Bottle Rocket 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Bottle Rocket 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 27, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Criterion's The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years 4K.

Considering Wes Anderson's penchant for symmetry and Academy Ratio framings, at least at times, about the only problem some diehard Anderson fans may have with Criterion's impressive new set documenting "10 films and 25 years" may be that it's in a rectangular rather than a square box. That oversized box measures nearly 13" wide by 7 1/2" high by 3 1/2" deep and which some "liner notes" from Anderson joke is "upholstered in a sort of burlap canvas". It has a magnetized hinged cover that opens to display ten individual DigiBooks, one for each Anderson film, and each offering two discs, 1080 and 4K UHD, along with a sewn in pamphlet devoted to that film. While all of the films have had previous 1080 releases (not necessarily by Criterion), this set offers the 4K UHD debuts of each film.

Bottle Rocket received a long ago 1080 release from Criterion, and our Bottle Rocket Blu-ray review offers a plot recap and list of supplements, along with an assessment of technical merits by Ben Williams, a reviewer whose tenure preceded mine here and with whom I'm frankly unacquainted.

Bottle Rocket 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Bottle Rocket is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Criterion with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. The pamphlet included with the DigiBook has the following information on the master:

Bottle Rocket is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Approved by director Wes Anderson, the new 4K restoration presented on the 4K Ultra HD disc was undertaken by Sony Pictures Entertainment from the 35 mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from 35 mm magnetic tracks. The feature is presented in Dolby Vision HDR ( high dynamic range) on the 4K UHD disc and high definition SDR (standard dynamic range) on the Blu-ray.

Bottle Rocket may admittedly not feature some of the more whimsical framings and things inside the frame that accompany later Anderson efforts, which might understandably lead to an assumption that the HDR / Dolby Vision grades don't have that much to "play with", so to speak, but from the first bold coloring behind the title (now somewhat orange looking), to the almost peach colored window frame and then Luke Wilson's bright red sweater, it turns out while maybe on the picayune side, there's quite a bit of new nuance pretty instantaneously noticeable in this version. That very opening scene with those aforementioned colors also provides the first of many nice improvements in fine detail, namely the incredibly fine resolution of the patterned white lace curtains in Wilson's room. Speaking of peach tones, a lot of the brightly lit outdoor material has just a hint of that general hue, frequently in flesh tones, though things never look unnatural. Some of the later pool vignettes offer some really appealing highlights toward the blue end of things, and some of the shots through the motel windows toward the great outdoors provide excellent depth of field. Grain resolves with any issues. A cursory comparison of the screenshots taken from the 1080 disc in this package with the screenshots from the now "ancient" 2008 review show some significant differences in color temperature in particular, for those interested.

Bottle Rocket 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bottle Rocket features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that probably displays its most noticeably immersive moments in some of the wonderful source cues and/or Mark Motherbaugh's appealing score, though ambient environmental effects can certainly enter the fray, as in the shooting range material. Outdoor scenes often offer at least some background effects to establish the environment. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Bottle Rocket 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K Disc

• Commentary is from 2008 and features Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson.

1080 Disc

• Commentary is from 2008 and features Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson.


• The Making of Bottle Rocket (HD; 25:43) is also from 2008 and features a glut of interviews and background information.


• The Bottle Rocket Short (HD; 13:35) is the sweet spark for the feature film, made by Anderson and Wilson in 1992.

Miscellaneous (HD) is offered as a submenu under the above listing and is a photo gallery.

• Deleted Scenes (HD; 00:58, 1:09, 1:13, 00:53, 2:32, 2:44, 1:12, 2:45, 1:33, 2:06, 1:29) are all authored separately as the time listings may indicate, though there is a Play All option. These are sourced from an inferior quality tape and some looked to me to be just slightly anamorphically stretched.


• Anamorphic Test (HD; 2:33) is an interesting snippet Anderson made to check out a wider aspect ratio.


• Photos by Laura Wilson (HD) is a gallery.


• Storyboards (HD) is (are?) a gallery.


• The Shafrazi Lectures, No. 1: Bottle Rocket (HD; 10:32)


• Murita Cycles (HD; 27:12) is a fun short by Barry Braverman about his father.

The Archive edition features a wonderful pamphlet sewn/glued into the DigiBook with an essay by Martin Scorsese reprinted from a 2000 issue of Esquire and another piece by James L. Brooks from an introduction to the Rushmore screenplay, both with a ton of photos. Credits and technical information are also included.

Bottle Rocket 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If Bottle Rocket perhaps surprisingly offers an arguably straightforward visual approach that is at least a bit more reserved than some of Anderson's later efforts, on virtually every other level it's a remarkable opening example of how almost deliriously quirky this auteur can be. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements very enjoyable. Highly recommended.