Howards End 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Howards End 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 19, 2025

One of Merchant Ivory's best remembered E.M. Forster adaptations, Howards End might make perfect viewing for anyone jonesin' for something after Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, especially if they're unacquainted with this often incisive deconstruction of class consciousness in Merrie Olde (?) England. Howards End had a 1080 release from Cohen some years ago that had one kind of odd technical anomaly (covered in the video section below), but Cohen is now offering a three disc release, with one 4K UHD disc and two 1080 discs which (more or less) recreate the contents of Cohen's original 1080 release (more about that below as well).

Cohen's 1080 release of Howards End came out almost a decade (!) ago, and my Howards End Blu-ray review provides plot information, a list of supplements on that release and my reaction to the technical presentation. An even earlier release of Howards End from Criterion was reviewed by Svet Atanasov.

Howards End 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

Howards End is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Cohen Media Group's Cohen Film Collection imprint with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Three is evidently finally the "charm" in terms of a correct aspect ratio for this film, as I spent some time going over in my original review of Cohen's 1080 release. That release was rather weirdly framed at 2.50:1, whereas the even older Criterion release was framed at 2.35:1. Both my and Svet's prior reviews might provide some interesting "compare and contrast" moments for those wanting to pore over relatively picayune differences in how various scenes look. I've repeated (as close as I could) a couple of frames from my 1080 review in this review so that, again, those interested could see the minor but still commendable adjustments that have been made to finally let viewers see this in, yes, its original aspect ratio. That may be one small step forward, but this 4K presentation may take at least as much of a step backward due to Cohen's kind of curious decision not to have any HDR grades. This is even weirder because (somewhat hilariously) the opening Cohen masthead when the disc boots does have HDR, at least according to my players. That means that this 4K presentation is basically a reproduction of the 1080 presentation in terms of palette, which is not necessarily a bad thing, though the film's luscious cinematography (the first time Merchant Ivory utilized Kodak stock, according to the commentary) undeniably could have benefited from HDR. Detail levels see marginal if not overwhelming improvements in close-ups, but for all intents and purposes, the 1080 presentation in this set (which as can be seen by the screenshots accompanying this review also corrects the aspect ratio) may suffice perfectly well for many.

Note: A couple of sidebar warnings may be in order. Cohen's 1080 presentation now begins with the same interpolated trailer (HD; 2:39) mentioned below in the supplements section (where it's also interpolated before the first featurette on Disc Two). That may well annoy some viewers. Cohen's 4K presentation does not have that (thankfully), but does boot to several other trailers, which can either be chapter skipped through or avoided with the Top Menu button on your remote.

Howards End 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 4K disc in this set features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options, while the 1080 disc repeats the earlier Cohen codecs by offering DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, along with an LPCM 2.0 mix and a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The preferable option is of course the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one that fully supports the gorgeous music of Richard Robbins, while also offering good if sometimes subtle immersion with ambient environmental effects like the wind that blows through the memorable scene on the bluff between Hopkins, Bonham-Carter and Thompson. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly and the track shows no signs of any damage. Optional English subtitles are available.

Howards End 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: For convenience sake I've repeated my verbiage on the supplements from my original 1080 review.

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary with Film Critics Wade Major and Lael Lowenstein. This is a well done commentary that manages to be conversational while also imparting a lot of information. Major and Lowenstein get into a number of different topics, including Merchant Ivory (of course), but also some interesting technical data like the use of Kodak stock on the shoot. The two occasionally talk over each other, but for the most part, this is a well disciplined conversation that's a real treat for the film's fans.

1080 Disc One

• Audio Commentary with Film Critics Wade Major and Lael Lowenstein

1080 Disc Two

• 2016 Conversation Between James Ivory and Laurence Kardish, Former Senior Curator of Film, MOMA (HD; 26:43). I'm not sure if this was simply authored a bit clunkily, but this actually begins with a trailer of sorts (HD; 2:39) touting Cohen's re-release of the Merchant Ivory catalog. Once the conversation actually kicks in, this is a far reaching discussion about things like the adaptive process and elements of the shoot.


• 2016 Interview with James Ivory and Vanessa Redgrave at the Cannes Film Festival (HD; 8:08) is culled from something called Cannes Rendezvous featuring host Genie Godula. Ivory and Redgrave are pretty laid back here, and the piece is amiable if not overly informative.


• 2016 On Stage Q & A with James Ivory and Critic Michael Koresky at Lincoln Center (HD; 27:17) is from a post screening discussion, which gets into (once again) adapting Forster as well as anecdotes about the cast and shoot.


• 1992 Behind the Scenes Short Featurette with Comments by the Cast and Crew (HD; 4:32) is a brief EPK which looks like it was sources from upscaled video.


• Building Howards End: Documentary Featurette on the Production History of the Film (HD; 42:37) features some pretty funny sparring between Merchant and Ivory.


• The Design of Howards End: Luciana Arrighi and Jenny Beavan Discuss Their Work on the Film (HD; 8:58) focuses on the film's impeccable production and costume design. This also looks like it was sourced from older video.


• Short Featurette: James Ivory Remembers Ismail Merchant (HD; 12:11) is a very sweet and heartfelt piece with Ivory discussing his longtime partner.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:05)


• 2016 Re-Release Trailer (HD; 2:26)

Unfortunately this release contains none of the non disc extras offered in the 25th Anniversary 1080 edition, other than a slipcover.

Howards End 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If Cohen had gone the extra mile and done some kind of HDR grade for their 4K release, this would probably have made my Top 10 list for the year. On balance, there's at least a corrected aspect ratio this time around, and all of the really excellent supplements have been retained on the 1080 discs. With that one major HDR caveat noted, Recommended.