7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Inside a hidden Hong Kong arena, elite combatants clash in the Kumite, the little-known but hotly contested world championship of full-contact fighting. No Westerner had ever won this titanic tournament - until iron-willed American Frank Dux entered it.
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton, Forest WhitakerAction | 100% |
Martial arts | 64% |
Sport | 33% |
Biography | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
German: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
German, German SDH, English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Cannon Films' cult classic Bloodsport finally gets a well-deserved UHD upgrade from Berlin-based distributor Capelight Pictures, a (for now) German-exclusive 4K Mediabook that also includes a remastered region-free (A, B, C) Blu-ray. It's unknown if this excellent 35th Anniversary release -- highlighted by a new 2160p/HDR transfer, new Atmos audio, and new retrospective extras -- will ever reach American shores, but it's a mostly English-friendly effort that's well worth importing if you don't want to wait and find out. But act now: the kumite express leaves in five minutes.
NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced directly from the included remastered Blu-ray disc.
Presented in a slightly opened-up 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this new 4K-sourced master of Bloodsport is a largely appealing effort in direct comparison to Warner Bros.' 2010 Blu-ray edition, which squeezed both this film and Timecop on a dual-layered disc via the outdated VC-1 codec. This new restoration makes Bloodsport appear clean, healthy, and filmic with excellent image detail, renewed stability, and a largely faithful color palette; previous home video presentations leaned warmer and this obviously has a touch of teal added, but in my opinion it's not flagrant or inappropriate. Pronounced aliasing and edge enhancement on the ancient Blu-ray have now been replaced by clean, unprocessed edges and much more "readable" detail on foreground and background objects alike, such as the urban Hong Kong signage and even costumes. Overall brightness levels likewise look a bit higher but not boosted, as shadow detail and black levels reach sufficiently deep with no obvious signs of crush or detail loss -- only trace amounts of noise are present, but it's not at all distracting in motion. Its new HDR enhancement (which is available in either HDR10+ or Dolby Vision) also does wonders for some of its darker values and colorful costumes, revealing deeper pockets of black, true white levels on light sources, and more robust (but not overly saturated) hues. Its only extremely minor shortcomings -- aside from the slightly different palette -- include a few stray damage marks and the aforementioned noise, but these are small issues at most and are far, far outweighed by its numerous improvements across the board.
Those only interested in the remastered Blu-ray will find plenty to enjoy too: as seen in these screenshots, even a downsampled 1080p/SDR "compromise" yields substantially better image detail and contrast levels than WB's older Blu-ray; like the 4K disc, this newer Blu-ray also opens up the image to 1.78:1 with negligible differences in framing. The slightly different color palette is still front and center, though some of its occasionally cooler hues may not be quite as apparent on Blu-ray due to the lack of high dynamic range. There are also few nagging compression issues that pop up from time to time, including macro blocking -- largely from having four hours of HD material on a 50GB disc -- which are more evident on zoomed-in still frames than during playback. But with such a clean, healthy, and film-like foundation, there's not too much to complain about here: I daresay that even those currently unequipped for 4K may want to indulge, as they'll also get the exclusive new audio improvements and extras detailed below.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the new English Dolby Atmos audio track, but it seems to be a largely faithful and very robust effort that helps to amplify the film's more intense moments. While most dialogue and smaller interactions are still largely confined to the front and center channels, Paul Hertzog's era-specific original score enjoys a much more substantial presence in the rear while not sounding overcooked. Crowd noise and other urban elements likewise come from different directions -- including the Atmos-exclusive height channels, which for the most part are sparingly used -- and fill out the numerous fight scenes in a way that complements rather than distracts from the action. I found it to be a very enjoyable and surprisingly tasteful remix and all but the most stubborn purists will likely agree.
They'll of course appreciate the theatrical LPCM 2.0 track, which has been included on all previous home video releases. Although the new 4K restoration wrings a bit more juice out of Bloodsport's original elements, it's similar in overall tone and dynamic range to earlier efforts including the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on WB's 2010 Blu-ray.
German DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio dubs are also included, as are optional German and English subtitles.
This two-disc set ships in oversized Mediabook packaging with poster-based cover artwork (alternate cover here), both discs on separate hubs, and a glued-in booklet with German-language essays and acknowledgements. The menus are also in German, including the titles of the on-disc extras which are translated below. These all-new bonus features are entirely in English with optional German subtitles and can be found on both discs.
Newt Arnold's debut Bloodsport, which served as the perfect launching pad for star Jean-Claude Van Damme, remains a highly influential and entertaining cult classic. This well-rounded 4K Mediabook from Capelight Pictures is available with two different covers (alternate version here); both are highlighted by an excellent new 2160p/HDR transfer, Atmos and theatrical audio tracks, exclusive new extras, and a remastered Blu-ray. Aside from the German booklet and menus, it's entirely English-friendly and is well worth importing for fans of the film. Highly Recommended.
1988
Limited Collectors Edition Mediabook Cover C
1988
Limited Collectors Edition Mediabook Cover A
1988
Limited Collectors Edition Mediabook Cover B
1988
Limited Collector's Edition | Cover A
1988
4K Remastered
1988
Limited Edition
1988
1988
1989
The Fighters
2008
Kickboxer - Die Vergeltung
2016
2008
2010
2008
2011
2015
1994
Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grand Master / Yip Man 2
2010
2018
Kickboxer - Die Abrechnung
2017
2013
1989
1997
2015
Yip Man 4
2019
2017
2009
2010