Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		0.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		0.5

Promising Young Woman 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 4, 2023

Universal has released the 2020 film 'Promising Young Woman,' written and directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Carey Mulligan, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video and, supposedly, Dolby Atmos audio, but that track is nowhere to be found on the disc. No new extras are included, and the studio has bundled in the previously issued Blu-ray, which also, along with the UHD, houses supplemental content.

Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) was once a medical school student with a bright future ahead of her. But her life course changed when her friend Nina, one of Cassie's medical school peers, was raped. When the school failed to pursue the investigation and the legal system failed her friend, she grew despondent and gave up her schooling. Now, she toils in a coffee shop by day and spends her nights feigning drunkenness, allowing men to maneuver into position to take advantage of her. She then reveals her sobriety and, hopefully, teaches them a lesson about raping women. She begins dating an old classmate, Ryan (Bo Burnham), who treats her with dignity and respect. When Cassie learns that Nina's rapist, Al (Chris Lowell), is getting married, Cassie sets a plan in motion to make sure he never forgets what he did to her friend.

For a full film review, please click here.

Promising Young Woman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

Universal releases Promising Young Woman to the UHD format with a 2160p/HDR presentation. One of the first improvements viewers will likely notice is the opening title card, which offers improved color depth and brilliance to the pink letters and pink, red, and purple hearts floating behind. The black background additionally yields superior depth and accuracy compared to the original 2020 Blu-ray. One of this UHD's great strengths is in its ability to, through the HDR color spectrum, bring a sense of fuller tonal yield to the image. The HDR grading never transforms the look of the film, but the deeper shades, the more vivid brights, the healthier flesh tones, and the superior blacks add up to a solid upgrade for the entire color gamut, resulting in a more flattering and cinematic look. The image is not drastically changed in terms of textural output. There is an obvious add to sharpness and clarity, but this is more of a minor gain for the film. The picture benefits from overall sharper textures, superior clarity to skin and hair, more refined clothing density and fabric elements, and location specifics. It's clearly better than the Blu-ray, but better by degrees rather than leaps and bounds. Still, better is better and with the bump in resolution and the increase in color expression, this is clearly the best release of the film to date, at least in terms of video. Also, one must consider in making that determination that the UHD is better at source noise management. There are also no encode issues of concern here. This is a good looking UHD, but it is certainly not a monumental improvement over the Blu-ray, nor is it one of the top images on the UHD format.

Promising Young Woman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is a significant error on this disc. Universal's menu screen advertises a Dolby Atmos soundtrack Choosing that track actually plays a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. I immediately noticed the lack of fullness and fidelity in the opening moments (the song about boys) and verified that choosing the Atmos track does not indeed yield an Atmos track. There is also an option to select a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack, which does play a 5.1 lossless mix. However, this is a downgrade from the original issue's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. The 5.1 lossless track is certainly sufficient, offering good room filling depth, hearty subwoofer usage, and full stage expansion within the 5.1 structure, with wide fronts and extensive usage of the surround channels. Dialogue is clear and centered. However, I am awarding the audio a score "0" for the time being until Universal can sort out the error on this disc.

Promising Young Woman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both the Blu-ray and the UHD discs contain the sparse selection of extras found on the original Blu-ray release. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release does not appear to include a slipcover.

• A Promising Vision
• Two-Sided Transformation
• Balancing Act
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Emerald Fennell.

Promising Young Woman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Promising Young Woman is a splendid debut for Emerald Fennell and perhaps the best work in Carey Mulligan's career. It's smart, steady, confident, and well capable of rearranging a classic subgenre to great dramatic and darkly humorous effect and impact. The film is fearless in taking a few unexpected turns and as it moves away from the violent tendencies of its peers. It's one of the best films of 2020. Universal's new UHD release of Promising Young Woman promises much but only delivers on some. The new 2160p/HDR video is a nice step up from the Blu-ray and fans will find the fine-tuning here, especially in terms of the HDR grading, to be worth the upgrade. However, Universal has failed to deliver on the promised Atmos audio. Instead, the disc outputs a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track (there is a 5.1 lossless soundtrack also included). No new extras are included, but the carryover content is fine. Fans are encouraged to wait to buy until Universal issues a correction, if that is to come. Until such time, the audio score has been left intentionally blank and the overall score set at 0.5 (the Blu-ray,com system does not permit a blank field for that score).