Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 24, 2022

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Via Vision Entertainment's Saw: The Ultimate Collection 4K.

Nothing screams the holiday season like the Saw franchise, am I right? (At least if the emphasis is on screaming.) Via Vision Entertainment is offering fans of the series some rather luxe packaging, but a release that is a bit odd in that it combines 4K UHD and 1080 offerings of the Saw films. The release more or less duplicates the releases that fans on this side of several ponds have seen, and so relevant portions of reviews I've personally written may be reprinted here, and some reviews of the Via Vision releases may contain further links to Region A reviews I didn't have a hand in.

This release basically duplicates the Region A 4K UHD and 1080 releases (with one perhaps important exception vis a vis the audio, which I mention below), and those interested in my thoughts on the film can consult both my Jigsaw Blu-ray review and Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray review. For convenience sake, I'm reprinting my video, audio and supplements comments from that review below.

Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc, and just for clarity's sake since this package has a somewhat unusual assortment of 4K UHD and 1080 discs, there are both formats offered.

4K UHD:

Jigsaw is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. This is another rather nice upgrade from a 2K DI, one that palpably increases fine detail on elements like facial pores or (more gruesomely) some of the horrifying injuries suffered by the "game players". Some of the extreme close-ups of both bodies and the film's rather weird assortment of props feature superb levels of fine detail, to the point that I actually found it a bit hard to keep looking at a couple of the more gory moments, like the corpse with the front of its head shorn off. One of the better upticks with this version is with regard to the many darker sequences that play out in the confines of the gaming arena. Shadow definition is at least marginally improved, and in a couple of amber graded sequences, like one in a grain silo, more than merely marginally. There are still some minor deficits in fine detail levels in the more ubiquitous blue or slate gray graded material. The palette looks slightly warmer to my eyes at times, something that kind of oddly "works" for a film that would seem to be more at home with cool tones.
1080:

Jigsaw is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot with Arri Alexas and finished at a 2K DI, this is by and large and very precise, sharp and well detailed looking presentation, something that's especially notable considering the fact that so much of the film plays out in dimly lit and/or shadowy environments. Fine detail is almost stomach churning at times, especially with regard to up close and personal looks at corpses and/or wounds on still living victims. As seems to be unavoidable in thrillers or horror films these days, many scenes have been fairly aggressively graded toward blue or slate gray tones, and these are about the only times where detail levels can lapse. Kind of refreshingly for a Saw film, Jigsaw gets outside at least a few times, and in these moments detail levels are generally very impressive, with some wide vistas offering good depth of field. There are no issues with image instability and no compression anomalies to report.

Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rather interestingly, and I think for the very first time in my reviewing of various discs from various regions, the 1080 presentation offered here does not have the Dolby Atmos track that the region A 1080 disc did, and instead features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. It's an acceptably immersive track but one which just can't compete with the 4K UHD's Atmos presentation. I've therefore subtracted half a point for the overall audio score here when compared to the original Lionsgate 1080 and 4K UHD releases.

Jigsaw 4K features a nicely inventive sounding Dolby Atmos track, one which gets out of the gate with a spectacular car crash and then quite a bit of cacophony as a frankly tangential character interacts with a bunch of cops. Once the film moves into the "games" section, there are the traditionally goofy but typically very enjoyable use of sound effects, in this case including everything from buzzing saws (you expected anything less?) to the rattle of chains to, later, some frankly disturbing sounds of wires slicing through flesh or even gunfire. The surround channels are almost always in play in this mix, and immersion is therefore near constant. Dialogue, effects and score are all prioritized smartly on this very enjoyable track.

Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For whatever reason, Via Vision Entertainment's 1080 disc does not include the commentary that was available on both the 1080 and 4K UHD releases from Lionsgate. The 4K UHD disc here boasts all of the supplements available in Region A:

• Audio Commentary with Producers Mark Burg, Oren Koules and Peter Block


• I Speak for the Dead: The Legacy of Jigsaw Documentary (1080p; 1:21:56) is an exceptionally well done multi-part feature length documentary, and I say that as someone who has never been a real Saw franchise fan. This gets into some of the desires of this "reboot" team to both tether the film to its predecessors as well as find a new way forward, but it covers the entire franchise with a number of really interesting interviews.


• The Choice is Yours: Exploring the Props (1080p; 6:27) is a fun if too brief tour with property master Rick Little Darling (who wins my personal award for best name of a property master).

Jigsaw 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The 4K UHD version of Jigsaw offers excellent technical merits across the board, though unlike the Region A releases, the 1080 and 4K UHD disc sport different technical aspects (audio) and slightly different slates of supplements. One way or the other, the film itself is kind of hit or miss, though I was prone to go with its flow until the last fifteen minutes or so.