Cloud Atlas 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Cloud Atlas 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Cloud Atlas (2012) was reviewed by my colleagues Brian Orndorf and Kenneth Brown about thirteen years ago. Brian did a theatrical review while Ken wrote about the Warner Bros. BD-50. To read their thoughts on the film, please consult the linked reviews.

Sonmi-451 and Hae-Joo Chang hold on to each other along a plank.

Cloud Atlas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout Select's three-disc "Collector's Edition" comprises one 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, a standard Blu-ray with the feature presentation, and a separate BD-50 with new and vintage bonus features. The UHD appears in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). The Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer approved a 4K restoration of the movie's digital intermediate. Cinematographers Frank Griebe and John Toll shot Cloud Atlas in Super 35 with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The picture was filmed using the ARRICAM Lite (LT) Camera, ARRICAM Studio (ST) Camera, ARRIFLEX 235 Camera, and a Vision Research Phantom camera for one scene. The camera crew utilized Kodak Vision3 stock (200T 5213/7213, 500T 5219/7219, and 50D 5203/7203). The film was eventually printed on Kodak Vision Color 2383/3383 stock.

Independently financed, Cloud Atlas didn't have a ton of pre-release publicity but CineFex magazine later gave the visuals and f/x lavish treatment in a January 2013 article by Barbara Robertson, which I will refer to here. The film is set in six different time segments: 1849, 1931, 1974, 2012, 2144, and 2321. It's narrative spans almost 500 years. According to Robertson, the picture's visual effects were handled by fifteen vendors supervised by Dan Glass and Stephane Ceretti. Altogether, 1,056 visual effects shots were generated. Two primary units filmed at the same time—one with the Wachowskis in Majorca, and the other with Tykwer in Scotland. Glass told Robertson that actors would change costumes and makeup as they shuttled back and forth between the two countries.

This is a luminous transfer from Shout. Daylight scenes look glorious: the Majorca beach (Screenshot #21) and the plantation shown early in the film (#11). The 4K really brings out the resplendent colors for the scenes set at Papa Song's restaurant, which depict an aquarium-like space and fast-food emporium situated high atop a skyscraper in the center of 22nd century Neo Seoul (see frame grab #10). Robertson reports that the Neo Seoul segment produced the highest number of effects shots of any in the movie. Artists at Method Studios (in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and London) and at Black Mountain supplied a majority of this section's visual effects shots under the supervision of Dan Glass. In addition, visual effects supervisor Geoffrey Hancock oversaw a crew that rendered a sequence of 6K-resolution CG elements at six different perspectives. Matte painters worked from six depth layers for use. The v/x shop composited a series of domes in the digital program Nuke at different depths. Steamy cloud wisps, signs, and reflections were applied to the backgrounds. The mise-en-scène of Neo Seoul exhibits 3D depth on the 4K.

Grain management has been applied on the UHD and recent Blu-ray. Some shots appear ultra clear that the viewer can discern traces of DNR. However, this is only evident in some places. The 1080p transfer shows outstanding clarity and sharpness. On the 4K, skin textures are rendered with excellent detail. For instance, see investigative journalist Luisa Key (Halle Berry) in capture #15.

Shout has given the UHD a decent encode. The feature occupies 80.5 GB of space on the triple-layered disc and delivers a rough average video bitrate of 60.5 Mbps. The whole disc carries an overall bitrate of 67.0 Mbps. The main feature on Disc Two receives an MPEG-4 AVC encode and boasts a mean video bitrate of 30988 kbps. I didn't notice any aliasing or banding on either disc. Ken cites the presence of minor crush and some halos on the WB transfer but I didn't spot either issue on the Shouts. My video score for each disc is 4.75/5.00.

Screenshot #s 1-30, 32, 34, 36, 38, & 40 = Shout Select 2025 4K Ultra HD (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 31, 33, 35, 37, & 39 = Shout Select 2025 Blu-ray BD-50

Shout has given the 172-minute film its standard twelve chapter stops.

Cloud Atlas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout has provided a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround mix (1900 kbps, 16-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (1562 kbps, 16-bit). I would largely echo Ken's comments about the 5.1 track, although there are some scenes where I had some difficulty hearing the dialogue, beginning with the early dinner-table scene featuring Rev. Giles Horrox (Hugh Grant). Directional effects are very good. The sound of waves cresting and a slave being flogged are deployed effectively on the rear channels.

The score for Cloud Atlas is composed and arranged by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil. Tykwer writes in the liner notes of Sony Classical's soundtrack album that he and his co-composers use the character Robert Frobisher's "Cloud Atlas Sextet" piece in variations for the film's various sections. Tykwer specifies it's initially a leitmotiv performed on piano that's further developed by a string ensemble. I concur with Ken that the score sounds a little subdued.

I watched Cloud Atlas a second time with the optional English SDH turned on and they convey dialogue as well as sound f/x with error-free accuracy.

Cloud Atlas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout's third disc includes a feature-length retrospective documentary and seven featurettes from the WB Blu-ray. Appearing on camera in the latter are co-writers/co-directors Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings, producer Grant Hill, production designer Hugh Bateup, makeup hair and prosthetics designers Daniel Parker and Jeremy Woodhead, dialect coach Julia Wilson, author David Mitchell, executive producer Phillip Lee, as well as actors Doona Bae, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, James D'Arcy, Keith David, Hugh Grant, David Gyasi, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, and Zhu Zhu. For additional details on those supplements, please refer to Ken's review.

DISC ONE: 4K ULTRA HD — FEATURE FILM

DISC TWO: BLU-RAY — FEATURE FILM

DISC THREE: BLU-RAY — SPECIAL FEATURES

• NEW What Is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of CLOUD ATLAS (2:03:04, 1080i) - a co-production of Shout! Studios and Slushpile Entertainment, this comprehensive doc on Cloud Atlas is hosted by stand-in actor Jon Donahue. It encompasses recent interviews with Tom Tykwer and Lana and Lilly Wachowski; author David Mitchell; cast members Tom Hanks, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Keith David, James D'Arcy, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant; co-producer Roberto Malerba; co-director of Photography Frank Griebe; production designers Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch; costume designers Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud; make-up artists Jeremy Woodhead, Daniel Parker, and Sian Richards; visual effects supervisors Dan Glass and Stephane Ceretti; dialogue coach William Conacher; composers Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek; editor Alexander Berner; stunt coordinator Volkhart Buff; and author E.A. Hanks. Halle Berry doesn't appear in the doc. Not only does the program cover the movie's production in depth, it also shows how it came together. Shout producer Brian Ward interviews Donahue. In addition, there's also footage of Donahue and Ward watching Cloud Atlas with the former providing commentary. Mitchell discusses the themes of his novel and the film. The Wachowskis and Tykwer explain how they became involved in the project. Hanks provides his initial reaction to the script and how he came to better understand its content. Doona Bae explains the challenges of speaking in different languages. David Gyasi recalls how the audience received the movie at TIFF. The doc shows quite a few mementos and memorabilia. It is broken up into four chapters, which the viewer can access on the fly. All interviewees speak in English, not subtitled.

• A Film Like No Other (7:15, 1080p)

• Everything Is Connected (8:00, 1080p)

• The Impossible Adaptation (9:07, 1080p)

• The Essence Of Acting (7:20, 1080p) -

• Spaceships, Slaves & Sextets (8:08, 1080p)

• The Bold Science Fiction of CLOUD ATLAS (7:14, 1080p)

• Eternal Recurrence: Love, Life and Longing in CLOUD ATLAS (7:39, 1080p)

• NEW to US Blu-rayExtended First Look Trailer (5:42, 1080p) - a long trailer for Cloud Atlas presented in 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen (average bitrate: 19960 kbps) and accompanied by a Dolby 2.0 Stereo track (192 kbps).

Cloud Atlas 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cloud Atlas is a sprawling period and sci-fi time-travel epic that's a challenging watch. Multiple viewings are required to appreciate and absorb what is going on and comprehend its underlying themes. I paid close attention to the form cuts and graphic matches that co-editors Alexander Berner and Claus Wehlisch create as they intercut scenes between the six time segments. The pattern of cutting to closely linked characters from the different epochs demonstrates the film's theme of transmigration of soul. (Some of the stars are virtually unrecognizable. Huge credit goes to the makeup artists.) There are themes in the Neo Seoul segment that presage similar ones in Bong Joon Ho's recent Mickey 17. Shout Select has delivered a wonderful 4K transfer. The two-hour documentary is a MUST SEE for fans of the film. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.