
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Playback
Region A (B, C untested)
Review click to expand contents
Rating summary
Movie | ![]() | 3.5 |
Video | ![]() | 0.0 |
Audio | ![]() | 5.0 |
Extras | ![]() | 3.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.5 |
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 27, 2024 Note: Disney / Buena Vista is releasing a slate of
Disney+ offerings all in SteelBook packaging and all available
beginning on December 3.
For the first time in my personal experience of reviewing
Disney product, they are only releasing these series on 4K
disc, with no 1080 disc releases
available as of the writing of this review.
There's one thing you could pretty much count on with regard
to old television series dealing with some form of castaways,
whether those poor,
unfortunate souls found themselves in locations as disparate
as Gilligan's
Island and/or Lost in
Space
, and that's that those poor, unfortunate souls would
never be found (hey, how else are you going to continue with
a series?). Ahsoka
spends much of its first season dealing with a certain
fear of one nefarious character and simultaneous hope for
one heroic
character being able to find their way back from
being, well, lost in space, with the upshot being that two
other characters find themselves in that very
predicament as the season comes
to
its ostensibly cliffhanging finale. Rather interestingly in that
regard, though, there are already press reports abounding as
this review is being
written that the second season of this series will be
its last and that, yes, actual resolutions of various plot
strands are already being discussed, perhaps including
various folks getting to that all
important "found" status.
Ahsoka ends its first season with what might be
called both a figurative and literal cliffhanger, with the
figurative side of that metaphor involving titular character
Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and her recently estranged
acolyte Sabine Wren (Natasha
Liu Bordizzo) being more or less stranded on an isolated
planet, if "overseen" by the spectral presence of one Annakin
Skywalker (Hayden
Christensen). Maybe both hilariously and a little on the
bittersweet side, the literal presentation of standing at the
edge of a cliff goes to a scene
toward the end of the final episode involving
another of the many characters suffusing this first
season, erstwhile Jedi Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), who is
in fact seen walking up to
the edge of a dangerous precipice in his final appearance in
the season, one which now has the added elegiac context of
Stevenson's sad demise
just a few
weeks before this show premiered in
2023.
![](https://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/32136_1.jpg)
Some of the supplements included in this release get into the history of the character, who in live action terms has had relatively brief but memorable appearances in episodes of The Mandalorian: The Complete Second Season 4K and The Book of Boba Fett, but whose genesis was actually in animated form way back in 2008 in Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Feature Film. Her story continued in two subsequent animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels , and at least tangentially in Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker and Tales of the Jedi . For purposes of this series, and especially with regard to the focal relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine, the two animated series are probably going to be the closest referents, and as is discussed in detail in some of the supplementary material, those series certainly played a major role in the design aesthetic of this series.
The "McGuffin" of this enterprise might arguably be either a "star map" that reveals where both dastardly Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelson) and nascent Jedi Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) might be, or in fact it might just as arguably be those very disappearances, irrespective of any potential "technology" assisting Ahsoka and Sabine in their quest to find the missing men. One way or the other, the discovery of the star map then catapults both Ahsoka and Sabine in to a wary partnership, while all sorts of subterfuge and scheming play out on the sidelines, typically involving some of the huge supporting cast. Perhaps this tendency to dart off on probably unnecessary detours contributes to a surprisingly lethargic pace, but there are even problems with padding surrounding both of the main female characters. Pay attention, to cite just two early examples, to the scenes where Ahsoka discovers how to get the star map (in what amounts to a cut scene from a video game), or even Sabine's first entrance into her little shack. Both of these vignettes could have been accomplished in literally seconds, but they're drawn out for what seems like forever.
Pacing issues aside (which may be a formidable hurdle to overcome for some viewers, even diehard fans), the series has some fun characters, perhaps especially on the "robotic" side, and as mentioned above its design aesthetic, intentionally modeled on the old animated series, is often quite inviting. The death of Ray Stevenson may require some deft handling or at least a suitably similar looking replacement, but the series may have other issues to confront, as evidenced by those pesky reports about its impending demise.
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality ![n/a of 5](https://images3.static-bluray.com/rating/b0.jpg)
![](https://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/32136_2.jpg)
Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so
these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc
and downscaled to 1080 and
SDR.
Color space in particular is therefore not accurate. Because
there are no 1080 discs in this package, the 2K video score
above has been intentionally
left blank.
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season is presented in 4K
UHD courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an HEVC / H.265
encoded 2160p transfer in
2.39:1. Captured with the Arri Alexa LF and finished at 4K,
this is a rather interesting looking series from a grading
perspective in particular, with a
gradual and rather subtle transformation from near
monochrome moments in some early episodes to later, more
fulsomely hued, sequences later on.
In fact the early scene where Ahsoka discovers the star map
is almost in black and white (see screenshot 5), with just little
hints of turquoise on the
character's sleeve inserts. Now admittedly the opening
vignette documenting the attack by Baylan and Shin Hati
(Ivanna Sakhno) to break Morgan
Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) out of "Republic stir" does
have some teal-ish backgrounds and tan costuming for
the "good guys", but
comparing some of the earlier episodes to later ones seems
to indicate there were design choices made in terms of slowly
but surely introducing more
color into the proceedings. If the palette is rather striking
from the get go, despite being on the neutral side at times,
detail levels are consistently
impressive across the board. Practical elements like the so-
called lekku (head tails) on Ahsoka and Hera (Mary
Elizabeth Winstead) offer
some really appealing fine detail levels (notably Ahsoka's in
particular, where texturing is quite observable). Integration of
CGI is typically excellent,
and as is discussed in some of the supplements, the series
utilized some of the "LED background" techniques that
The Mandalorian did,
meaning there's probably less of a green or blue screen look
to those backgrounds at times. Since there is no 1080
release of this series, it's
somewhat hard to offer any comparisons of how HDR / Dolby
Vision affect the palette.
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality ![5.0 of 5](https://images4.static-bluray.com/rating/b10.jpg)
![](https://images4.static-bluray.com/reviews/32136_3.jpg)
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season features another winningly immersive Dolby Atmos track. The recurrent use of light sabers offers some fantastic placement of effects swirling around the side and rear channels during some of the more calamitous battles, and the repeated scenes involving flying or even some of Sabine's early treks on a quasi- motorcycle provide excellent panning effects and clear engagement of the Atmos speakers. Even seemingly "minor" moments like spacecraft touching down provide some clear overhead activity, if only for a moment or two. Dialogue, including David Tennant's really enjoyable voice work as droid Huyang, is always presented cleanly and clearly. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras ![3.0 of 5](https://images.static-bluray.com/rating/b6.jpg)
![](https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/32136_4.jpg)
Disc One
- Ahsoka: Legacy (HD; 10:30) is a bit of a punning title, since this featurette looks at the history of the character but also some of the work special effects house Legacy did on the production.
- Path of the Apprentice (HD; 10:13) focuses on the many master - student relationships in the series.
- Ghosts of the Past (HD; 12:27) addresses the influence of the animated series.
- Darkness Rising (HD; 11:54) profiles some of the villains, with an homage to the late Ray Stevenson.
- Audio Commentary on Part Five: Shadow Warrior by Dave Filoni
- Audio Commentary on Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch and the Warlord by Dave Filoni
Ahsoka: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation ![3.5 of 5](https://images2.static-bluray.com/rating/b7.jpg)
![](https://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/32136_5.jpg)
There's a lot to like about Ahsoka, including some involving performances and an interesting production design. But I personally just kept wishing things would hurry along a little bit more consistently, with too much time spent on needless "business" and some kind of fruitless detours involving supporting characters. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements enjoyable. With caveats noted, Recommended.