Anaconda 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Anaconda 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Why does it always have to be snakes?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 22, 2026

Arriving last month to coincide with the December release of a quasi-remake starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd, Louis Llosa's 1997 camp classic Anaconda finally arrives on UHD just shy of its 30th anniversary. Featuring a decently stacked cast including Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Owen Wilson (all fairly early in their careers) as well as Eric Stoltz and Jon Voight in full scenery-chewing mode, it's an unchallenging thrill ride with solid cinematography, mostly shot on location in Brazil, that's often overshadowed by a clichéd script and now-dated CGI effects. With expectations in check, though, Anaconda is still a fun ride worth taking every so often and Sony's new 4K remaster plays to its strengths.

For an overview and mild appreciation of the film, please see Martin Liebman's review of Sony's 2009 Blu-ray, which was later "succeeded" by a 2019 Blu-ray from Mill Creek as well as their mildly improved 2024 Steelbook that included lossless audio and one new extra. Sony recaptures the film for this 2025 4K Steelbook edition, a massive improvement over all previous discs that offers rock-solid A/V specs and several new supplements; really, the only thing it's missing is a remastered Blu-ray. As for my higher rating of the film in comparison to Marty's take, I'm clearly a bit more fond of its limited charms... but "good bad" films like this are notoriously hard to pin down with any star rating.

Anaconda 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from the UHD disc but downscaled to 1080p/SDR and should not be considered an accurate representation of the 4K picture quality in terms of detail, color, and brightness levels.

The notoriously rugged jungle environment of Anaconda, which was largely shot on-location in Brazil, has proven tough to handle on home video, and previous Blu-ray editions linked above all scored low marks for lackluster video quality. As Sony's new remaster proves, though, all it needed was a little more attention: it's reportedly sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative and enjoys the benefits of full 2160p as well as HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, the latter of which are used tastefully. It's still not exactly a pretty picture at times, though: the color palette is overwhelmingly earth-toned and wavering light levels don't always lead to crisp textures and fine detail even in semi-favorable lighting conditions. But what was originally captured by cinematographer Bill Butler and his team is replicated faithfully here, as are the practical effects and notoriously hit-and-miss CGI sequences that feature noticeable baked-in ghosting, blurring, and other distracting side effects. Grain levels likewise waver but they're uniformly well-encoded on this full triple-layered disc, which runs at a high and supportive bit rate from start to finish and features no real signs of posterization, banding, or macro blocking. All things considered (and with quite a challenge in front of them), Sony's team has delivered a solid-looking remaster that will likely never look better on home video.

Anaconda 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio situation fares just as well, since previous Blu-ray editions featured either a passable presentation of its original 5.1 mix or a dumbed-down lossy 2.0 downmix on Mill Creek's first Blu-ray. Sony's 4K Steelbook ups the ante dramatically with your choice of lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio or a full-on Dolby Atmos remix, the latter of which is presented as our primary option. That's what I went with initially, and it's an overwhelmingly solid effort that features occasional use of the height channels during key moments as well as great use of Atmos' object-based placement to employ precise channel panning that kicks in dramatically during a handful of action sequences. The original score by composer Randy Edelman also gets a bit more weight and support (once again drifting into the height channels), and low-frequency output is dramatic throughout. My only minor complaint is that it's mixed a little hot and thus quieter moments may require volume adjustments -- I've no idea why studios don't mix home-exclusive tracks for smaller rooms, but those with different setups may not be bothered by this. Either way, it's a great effort.

As for the lossless 5.1 track: I don't have the 2009 Blu-ray on-hand for a direct comparison, but I'd imagine this original theatrical mix sounds at least as good as that earlier disc; even so, it's quite possible that Sony's new 4K remaster has wrung a little more sonic juice from the original elements. In any case, it's a durably good track that'll likely appeal to purists a bit more strongly, but you can't really lose by having both lossless options here.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the film and most of the bonus features.

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

This one-disc release ships in glossy Steelbook packaging featuring a bold close-up of the titular snake's face, with its back cover zooming out to depict the anaconda's coiled body mid-squeeze. Inside is a fairly generic image of the film crew's boat cruising in the Amazon river which, like the outer design, depicts absolutely no human characters. The disc sits by itself on the right side and a Digital Copy is also included. Overall, it mostly gets the job done, but I'd have honestly preferred a standard keepcase with a bit of snakeskin texture on the slipcover instead.

On-disc extras are, well, finally present. Sony's earlier Blu-ray was barebones, while a 2024 Steelbook edition from Mill Creek included one new extra that returns here along with several that will be new to domestic audiences.

• Audio Commentary - Novelist, scriptwriter, and "genre expert" Scott Harrison delivers this decently organized and slightly dry but still enthusiastic commentary that covers most of the usual bases including short bios and career overviews for director Luis Llosa and other crew and cast members, a brief history of monster movies, the film's inception, casting, special effects, the infamous "reverse waterfall" shot, and more. Several lengthy lapses into silence and Harrison's delivery style make this sound more like a nature documentary at times (and a few oddball detours are taken along the way), but hungry fans should enjoy it. This was originally recorded for an international Blu-ray from the boutique label 88 Films but has been licensed for this release.

• KINDA NEW! There's a Devil Inside Everyone: Directing Anaconda (19:04) - As stated by Marty Liebman in his review of the 2024 Mill Creek Steelbook, this mid-length interview with director Louis Llosa "features the filmmaker talking about his background with this genre, budget, visual effects, cast and performances, on-set anecdotes, visual effects and building the anaconda, and more". This version actually runs about 2 1/2 minutes longer than the one on Mill Creek's Steelbook edition, but I don't have that release on-hand to compare.

• NEW! A Perfect Killing Machine: Writing Anaconda (9:20) - This short interview with co-writer Hans Bauer, obviously created around the same time as the previous extra, is a breezy but candid chat where he shares a bit about himself, the film's characters, and the influences and circumstances that led him to come up with the story. Credited co-writers Jack Epps Jr. and the late Jim Cash are not mentioned.

• NEW! Deleted & Extended Scenes (5 clips, 11:52 total) - Includes "The Expedition Assembles (No Dialogue)", "Westridge's Complaints", "Restless Monkeys", "Dinner Conversation", and "Mating Rituals", all presented in decently remastered 1.78:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio and a "Play All" option.

• Domestic Trailer (1:52) - Nicely remastered in 2.39:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

• NEW! International Teaser (1:19) - Ditto, but with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio this time.

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

Louis Llosa's Anaconda obviously isn't high art, but it's an enjoyably campy monster movie that scored big with audiences in 1997 and spawned a franchise that, as of this writing, includes six more films including the 2025 remake. Like most in my age bracket, I have fairly fond memories of seeing this theatrically but have only revisited it a couple times since then. Sony's new UHD Steelbook edition arrives after several earlier Blu-ray releases and easily outpaces them all with its new 4K remaster, lossless audio options, and even a handful of new-to-disc bonus features. Die hard fans should consider this one strongly Recommended, but newcomers may want to try before they buy.