7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.7 |
A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy WilliamsDrama | 100% |
Period | 100% |
Coming of age | 89% |
Music | 80% |
Romance | 69% |
Teen | 35% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 2.0
Japanese: DTS 2.0
Spanish: DTS 2.0 Mono
French: DTS 2.0 Mono
German: DTS 2.0
Italian: DTS 2.0
Japanese: DTS Mono
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Universal has released the 1973 film 'American Graffiti,' directed by George Lucas and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, and Candy Clark, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. No new extras are included. Universal does include the original 2011 Blu-ray. No new extras are included, but most of the Blu-ray extras carry over to the UHD disc.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
Where's the grain? American Graffiti was shot on film back in the early 1970s but there is very little evidence of the filmic
nature on display. Universal's 2160p/HDR UHD release of American Graffiti has been scrubbed of all but the faintest traces of its natural grain
structure, leaving the film looking flat, inorganic, waxy, and pasty, recalling some of the more deficient Blu-ray releases from the Universal's past,
such
as
Tremors. It's a great shame because this is a nice-looking film which
should look great at home. It's rich with period texture and character that is dramatically lessened here because of the
scrubbing. As
it is, the image doesn't even look like a UHD, looking more like a scrubbed Blu-ray, never appearing to add any significant sharpness to the elements.
I
can't imagine most viewers would bat an eyelash if told this was a Blu-ray rather than a UHD. In fact, I prefer the look of the Blu-ray, which is
drastically imperfect as it is, (read Ken Brown's review here). It is also processed but still retains a semblance of
character and texture that is completely absent here. What a mess. What a disappointment.
There's not much good news with the HDR color grading, either. Yes, some of the classic cars look punchier, neon signs brighter, and a few other odds
and ends more richly colorful, but the grading is largely flat and uninspired. Worse, black levels exhibit crush and murkiness. Whites don't pop and
skin tones are pasty and somehow even more lifeless and inauthentic than the Blu-ray. What should have been a wonderful HDR grading adds almost
nothing to the experience.
At least the image is free of any serious print blemishes, and the encode is good, showing no compression issues, but this is probably the biggest
UHD
disappointment of 2023. Yikes.
For this new UHD release of American Graffiti, Universal has included a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Purists will want to stick with the legacy 2.0 lossless soundtrack, which is also included. The new track is certainly spacious along the front, offering good front end engagement, centered lyrics, and a nice bass line to Bill Haley & the Comets' (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock. However, even re-encoded to 5.1 channels, there's not a significant amount of back channel activity at work here. There is some musical seepage through the backs, as well as some very mild environmental fill, but generally listeners will barely notice that the backs are part of the configuration. The subwoofer makes more of an impact and presence than the surround left and right channels. As it is, the elements are in good shape. Clarity is adequate, imperfect at times and likely tracing back to the source, but offering good foundational definition to the incredible period soundtrack and dialogue, which comprise the vast majority of the track's sonic needs. The 5.1 track is not necessarily useful in total, offering little more than some added body to music. Many listeners will want to hang with the legacy 2.0 track. For a full review of that soundtrack, please click here.
Universal releases American Graffiti to the UHD format with most of the Blu-ray extras included on the UHD disc. The legacy 2011 Blu-ray is
also included. Below is a breakdown of what is included on each disc. For full supplemental content reviews, please click here. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code and a slipcover
are included with purchase.
Blu-ray:
American Graffiti is a fun film with a wonderful soundtrack (for my money probably in the top two or three, right up there with Top Gun for the sheer excellence of the song selections), but this new UHD...yikes! What a disaster! The old Blu-ray, problematic as it may be, offer a much better viewing of the film. This is soft, flat, scrubbed, pasty, everything a film shouldn't be on Blu-ray, never mind UHD, which only amplifies the problems and the disappointment. Add unimpressive HDR grading and the net result is very poor indeed. The 5.1 soundtrack is fine, even if it remains front heavy. No new extras are included. Skip!!!
50th Anniversary Edition
1973
Special Edition
1973
Pop Art
1973
Universal 100th Anniversary
1973
Special Edition
1973
Director's Edition | The Bootleg Cut
2000
2016
1998
1977
2017
1994
1998
2012
2009
includes Texasville on Blu-ray
1971-1990
1983
1993
1989
2019
2009
2012
2012
2011
Reissue
1972
35th Anniversary Edition
1987