Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Darkest Hour 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal previously released the Oscar-winning Biopic 'Darkest Hour' to Blu-ray earlier in 2018 with no signs of a UHD in sight. But as has become a semi-regular release pattern and practice for Universal, the film is making its UHD debut a few months later (see 'The Phantom Thread' and 'Get Out' as other recent examples). While the practice is certainly irking some fans, and rightfully so, the film's UHD release is a most welcome addition to any 4K collection. How does the disc fare on the new format? Read on.

Darkest Hour 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Darkest Hour shines brightly on the UHD format. While Universal's delay will certainly mean that some potential buyers will pass on this disc and continue to enjoy a very good Blu-ray, this UHD does indeed offer a boost over the 1080p release, a boost that is sometimes substantial but always obvious and, as the film moves along and comparisons with the Blu-ray are conducted, highly complimentary of the movie's visual structure and critical to the movie's visual success.

The most striking component is the HDR-10 color enhancement. This is a very dark movie, shadowy but often with streams of bright light strategically shining into frame. Light is a necessary storytelling component, certainly one that is not overt yet still critical to defining story elements and conveying mood, a critical reinforcement of the movie's themes and core visual structure alike. The HDR colors add an intensity of brightness to the film but in a way that compliments, not betrays, the careful balance between dark shadow and light-bathed elements. Light sources and splashes greatly benefit from that add to accuracy and brilliance. The careful balance between light and dark is actually improved on the UHD, with the brights, which can appear a little creamy on the Blu-ray, more solidly intense and the blacks, a little light on the Blu-ray, much deeper and more accurate on the UHD. That blend of brightness and darkness meshes very well together, whether stark demarcations or gradual diminishings of light on black, such as in the opening scene when the camera pans down on Parliament, with a pronounced swath of light complimenting the more intense black clothes and increasingly firm and deep shadow details at the corners. There HDR colors further enhance less intense light sources and skin tones. Warm lights are more flattering, pasty skin tones appear less garish, and natural greens in one scene in chapter five are more lush and accurate.

The film was reportedly photographed at a resolution of 2.8K and finished at 4K. While textural improvements are not as immediately obvious and massively improved as the HDR colors, the add to textural firmness and overall clarity are certainly welcome. The image's crispness and vitality are obvious without conducting a comparison but more so, and occasionally striking, during an A-B compare-and-contrast. Every core element -- skin and clothes, notably -- finds a solid boost in visual complexity. Finely appointed suit jackets are amongst the standout highlight, though certainly environments of all types -- lavishly appointed royal quarters, a somewhat grimy war bunker -- are equally revealing and the recipients of increased clarity and pinpoint textural stability. Noise appears reduced from the Blu-ray and the UHD's ability to render dense fog -- see around the 34-minuite mark -- with not even a hint of banding or any other sort of illusion-breaking flaw is quite remarkable. Darkest Hour may not superficially appear to be a film that would greatly benefit from the UHD format, but benefit it does, and oftentimes significantly. It was worth the wait.

Darkest Hour 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Darkest Hour's UHD release contains the same Dolby Atmos soundtrack as was originally included on the February 2018 Blu-ray release. It offers no significantly distinct and clearly pronounced overhead component, but the additional channels and spacial capabilities certainly heighten several key moments. Speeches within the Parliamentary chamber offer substantial depth around and above the stage; the cavernous hall, full of often raucous lawmakers and home to booming speeches during key moments throughout the film -- notably its bookend scenes -- springs to life with an incredible sense of place, precise spacing and reverberation, and both thunderous support din and subtle sound elements during quieter moments. The film's musical component is well defined, easily and widely spaced with triumphant clarity and a prominent low end support. Even with minimal action elements, there are large, stage-commanding sound effects, such as heavy doors closing and the rattle of a subway car, the latter of which rightly gives way to dialogue during a key scene but still offers prominent full-stage rattling support. Healthy atmospherics dot the film's runtime, including various bustling elements in the "war room." Dialogue delivery is clean and precise, as expected.

Darkest Hour 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Darkest Hour's UHD release contains the same supplements as found on the February 2018 Blu-ray release, which is included in this set. The UHD disc contains no new extras and carries over only the audio commentary track with Director Joe Wright. The Blu-ray further contains the featurettes Into 'Darkest Hour' and Gary Oldman: Becoming Churchill. For full supplemental reviews, please click here. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase.

Darkest Hour 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Darkest Hour is not simply a historical, politically dominant wartime film. It's an intimate character portrait that examines Churchill's personal life, his wife's bluntness about their relationship and their conflicts, the family's finances, and evolving relationship with King George, all as the weight of the world burdens his every step. The film is wonderfully crafted, its juxtaposing light and darkness helping to shape the narrative, and Gary Oldman's performance is dynamic and expertly honed to the finest detail. This is a stellar film, a necessary companion to Dunkirk and itself an instant classic. Universal's UHD release may be a few months late to store shelves, but its arrival is not without merit. The image is gorgeous, with splendid brights, intense blacks, and a firm uptick in textural clarity and stability. The Atmos audio remains excellent and the UHD set carries over all three extras from the previously released Blu-ray. Very highly recommended.