Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Stranger in a Strange Land (in Hi-Res)

Warner Brothers' latest entry in its UHD library is its 2016 Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the disc is one of the best 4K releases from Warner to date. Director David Yates and his creative team have woven a detailed visual tapestry for the opening chapter of what is projected to be a five-film series, and UHD admirably showcases the intricacy of their work.

Simultaneously with the release of Fantastic Beasts in 4K, Warner is issuing UHD versions of the last four films in the Potter franchise, specifically The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2. The initial four films in the series are slated for 4K release later this year.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

(Note: Screenshots accompanying this review have been captured from the standard Blu-ray. Additional captures from that disc can be found here and here.)

(Updated on March 18, 2019)

When this review was first written, the IMDb technical specifications for Fantastic Beasts listed it as a 4K digital intermediate production (derived from a 3.4K ARRIRAW source). That listing has since been changed to a 2K DI, and inquiries to Warner have so far gone unanswered. Regardless of the source resolution, however, the UHD format's superior capabilities are on full display throughout Warner's 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded disc, with a noticeable increase in detail and a refinement of textures across the width of cinematographer Philippe Rousselot's busy frame. Examples abound: in the suit worn by MACUSA President Picquery when she is first introduced, which initially appeared to be solid but is now revealed as a subtle pinstripe; in the table settings at the political banquet for Senator Shaw, where individual plates and utensils can now be readily identified; or in the peculiar mixture of feathers and scales that adorn the massive Occamy encountered by Newt and his companions in Macy's. Subtly applied HDR encoding brings out highlights without upsetting Rousselot's careful balance of light and shadow, e.g., when Tina blunders into an international conclave of wizards, and the dignitaries surrounding her remain grouped in shadow but are now more visible and more readily distinguishable from each other. When Newt and Jacob are apprehended by the police outside a jewelry store plundered by the Niffler, there's a brighter gleam to the gems and settings strewn about by the pursuit, which makes Newt's and Jacob's protestations of innocence even more incongruous.

The film's palette appears largely unchanged by the HDR, so that the distinction remains clearly drawn between the dusty, subdued hues of the 1920s New York of the No-Maj population and the brighter, more colorful world of wizardry. The manifold environments and inhabitants in Newt's mystical wildlife preserve are more sharply contrasted with the benefits of 4K resolution and HDR. Fantastic Beasts was already an exciting and memorable experience on Blu-ray, but it's even more so on UHD.

[System calibrated using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter with a custom profile created with a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectraradiometer, powered by SpectraCal CalMAN 2016 5.7, using the Samsung Reference 2016 UHD HDR Blu-ray test disc authored by Florian Friedrich from AV Top in Munich, Germany. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the standard Blu-ray, the UHD release of Fantastic Beasts offers a choice between two lossless options, Dolby Atmos (with a TrueHD 7.1 "core") and DTS-HD MA 5.1. Also like the standard Blu-ray, the disc defaults to DTS lossless, so that the superior Atmos version must be selected manually. The Atmos track is reviewed here and the DTS-HD MA track is reviewed here.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The UHD disc contains no extras. The included standard Blu-ray disc contains the extras discussed here.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Early 4K adopters have too often faced a choice between the visual advantages of UHD vs. those of 3D, but in the case of Fantastic Beasts, the choice is clear: The 4K disc has the best available audio in Dolby Atmos, and the format's visual enhancements with a 4K source more than compensate for the loss of depth effects. I have a close friend in the industry who has been dubious about UHD, but Fantastic Beasts changed his mind. If you already own 4K hardware or anticipate acquiring it in the foreseeable future, the UHD edition of Fantastic Beasts is the one to get. Highly recommended.