Fifty Shades of Grey 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Fifty Shades of Grey 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 20, 2017

Universal has released Director Sam Taylor-Johnson's 'Fifty Shades of Grey' to UHD day-and-date with the sequel's release on the burgeoning 4K format. The film was previously released to 1080p Blu-ray in 2015. This new UHD version sports a DTS:X soundtrack in addition to the new 2160p video. No new supplements are available, and the included 1080p disc is simply a port of the original release. Read on for more details.

Negotiating pleasure and pain.

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is a student working her way through school. One day, her ill roommate asks her to substitute interview the mysterious billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for the school newspaper. The interview is awkward; Anastasia is unprepared and not particularly skilled at the process, but she charms Christian, who later pursues her. The two spend more time together, building towards what virginal Anastasia believes will be a traditional romantic relationship. But Christian is not a traditional man. He's a "dominant," who only enjoys sex if his partner willingly submits to him for his pleasure. Anastasia, hungry to learn about the world and drawn to the handsome billionaire, agrees, contractually, to become his submissive.

Fifty Shades of Grey is essentially a kinky fairy tale. Its core story -- everyday girl finds herself swept off her feet and into the arms of a single, hunky billionaire -- is the stuff of every steamy Harlequin romance novel, here presented with the twist of a dominant and his virginal sub and their blossoming romance in the billionaire's love chamber. It's crude, but effective, if the goal is to stir those primal emotions in its audience, that thirst for sex and want of money. The movie is done well enough -- it's slickly produced, the sex is appropriately steamy and graphic -- but the acting is well on the wrong side of horrendous. Johnson is particularly terrible, offbeat for the entire movie and struggling to even find her own voice, never mind her character's and her stumbling ways. If it was done better that awkwardness might compliment her character, but the performance feels more like one struggling to act, not portraying an awkward individual. Dornan is a bit better, and both show improvement in the sequel, with Johnson elevating to merely "awful."

For a full film review, please see Dr. Svet Atanasov's spot-on writing for the original release here.

Fifty Shades of Grey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Fifty Shades of Grey was reportedly shot digitally at 2.8K and finished at 2K, making this, presumably, an upscale from that source. This HDR-enhanced release of a digitally shot and relatively recently made movie shows some minor improvements over its Blu-ray counterpart, but it cannot distinguish itself as much more than, largely, a lateral move with a slightly fuller color palette. The image looks fine in playback, very good, actually. The film begins by living up to its name; it's bleak and gray, dull, and the digital source adds a glossiness to the image that gives it an almost surreal quality of flatness and drabness with only the odd break from its intended doldrums. The image does become significantly more flush and alive with warmer colors after Christian and Anastasia make love for the first time; the spring in color saturation is obvious, and rather than the bleak gray scheme it offers a warmer, but generally neutral, splash. It's here where the HDR enhancements really come into play. Never betraying the film's intended coloring, HDR adds an appreciable bit of depth, fullness, and transitional detail to color. Faces are fuller and more naturally flush. Environments are more satisfying and diversely shaded. Comparing the UHD and the Blu-ray makes the improvements clear: the image is more refined without scarfing any integrity.

But with a source and master both well under 4K, the transfer's level of detailing is never leaps-and-bounds better than the Blu-ray. To be sure, the movie looks very good in playback on UHD. Details are firm, albeit glossy by the image's nature. The smooth, clean sheen does remain very sharp, and environments, most of which are slick and high-end, never miss a beat, albeit their relative lack of rough texturing doesn't exactly lend to a complex image. Skin textures are immaculate, but the UHD allows for finer-point skin lines, small ridges and lines on Anastasia's lips, and even a bit of bumpy detail on close-ups of some of her private areas. But it's never, ever, monumentally better than the Blu-ray. Skin, clothes, bath towels, no detail is more than insignificantly increased. It's not particularly surprising; considering the source resolution and the excellence of the established Blu-ray, not to mention the movie's clean, modern lines and largely flawless nude models, there's just not much opportunity for an exponential explosion in fine detailing. On other fronts, black levels struggle to hold deep, a common issue with UHD releases. The first time Christian and Anastasia make love, a scene which can be found in chapter eight, is a good example of struggling, bright shadows. Otherwise, the UHD does score points for holding source noise in check. Minor aliasing is visible in a few shots, predominantly during exterior city flyovers; buildings are prone to waving. Overall, this is a quality image but not necessarily a great UHD.

Fifty Shades of Grey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fifty Shades of Grey's DTS:X Master soundtrack is, much like the video quality, perfectly fine but not able to push out any sort of excellence well beyond the established soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray release. The track doesn't offer much serious overhead engagement. Falling rainfall near film's start, for example, never sounds more organically involved or falling from above as one might hear in a garden-variety 7.1 track. A scene in a crowded bar with thumping music comes as close to total engagement as one will find with the track; between the crowd din, thumping bass, and electric notes, the moment does well enough to filter through the overhead layers to better pull the listener into the moment. Likewise, dense city atmospherics heard during exterior scenes offer a tangible, but not necessarily full-on, overhead engagement. Otherwise, the track plays perfectly fine from a baseline perspective. Music is well defined, crisp and spacious along the front with adequate reach into the rears, whether intense score or playful notes. There are not many discrete, heavy effects of note, but what's here is satisfyingly complex and well pronounced. Dialogue drives much of the film, and it's presented clearly with firm front-center placement and effortless prioritization above any surrounding elements.

Fifty Shades of Grey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Fifty Shades of Grey's UHD disc contains no supplemental content, but it does offer two cuts of the film: Theatrical Version (2:05:12) and Unrated Version (2:08:31). A UV/iTunes digital copy code is included with purchase. For a full list and review of special features on the Blu-ray disc, please click here.

Fifty Shades of Grey 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fifty Shades of Grey divided moviegoers and critics. Based on the first novel in the super-popular book series by E. L. James, the film grossed a nice chunk of change around the world but was met with, largely, negative critical reviews. Add one more. It's well made beyond its acting, but the performances drag it down so far that any would-be charm is completely lost. If one is looking for a thin, streamlined modern fairy tale of young girl meets billionaire and super-kinky sex ensues, some might be able to look past the atrocious acting and enjoy the ride. Universal's UHD is fine but doesn't offer enough of an upgrade, either in terms of video or audio, to warrant the cost. No new supplements are included. Skip it, with the exception of those who don't yet own the Blu-ray.