Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		5.0

Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 29, 2024

Some of you who were around for the advent of 4K UHD may recall the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark 4K calibration disc I reviewed early in that format, though that disc was probably a bit more skewed toward video calibration than audio. For those wondering if they at least have their Atmos and/or surround systems set up correctly, there's a really cool little Speaker ID tool included on this disc which may make it of interest even to those who haven't ever tried lining up this album with The Wizard of Oz . There is in fact a rather detailed set of explanations for both Atmos and 5.1 playback (the Atmos description is offered below in the series of screenshots from 6 to 11), which, while complex and maybe too convoluted even for some audiophiles, at least makes it very clear how important the audio and its playback for this release was to the creative crew behind it.

The sheer legendary status of this album almost makes even talking about it needless, but I'll simply keep things brief by saying this album in its own way has to be accepted as being as innovative and epochal as The Beatles' The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, especially with regard to some of the eccentricities of the sound design and mix, both of which receive superb support on this audio Blu-ray. It's kind of hard to remember or even believe the perhaps precarious straits Pink Floyd had found themselves in before the release of this album, but Dark Side of the Moon's legacy certainly provides a great example of "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again".

Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While not "traditional" video content, there is AVC encoded 1080 content to be seen here, and in this particular case, some may actually need to have their monitors or displays on since, while audio codecs can be toggled, the color buttons are inoperable and so you have to kind of keep track of which version you're listening to. The disc boots to the yellow/gold triangle seen in screenshot 2, which ultimately morphs to an animated pyramid that rotates (and ultimately emits a laser) as seen in screenshot 3 and screenshot 4. The disc's tracklist can be seen in screenshot 4.

Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I joked in my recent Joni Mitchell: The Asylum Albums Blu-ray review how I may have finally found heaven on earth with the release of those discs on audio Blu-ray, but I mentioned how a glut of other audio Blu-ray release was propelling me at least into the stratosphere, and Dark Side of the Moon certainly needs to be in that list. As can be seen in screenshot 4, there are a wealth of audio options to be sampled, and as outlined above, the care that the production team has taken to give proper "instruction" points to how focused on "getting it right" they are. And I believe by and large they have gotten this release very right. While once again the stereo mixes provide such a (relatively) tightly imaged soundfield that things can admittedly sound a bit more focused and maybe even louder, both of the 5.1 options and the Atmos track in particular open things up magnficently, especially with regard to some of kind of lunatic sound effects and hallucinogenic layering that several tunes employ. There is really excellent separation and discrete channelization throughout, and for just one inimitable example, listen to how the cash register effects in "Money" are beautifully separated between the front and rear channels. The Atmos speakers are engaged regularly, but sometimes surprisingly intermittently. They can be used to "elevate" individual effects at times, but just as often they tend to kick in with vocals or instrumentation. Fidelity is top notch across the board here and I'd be mightily surprised if fans weren't generally delighted with the sound of this release.

Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While there are no supplements on the Blu-ray disc, this comes quite nicely designed in a DigiPack, though being a bit slow on the uptake, it took me a minute to figure out that a diecut triangle pocket on the right was there so that you could push the sleeve containing the Blu-ray disc out. A pocket on the left side encloses a nicely appointed insert booklet with production credits, lyrics, photographs and quasi-liner notes. There are also a postcard and stickers.

Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Between releases by the likes of Rhino, Pink Floyd Records and a number of other "niche" specialty labels, those of us with a love for hi-res audio are suddenly getting a glut of iconic releases. The Dark Side of the Moon certainly needs to be at or near the top of that particular (forgive me) pyramid. Audio is superb, and The Dark Side of the Moon comes Highly recommended.