Juice 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Juice 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 7, 2022

In June 2016, Paramount released Director Ernest R. Dickerson's 1992 film 'Juice' to Blu-ray, dubbed a "25th Anniversary" edition. Now, in January 2022, the studio has released the film to the UHD format dubbed a "30th Anniversary" edition. New specifications for this release include 2160p/Dolby Vision video. The studio has recycled the existing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray. No Blu-ray copy is included with purchase; all of the Blu-ray extras, save for a still photo gallery, have been ported over to the UHD disc. See below for a few thoughts on video and a breakdown of additional material as necessary.

Four young men -- Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Q (Omar Epps), Raheem (Khalil Kain), and Steel (Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins) -- are Harlemites who lack direction. They whittle away their days stealing records or hanging out at the local arcade. They commit petty theft at the record store. Q has dreams of becoming a professional DJ. He's skilled at the art and captures the attention of a woman (Queen Latifah) who puts him on the fast track to success. But the group's violent tendencies, a planned robbery, increasing brazenness, and peer pressure put Q in a difficult situation that promises dire circumstances for himself and everyone around him.

For a full film review, please click here.

Juice 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Paramount's 2160p/Doby Vision UHD release of Juice brings a nice stable of improvements over the existing Blu-ray. The Doby Vision grading's prowess is in evidence from the opening titles where the yellow text and the neon colors on the spinning records that appear on the screen offer impressive color depth and vividness that exists well beyond the SDR Blu-ray's capabilities. The picture sports a general vividness and color accuracy that soars above the Blu-ray, with notably bolder colors, more lifelike skin tones, healthier urban grays, brilliant whites, and pleasantly deep and accurate blacks. Clothes are probably the biggest and most obvious beneficiary, yielding lifelike intensity to reds and blues and a selection of additional tones that leap off the screen for fidelity and clarity.

The picture boasts a new level of textural might and elegance. Grain management is fairly good, but there are notable ebbs and flows in density, with some scenes looking densely grainy and others fairly clean. Still, the picture holds to a pleasing filmic texture for the most part, and details are very crisp and in-depth, taking skin textures, clothing lines, and plenty of eye-catching urban textures to a new level of complexity beyond the 1080p Blu-ray's ability. Viewers will appreciate close-up complexities and both medium and distant object elemental clarity and fine point detail. The picture looks marvelous for the most part.

However, all is not well. While the picture generally looks very good on the surface, there are some underlying issues to be found throughout. Look at the 16:15 mark for an example for some of the compression issues; the blue sky is transformed into a fairly messy swarm of blocky artifacts. Such are not common at such a level of severity, but these appear here and elsewhere with enough frequency to bump the transfer's grade down a bit. Overall, however, between the excellent Dolby Vision grading and solid filmic texturing that takes advantage of the 2160p resolution, there's no reason not to call this release a success and a very good boost over the 2016 Blu-ray.

Juice 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rather than remix for Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, Paramount has simply repurposed the existing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray; for convenience below is a reproduction of the review from the 2016 disc:

Juice features a hip and happening soundtrack from the golden era of Hip-Hop, but it's not particularly dazzling here. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack certainly serves it well, but extension beyond the fronts and any serious low-end thump are hard to come by. The opening title music struggles to push even a bit away from the center. The track does open up as the film moves along, offering increased range and pleasing all-around clarity to instrumentals and effects (particularly during some of the DJ scenes). Still, front-side push is about the track's limit, particularly disappointing given the relative dearth of serious bass. Otherwise, the track is fine, if not a bit straightforward. Environmental ambience helps fill in a few scenes and is impressive both in quieter moments and more boisterous ones as well. Several action effects, like crashes and gunshots, satisfy base requirements. Dialogue delivery is firm in its center-front position. Clarity and prioritization are fine.

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

This UHD release of Juice includes all of the extras from the 2016 Blu-ray sans the still photo gallery. Below is a list of what's included. Please click here for full coverage. No Blu-ray copy of the film is included. However, a digital copy is included and this release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Note that the commentary may be accessed from the main menu screen under the "Settings" tab rather than the "Extras" tab.
• You've Got the Juice Now
• The Wrecking Crew
• Sip the Juice: The Music
• Stay in the Scene: The Interview

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

Juice might not get quite the recognition it deserves if only because a name like John Singleton or Spike Lee isn't attached to it, but it's nearly as good as either of those filmmakers' best works. It's certainly the beneficiary of tremendous lead performances, particularly from Omar Epps and the late Tupac Shakur, but Dickerson's direction and script (co-written with Gerard Brown) complete the movie and give it a beautifully organic and vivid yet gritty snapshot into 90s urban life. Paramount's UHD includes no new extras and no new audio track, but the new 2160p/Dolby Vision video is solid if not somewhat troubled. Recommended.