Argo 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Argo 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Argo 4K Yourself!

As Warner prepares for the release of Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort, Live by Night, the studio has dusted off Affleck's two previous efforts as writer/director/star for 4K treatment: Argo, the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 2012; and the 2010 heist thriller, The Town. Both films have been previously issued on Blu-ray in multiple editions and cuts, but Warner has limited its UHD treatment of both features to their theatrical versions, thereby prompting substantial (and, frankly, justified) grumbling among the 4K crowd.

Argo received two Blu-ray releases, both in 2013. The first, which appeared shortly after the Oscars, contained the film in its theatrical version, accompanied by an impressive array of extras. At year's end, the so-called "Declassified Extended Edition" arrived, offering both the theatrical cut and an extended version with ten minutes of added scenes, plus a second disc with an additional hour's worth of extras. My colleague Kenneth Brown, who reviewed both versions, concluded that both were releases "befitting a film of Argo's caliber."

Warner's UHD of Argo essentially replicates its initial release. Only the theatrical cut has been given a 4K upgrade, and only the original complement of extras has been supplied (for the most part, on the accompanying standard Blu-ray disc).

Argo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

According to the best available information, Argo was completed on a digital intermediate at 4K, which would appear to make it a prime candidate for UHD treatment. But the film presents challenges to any video presentation, because it was pieced together from a variety of sources, including film (Super35, Super16, even Super 8), analog video (for archival footage) and digital video acquired on the Arri Alexa. The array of formats reflects the narrative's multiple perspectives, as events play out on both the public and private stages. Warner's 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD retains the Blu-ray's combination of expressive blacks, distinct contrast and an understated, slightly desaturated palette, but it also provides a small but noticeable uptick in fine detail that enhances everything from the crowd scenes early on, when a mob of Iranian protesters gathers in front of the U.S. embassy in Teheran, to the many claustrophobic closeups as Tony Mendez (Affleck) and his various cohorts scheme and maneuver to extract the six "house guests" who have taken shelter with the Canadian ambassador. The increased resolution showcases even more effectively the meticulously styled hair, makeup and wardrobe (the Seventies really were an awful time for fashion) and adds to the realism of what is, for the most part, a true story.

Comparison of the 4K disc's palette with the Blu-ray reveals some intriguing differences. A sticker plastered on every UHD title currently in release promotes HDR encoding for its "brighter" and "deeper" colors, but on Argo the colorist appears to have used the expanded color space of HDR to soften and further desaturate the film's palette. The colors haven't been changed so much as toned down, adding to the period style and accentuating the cinematography's effort to emulate the visual texture of a Seventies film. It's an effect I remember noticing in the theater, and the UHD re-creates it in the home even more effectively than the Blu-ray.

In contrast to the main feature, the footage shot on Super16 and Super8, mimicking news coverage of the period, remains blurry with bleeding colors that are heavily saturated. Affleck's commentary confirms that this effect is deliberate, and the UHD reproduces it accurately.

As always with reviews of re-releases and remasters where the previous versions were reviewed by others, one should take caution against any comparison of my scores on this release with scores of the previous Blu-rays. There's no guarantee I would have scored those discs the same way Ken did, and conversely Ken might very well have scored this release differently than I have.

[Viewed on a system calibrated using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter with a custom profile created with a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectraradiometer, powered by SpectraCal CalMAN 2016 5.7, using the Samsung Reference 2016 UHD HDR Blu-ray test disc authored by Florian Friedrich from AV Top in Munich, Germany. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]

Argo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The UHD of Argo features the same lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track reviewed here.

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

A copy of the initial February 2010 Blu-ray is included, with all of the extras described in the previous review. The commentary also appears on the UHD. The second disc of extras from the Declassified Extended Edition (described here) has been omitted.

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

While it is regrettable that Warner has not included the longer version of Argo, or the extras unique to the Extended Classified Edition, what's here is just as impressive as it was on the original Blu-ray. The film itself has received a visual upgrade—not a huge one, but a definite improvement—and it remains a remarkable achievement, effectively melding a political espionage thriller with personal drama and sustaining a taut level of suspense even though the ultimate outcome is a matter of established historical fact. Recommended.