Castle Rock: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Castle Rock: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Sharper than Hulu; Colder than Blu-ray; Brighter than Both

Although Hulu appears to have abandoned efforts to offer 4K streaming content, the producers of its original series Castle Rock are looking toward the future. In addition to a standard Blu-ray version, they have given their series the full 4K/HDR treatment, and the result is an impressive pair of UHD discs that represent the show at its visual best.

Castle Rock: The Complete First Season 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.)

As noted in an update to the standard Blu-ray review, Castle Rock was captured primarily on Alexa with a few flashback sequences shot on film. Because TV series often do not follow the same post-production workflow as feature films, it is unclear whether the image on Warner's pair of 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHDs is the product of a simple up-conversion from a 2K source or has been taken from digital files captured or scanned at a higher resolution. Regardless of the provenance, the 4K discs exhibit noticeable improvements in detail and resolution, both in closeups on faces and objects and in the long establishing shots of the titular town and its spooky surrounding environments. HDR grading has imparted greater depth and subtle gradations to the many dark interiors and foreboding outdoor nighttimes, and contrast has accentuated the visibility of individual elements in the frame without overbrightening or otherwise altering the show's understated visual aesthetic. The color palette remains muted and desaturated, but with more finely differentiated shadings across the spectrum, especially in the pervasively chilly blues and grays and the occasional intrusions of red.

Taken as a whole, the 4K/HDR treatment of Castle Rock may not provide a quantum leap in visual quality over the 1080p Blu-ray presentation, but it's a distinct and worthwhile upgrade, especially for a series that thrives on darkness and a foreboding, haunted-house atmosphere.

Castle Rock: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Castle Rock on UHD features the same superior DTS-HD MA 5.1 track as the standard Blu-ray, which is a distinct improvement over the 2.0 streaming version.

Castle Rock: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The UHD discs offer the same extras as the standard Blu-rays. Those extras are listed here. A set of the standard Blu-rays is also included, along with a digital copy.

Castle Rock: The Complete First Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you want to see and hear Castle Rock in a presentation that bests its streaming release both visually and audibly, the 4K presentation is the obvious choice. The series itself remains problematic for reasons discussed in the main review, but on UHD it looks and sounds great.