Jurassic Park 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Jurassic Park 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 27, 2018

Universal has released the legendary Steven Spielberg film 'Jurassic Park' to the UHD format alongside 'The Lost World,' 'Jurassic Park III,' and 'Jurassic World,' all available only in bundles, both a DigiBook and a Best Buy exclusive SteelBook set. This film's UHD video presentation could have been better, could have been worse. The new audio is excellent. No new extras have been added. Read on for more details.

Science found a way. Millions of years after the dinosaurs died out, mankind has discovered a way to recreate them in secret laboratories tucked away on a small island that is soon to be home to what promises to be the world's greatest theme park: 'Jurassic Park,' a place populated by living, breathing, full-size dinosaurs of all types. They've been carefully bred to remove any chance of reproduction, and the park has spared no expense to ensure the safety of its visitors and in creating the ultimate thrill. Prior to opening, the park's visionary and financier, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), coerces several individuals -- paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), joined by Hammond's grandchildren Tim (Joseph Mazzello) and Lex (Ariana Richards) -- to come to the island, vouch for the park's safety and stability, and convince antsy investors that the park is a viable attraction. But when a park employee (Wayne Knight) sabotages core systems in an effort to smuggle out dinosaur embryos for a large payout, the dinosaurs gain control of the park and put everyone, and everything, in jeopardy.

For a full film review, please click here; scores for movie, Blu-ray video, and supplements are carried over from that review.

Jurassic Park 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.

Generally speaking in terms of direct comparative differences, Jurassic Park's 2160p/HDR-10 presentation enjoys a tangible boost over the Blu-ray. Color depth, courtesy of that HDR color enhancement, is much stronger, yielding a darker image but one that is firmer, more sure of its accuracy and saturation. It's refined, with denser greens, less washed-out colors in sun-drenched locales, and more appropriately colored skin and clothes. The red, green, and yellow Ford Explorers that carry passengers through the park are particularly more pleasing to the eye, far less garish than the Blu-ray and enjoying firmer, clearer, more balanced coloring. Back levels, whether considering Malcolm's dark jacket or the nighttime sequence in chapter 11, appear much darker and deeper, fine-tuned by the HDR-10 pass for a more absorbing atmosphere. Textures are a little more hit-or-miss but generally speaking they're sharper, not by any radical measure but it's usually easy to see added clarity in facial features, fine clothing details, terrain, and so on and so forth. As often seems to be the case with UHD, it's the color that's the defining positive-outcome attribute considering the vast increase in stability and balance it provides.

That said, this is certainly not a perfect picture. There are some edge halos along high contrast areas, such the ball cap worn by the boy who calls out Grant for digging up a "six foot turkey" as it clashes against a bright sky. There are signs of print deterioration, too. Various pops and speckles and the stray vertical line appear from time to time (see the scene immediately following turkey boy as Grant and Ellie discuss having children). Grain is retained, but the image certainly exhibits the telltale signs of noise reduction in some places. Check out Dodgson's arrival in Costa Rica about 13 minutes in. The shot is terribly pasty and it's actually a scene in which, minus the HDR color grading, the Blu-ray looks better: less flat and pasty, a bit more organically textured. On the flip side, some shots are gorgeous. Rich colors, textural excellence, even and flattering grain…why the entire movie (minus the aged visual effects shots which unavoidably suffer at this resolution) cannot look as good as it does part of the time is a question only Universal's bean counters could answer, which answers the question without even asking.

Overall this is a very watchable, though oftentimes frustrating, UHD image and, by many measures, a positive upgrade over the previously released Blu-ray, in texture and certainly in color. But it could have been so much more. Universal certainly didn't go to much, if any, effort to give the movie the five-star treatment it deserves. It looks borderline great in spots and fairly unsubstantial in others. At its best, the score rates as a 4-ish. At its worst, a 2.5. 3.25 is probably the most precise score.

Jurassic Park 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jurassic Park's DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack carries the movie well, offering substantial low end depth, proper musical engagement, and large area spacial awareness. The track is not gun shy, that's for sure, and it's Jurassic Park, so it shouldn't be. Music swells with superb stage engagement and excellent fidelity; John Williams' legendary score has never sounded so good, so immersive, so precise. The track takes full advantage of all the added channels at its disposal. As the team lands on the island at the 17-minute mark, the helicopter's bumps and rattles and the buzzing rotors effortlessly transport the listener into its passenger space, all with a very clear, but seamlessly integrated, overhead component that truly expands the sonic illusion. Bass is substantial, as it should be. Dinosaur footfalls, crashing objects, deep roars, booming thunder, everything that should push the subwoofer does and to often striking effect. Ambient effects are perfectly integrated. The listener will always appreciate the realistic recreation of space and distance from every element. Dialogue is generally very clear, well prioritized, and naturally poisitned, but a couple of brief hiccups do get in the way of perfection: shallow dialogue -- "there is no unauthorized breeding in Jurassic Park" -- at the 29:50 mark is probably the most readily apparent example.

Jurassic Park 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jurassic Park's UHD disc contains no supplements, but the included Blu-ray, which is identical to that released in 2011, contains all of this film's extra content. For convenience, below is a list of what's included. For a full supplemental review, please click here.

• Return to Jurassic Park: Dawn of a New Era
• Return to Jurassic Park: Making Prehistory
• Return to Jurassic Park: The Next Step in Evolution
• Archival Featurettes
• The Making of Jurassic Park
• Original Featurette on the Making of the Film
• Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park
• Hurricane in Kauai Featurette
• Behind the Scenes
• Early Pre-Production Meetings
• Location Scouting
• Phil Tippett Animatics: Raptors in the Kitchen
• Animatics: T-Rex Attack
• ILM and Jurassic Park: Before and After the Visual Effects
• Foley Artists
• Storyboards
• Production Archives
• Theatrical Trailer
• Jurassic Park: Making the Game

Jurassic Park 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Universal's UHD release of Jurassic Park certainly wasn't 65 million years in the making. It's a decent enough boost, one that most viewers will find a worthwhile increase to texture and certainly to color, but the transfer will also leave most viewers wondering why Universal didn't give the movie the five-star UHD treatment it deserves. The new DTS:X Master Audio track is excellent, though, and the carryover supplements are fine. Recommended.