Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

As Good as It Gets 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 1, 2022

Sony has released the classic 1997 film 'As Good as It Gets,' starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear, directed by James L. Brooks, to UHD. At time of writing, this UHD disc is exclusive to the third volume of the prestigious 'Columbia Classics Collection' boxed set, where a Blu-ray copy of the film, and five other films, are included. The film was previously released to Blu-ray by Twilight Time in 2012, a disc which is now out of print. Much of the supplemental content is new to the included Blu-ray and this set includes much more than was available on the Twilight time disc. Also included is new 2160p/Dolby Vision video Dolby Atmos audio.

Official synopsis: Jack Nicholson gives a show-stopping Academy Award-winning performance as Melvin Udall, an obsessive-compulsive novelist with Manhattan's meanest mouth. But when his neighbor Simon is hospitalized, Melvin is forced to babysit Simon's dog. And that unexpected act of kindness, along with waitress Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt, in an Academy Award-winning performance), helps put Melvin back in the human race.

For a full film review, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's excellent analysis accompanying the 2012 Twilight Time release by clicking here.

As Good as It Gets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Sony's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD release of As Good as It Gets is, well, probably about as good as it gets for this film's home viewing presentation. The image is absolutely gorgeous. Like the companion Blu-ray, there is a mild warm push to colors and flesh tones here, but the Dolby Vision grading brings superior evenness to the palette as it offers a wide variety of more richly colored, deeply accurate, and naturally contrasted tones, especially clothes and color accents and booths in the diner (look at a sequence around the 75-minute mark for some of the best color expression in the film). The Dolby Vision grading enhances whites and blacks, the former more luxuriously vibrant and the latter more penetratingly deep without resorting to crush.

The movie looks excellent at the 2160p resolution. There is certainly some gain to overall clarity compared to the Blu-ray The UHD reveals superior skin complexity, whether essential pores and hairs and fine lines and freckles of the intense scarring on Simon's face after the attack, both at the hospital and later as the wounds begin to heal. The viewer will note some tangible depth to the scars. The picture holds to a seamless and naturally filmic grain structure. Like the Blu-ray, it is light and consistent and very flattering. This is a very healthy and attractive looking picture. It looks fresh from theaters. There are no print flaws or encode artifacts of note, either. This is a striking image from Sony.

As Good as It Gets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is not radically different from the Blu-ray's 5.0 presentation. The track offers pleasantly wide musical engagement, whether score or popular songs, with quality depth and gentle surround immersion. The track incorporates some pleasing atmosphere as well, with some obvious expansion beyond the 5.0 track to lightly engage atmosphere with slightly more spatial awareness. The result is a very naturally sounding and gently immersive presentation. Of course, dialogue is the center of attention here, and it is center focused and clear for the duration.

As Good as It Gets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release includes many more extras than the Twilight Time disc. All of it, beyond the trailer, is new to Blu-ray/UHD but not newly produced. The only thing missing from the Twilight Time disc is the isolated score. All of the supplements are on the bundled Blu-ray disc. There are no extras on the UHD disc. As it ships in the above-linked "Columbia Classics" boxed set, a slipcover and a digital copy code are included.

• NEW! Audio Commentary: A legacy track featuring Director James L. Brooks; Actors Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear; Editor Richard Marks; Producer Laurence Mark; and Composer Hans Zimmer.
• NEW! Behind the Scenes Footage (480i, 12:21): Raw on-set footage.
• NEW! Deleted Scenes: Included are "Kiss Her, Man!" Alt Ending (480i, 3:56), "Melvin Stalls Vincent" with Commentary by James L. Brooks (1080p, 2:23), and "Melvin Stalls Vincent" Script Excerpt (1080p) which is a manually advanced excerpt from the original script.
• NEW! The Making of As Good as It Gets (480i, 8:08): Exploring the film's story and themes, cast and characters, the role of the dog in the film, and more.
• NEW! Theatrical EPK Selected Soundbites (480i, 22:00): Very brief soundbites about the film from cast and crew. Included are Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Shirley Knight, James L. Brooks, and Hans Zimmer.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:24).

As Good as It Gets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As Good as It Gets is a masterwork of scriptwriting, acting, and filmmaking. The story is engaging, the direction is steady, and the performances are spot-on. Sony's UHD delivers practically reference 2160p/Dolby Vision video and excellent Atmos audio as well as a healthy allotment of bonus content on the bundled Blu-ray. Very highly recommended.