Rear Window 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Rear Window 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal has released Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film 'Rear Window' to the UHD format. This new presentation includes 2160p/HDR video output. The UHD disc recycles the existing 2014 Blu-ray's two-channel lossless soundtrack and also brings over all of the Blu-ray extras. At time of publication, this UHD disc is only available as part of a four-film Hitchcock UHD boxed set which also includes 'The Birds,' 'Vertigo,' and 'Psycho.'

Rear Window 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

Rear Window's Blu-ray scored well, with some reservations and hesitations, upon its release way back in 2014. Many of the problems pointed out in that transfer's review have been positively addressed for this 2160p/HDR UHD release, primarily through the HDR color grading. The changes border on transformation in that area; tonal output is, here, more stable and solidified, enjoying the benefits of a finely tuned color spectrum that solidifies the image and tightens most every scene. Most prominently, colors are less splashy, favoring a more reserved, almost darker appearance. This is in evidence in practically every shot, night or day, within Jefferies' apartment's shadows or aglow from a lamp, or looking out on the adjacent buildings at any time of day.

Look at a scene around the 27:35 mark. Jeffereies is talking to Fremont inside his apartment. A lamp lights the room. On the Blu-ray, the scene is very bright, almost betraying the setting by failing to sell the time of day and render shadows appropriately deep. On the UHD, brightness is down, contrast is up, shadows are superior, and the scene flows with a more natural feel. His blue pajamas enjoy a more stable, deeper tone and skin tones appear more even and healthy. It's a transformative scene and one of the finest examples of how HDR has none too subtly, but none too intrusively, changed the movie's look for the better. Nighttime blacks tighten considerably as well. Look at a scene through the rain in the 35-minute mark. Not only is shadow detail greatly improved and blacks deeper and more realistic, but the lighted interior area in the apartment across the way finds improved depth and contrast, too. Even in daylight, the red bricks take on a more lifelike tone and various supports, like colorful flowers down at ground level, offer more brilliance and punch.

Texturally, the differences are less dramatic. There's not a surge in tangible detailing. Facial features, hair, odds and ends around the apartment, the brick façade across the way show a slight increase in overall definition but nothing too revelatory next to the Blu-ray. It's plenty crisp as it is, a good number of inherently softer shots not withstanding. The scenery is limited primarily to Jefferires' view out the window and the various odds and ends in his apartment around him. It's a very confined, isolated, limited scope movie which makes the clarity all the more critical. On the UHD, it's easy to see the little seams and details that give away that the movie was shot on a manufactured set rather than a real location, but viewers will nevertheless appreciate the overall crispness and clarity on display. Grain management is superior here, though the odd speckle does creep in from time to time. The picture suffers from no obvious encode maladies. This is a nice improvement over the Blu-ray, particularly for the HDR output; for that reason alone it's well worth the upgrade.

Rear Window 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For the UHD release of Rear Window, Universal has simply chosen to stick with the existing DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Please click here for a full review from the 2014 Blu-ray.

Rear Window 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Vertigo's UHD disc includes all of the supplements found on the 2014 Blu-ray. For full coverage, please click here. As it ships in the Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection, a Blu-ray copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase.

• Rear Window Ethics: Remembering and Restoring a Hitchcock Classic
• A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
• Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
• Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
• Hitchcock/Truffaut
• Masters of Cinema
• Production Photographs
• Theatrical Trailer
• Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
• Audio Commentary: John Fawell.

Rear Window 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rear Window is arguably Hitchcock's best film and it's earned a solid UHD release. The new 2160p/HDR video presentation is strong across the board. The preexisting audio and supplements are fine. Highly recommended.