Arizona 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Arizona 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere With You (and an Underwhelming 4K)

RLJ/Image Entertainment is one of the specialty publishers venturing into the UHD format, and their effort is to be applauded, even if the results aren't always worthy of the format. The studio's latest attempt is the horror comedy Arizona, and expectations have run high because the UHD disc is Image's first 4K release with HDR. Unfortunately, the results are a disappointment.

Arizona 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

(Note: Screenshots accompanying this review have been captured from the standard Blu-ray. Additional 1080p captures from that disc can be found here.)

Arizona is the fourth UHD disc to be released by RLJ/Image Entertainment, and it is the first to include HDR grading, at least nominally. But in watching and comparing the standard Blu-ray to this 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded presentation, one would be hard-pressed to spot any difference between them, either as the result of the up-rez to 4K—this is clearly a 2K source—or as a product of the HDR colorist's efforts. Admittedly, the disc has to fill the big video shoes of the 1080p Blu-ray, which is superb. But there is no apparent uptick in detail, no visible improvement in contrast and black levels, and no additional subtlety imparted to the film's color palette. It's a shame, because HDR refinements might have lent greater crispness and definition to the many overhead shots of recently built luxury developments surrounded by desert, and it certainly could have been a boon to the nighttime shots when Cassie is fleeing outdoors or through massive drain pipes with only a cigarette lighter for illumination. These look good on the UHD; they looked just as good on the Blu-ray. The same is true of the whole movie.

My colleague Marty Liebman found no appreciable difference between RLJ/Image's UHD and Blu-ray versions of Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, and that disc was HDR-free. Still, Marty gave the disc a 4K rating of 2.5, presumably for effort. Now that RLJ/Image has moved to HDR but failed to take advantage of it, I'm not willing to be as generous, and the low 4K score is appropriate, in my opinion, for a UHD that boasts the extended dynamic range of HDR but shows no sign of its application. (Note that the disc does not appear to offer Dolby Vision.)

[System calibrated for UHD using (a) a Klein K-10A Colorimeter with a Custom Profile made in CalMAN using a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectroradiometer; (b) Murideo Fresco SIX-G UHD signal generator with HDR10 and Dolby Vision capability; and (c) SpectraCal CalMAN Software v. 5.8.2.85. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]

Arizona 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 4K disc contains the same superior DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack as the Blu-ray. I have reviewed it here.

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

Unlike many major studios, RLJ/Image retains the extras from the Blu-ray on the UHD (although they remain in 1080p format). Arizona has a modest selection, listed and described in the Blu-ray review. The package includes a copy of the standard Blu-ray, where these extras can also be found.

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

There's no reason to get Arizona on UHD unless you enjoy seeing the letters "HDR" in your player's (or AVR's) playback display. Otherwise, the disc is like the real estate industry depicted in the film: It dangles a better experience, then leaves with you the same old life—at a higher cost. The movie itself remains worthwhile, but save yourself a few dollars and stick to 1080p.