Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Black Hawk Down 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony brings the 2001 Action film 'Black Hawk Down' to the UHD format. This is the film's second UHD release, following on the heels of the 2019 issue. This new release is largely the same with the exception of added Dolby Vision color grading and SteelBook packaging. It retains the Dolby Atmos audio from the previous UHD release. The bundled Blu-rays, which are identical to both the original 2006 issue and the bonus Blu-ray from the 2019 UHD release, include all of the legacy content.

Black Hawk Down 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As tends to be the case with Sony's Dolby Vision UHD re-issues, the image quality beyond the Dolby Vision color grading appears to have received minimal, if any, improvements. The picture quality is here presented with meticulous detailing and clarity which is at times rendered maybe a little less than "ideal" given the color scheme, shooting parameters, frenzied action, and so on, but there is no mistaking that, like the 2019 UHD, this is a wonderfully filmic picture with extraordinarily crisp details and wonderfully realized grain. There is no reason to offer a significant new write-up on the image's grain and textures, so a perusal of the original review of the 2019 UHD should suffice in that area.

The Dolby Vision color grading does not make any monumental changes to the image, either. This is a very stylized picture -- it's hot, sweaty, and the colors tend to push to various extremes, with heavy pushes to warm ambers, desert browns, intense blues and greens, and deep blacks dominating. The Dolby Vision grading intensifies the extremities with deeper blacks and more intense brights, while presenting the stylized color temperatures with more stable footing and accuracy. Red blood is certainly one of the beneficiaries here, with bolder presentations of freshly spilled blood and deeper depth to the older, darker, carked-on blood. Tracer fire looks a little brighter, too, and white balance appears tweaked and improved a few degrees. Again, this is not a significant change, but the picture definitely looks very natural and tonally expressive. This is the finer image of the two UHDs, but it's not so much better that even hardcore fans should be running out to purchase it at full price.

Black Hawk Down 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony has simply re-issued the existing Dolby Atmos soundtrack from the previous UHD release. Please click here for full coverage.

Black Hawk Down 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplements are included on the bundled Blu-ray discs. Disc one is identical to the 2006 disc while the second Blu-ray includes the extras from the bonus disc included with the 2019 UHD. See below for a breakdown of what's included. Please click here and here for coverage of the returning extras. No supplements appear on the UHD disc itself. The UHD disc includes the film's Extended Version (2:31:50) and Theatrical Version (2:24:18) cuts. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

At time of writing, this UHD ships exclusively in SteelBook packaging. The matte SteelBook's front panel features a canted angle with a few key Rangers bottom left, standing facing forward. Some buildings line the left side. The top right features a few Blackhawk helicopters in the air. The rear panel features a helmet with goggles which is reflecting some combat footage. A few Blackhawks fly above. The spine is black with the film's title in red, center, a white UltraHD logo at the top, and white Revolution and Columbia logos at the bottom. Inside, the digital copy code floats. There are three discs, one on its own hub on the left and two on the right on their own stagged-stacked hubs. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features a blurry image with a Ranger on the bottom right and Blackhawks flying over on the left.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: With Author Mark Bowden and Screenwriter Ken Nolan.
• Audio Commentary: With Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Director Ridley Scott.
• Audio Commentary: With U.S. Special Forces Veterans '93.
• The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down (480i, 1.78:1): A six-part feature.
  
  
  • Getting It Right (23:11)
  • Crash Course (29:56)
  • Battlefield: Morocco (30:03)
  • Hymn to the Fallen (17:57)
  • Digital Warriors (23:09)
  • After Action Report (24:58)
• Blu-Wizard: Supplement viewing customization.

• Black Hawk Down "On the Set"
• The History Channel: The True Story of Black Hawk Down
• Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu
• Question & Answer Forums
• "Target Building Insertion" (6 Angles) With Commentary
• Deleted & Alternate Scenes
• Music Video
• Image & Design
  
  
  • Designing Mogadishu
  • Ridleygrams with Commentary
  • Jerry Bruckheimer's On-Set Photography
  • Invisible Design/Title Exploration with Commentary
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:24).
• Original TV Spots
• Photo Galleries

Black Hawk Down 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Hawk Down remains firmly in the top handful of quintessential War films and is arguably the finest depiction of modern warfare (post Vietnam era) ever committed to film. The film's UHD is equally dazzling. This is a whole new level of picture quality excellence for the film and if not a new standard for the UHD format certainly one of its very best presentations. The addition of the Dolby Vision color grading only amplifies the image to its currently best possible presentation. The Atmos soundtrack is terrific, too, and Sony has crammed in plenty of extras cross two discs. The SteelBook packaging design is, in my view, neither delight nor disappointment. Black Hawk Down's UHD release earns my highest recommendation, especially to new buyers; fans who choose to hang on to the HDR-only issue from a few years ago aren't missing out on too much of a gain.