5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A seemingly rehabilitated Norman Bates is drawn to a late night radio show where the host encourages him to share his views on the topic of matricide - the murder of a mother by her own child. Reliving his childhood, Norman recounts his trials as a young boy living with his widowed schizophrenic mother. These haunting memories are more than just disturbing visions of the past; they threaten to rekindle his killing urge in this spine-tingling thriller.
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, CCH Pounder, Warren FrostHorror | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 8% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of Arrow's The Psycho Collection 4K.
Psycho would hardly seem on its face(s) to be a property that would be easily "franchise-able", which may be why it took so long for the
first sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's memorable original to come out. One way or the other, though, the four Psycho films aggregated in this
handsomely packaged new(ish) set from Arrow have what I personally consider to be some remarkably facile "updates" to a story that is by now so
well known that even those who
haven't seen the 1960 classic (and I found out after I posted my review of Universal's first Blu-ray release of that film that there were an inordinately
huge amount of folks who hadn't) know the "big secret". However, knowledge of that "big secret" arguably partially informs the at least
intermittently
rather smart attempts at revisiting the inimitable character of Norman Bates in Psycho II and Psycho III, if admittedly that same
intelligence may not extend to the
made for television Psycho IV.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's standalone 1080 presentation. This release does not include a 1080 disc.
Psycho IV: The Beginning is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.78 and 1:33
(for screenshots from the 1.33 version, please see my Psycho IV: The Beginning Blu-ray review. Arrow
has included the
same booklet for its 4K UHD and 1080 sets, and that booklet includes the following information on the restoration:
Psycho IV; The Beginning is presented in both 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 aspect ratios with stereo 2.0 audio. The original 35mm camera negative was scaneed in 4K resolution by Fotokem. The film was restored in 4K and graded in SDR and HDR10 by Heavenly Movie Corp.This is another presentation where the 4K UHD version offers some really gorgeous new suffusion and generally excellent detail levels, but where grain resolution may frankly not be as tight looking and generally pleasing as on Arrow's 1080 version of the film. Still, I was rather impressed overall with the organic qualities of this presentation, even if some of the CCH Pounder radio call in sections are almost "littered" with kind of reddish-brown flecks of grain that permeate that deep blue backgrounds. That same quality, albeit arguably with more of a yellow tint, can also attend any number of household scenes with Perkins, especially in some of the extreme close-ups (some of which may be optical zooms) that are employed. Overall, though, the palette definitely is one of the highlights of this 4K UHD presentation, and even "little" pop of color like Mother's blood red lipstick really have considerable new energy in this version. The many low light scenes see a bit of improvement in shadow detail courtesy of HDR, but probably not by any huge amounts.
Psycho IV: The Beginning features an LPCM 2.0 track which struck me as being interchangeable with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the old Shout! 1080 release. The track provides considerable force for the utilization of Bernard Herrmann's iconic string score, as well as Graeme Revell's new music, while also providing capable support for this pretty talky film. Aside from a couple of murder scenes and a final conflagration, a lot of the soundtrack actually doesn't provide much more than dialogue, and this track offers excellent fidelity and decent dynamic range. Optional English subtitles are available.
Disc One (Theatrical Aspect Ratio)
- Psycho (HD; 6:33)
- Psycho II (HD; 2:11)
- Psycho III (HD; 1:23)
- Bates Motel (HD; 1:03)
- Psycho IV: The Beginning (HD; 2:14)
- Psycho (1998) (HD; 1:42)
Psycho IV: The Beginning probably wasn't strictly necessary, so to speak, and it certainly never rises to the heights of the first film in particular, but probably not even to the diminishing returns of the second and third. Completists may still want to check it out, and Arrow provides a release with generally solid technical merits and some appealing supplements.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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