Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Rush 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson December 2, 2024

Over a decade ago, Universal released a Blu-ray/DVD combo in the US of Ron Howard's Rush (2013). My colleague Ken Brown provided full coverage of the BD-50 in his review, which can be found here.

Niki and James.

Rush 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Twenty-five of my screen captures are pulled directly from the UHD disc and downsampled to 1080p. They don't encompass the full HDR and are not representative of the film's color values when projected at 3840x2160.

The feature on Shout Select's 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray combo pack is sourced from a new 4K restoration of the movie's Digital Intermediate (DI). The UHD is presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). Rush was shot all digitally in 2.40:1 by British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. As Ken points out in his review, the film's color palette generally has a desaturated look to it, which you can notice throughout many of the screen grabs I retrieved from the Shout discs and a 1080p Blu-ray courtesy of German label Universum Film, which uses the same 2K DI that's on Universal's 2014 BD.

American Cinematographer gave Rush championship-level treatment when the magazine wrote no less than three articles on Howard's 22nd big-screen feature for its October 2013 issue. Factual and technical details about the cinematographic process I discuss are from Mark Hope-Jones's piece in AC. The 4K disc is an upscale because the film was scanned and finished as a 1920x1080 HD master. Hope-Jones reported on the grading process. An editorial team at Company 3 London consulted an edit decision list (EDL) from the offline edit to comb through all the original material (including archival footage) that was to be integrated into the film. They transcoded all the footage into 10-bit DPX 2K anamorphic. Company 3 applied Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve (on a Mac), Scratch Lab, and Adobe After Effects when handling all of the file formats. Dod Mantle collaborated with colorist Adam Glasman on the final grade, which was completed on the Resolve (on a Linux). Once the grading was finished, 10-bit DPX 2K anamorphic files were prepared for the filmout and the Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) version for the Digital Cinema Package (DCP). Technicians worked on the filmout using an Arrilaser 2. The Fujifilm Eterna-RDI 4511 was calibrated for release on Kodak Vision 2383. London-based Deluxe Laboratories made the final answer print.

Dod Mantle and his camera crew utilized nine different digital cameras for the picture's 66-day shoot. The DP selected Arri Alexas as his primary cameras. Footage was recorded in uncompressed ArriRaw format to "maximize dynamic range and flexibility" in post-production. Since the filmmakers were shooting a period drama (set principally in the 1970s), Dod Mantle chose vintage Baltars and Cooke S2s lenses, which helped to desaturate hues, add aberrations, and flares. (I noticed a lot of flares while watching the three discs.) Dod Mantle and his grip, Jakob Bonfils, mounted 4"-long Indiecam cameras along with C-mount lenses onto the racing cars. You can see the Indiecam placed very close to one of the actors in Screenshot #s 29-31 (an identical frame match from three transfers.) Dod Mantle shoot other close-ups throughout the film and in comparing the 2160p transfer with Shout's 1080p counterpart, I thought facial details appeared quite clear, detailed, and finite in spots (particularly on the UHD).

On the 4K disc, the DV and HDR began to stand out in multi-plane compositions such as group shots (e.g., Screenshot #21). I saw finer density and hue detail on the 2160p when, for example, water goes down a sewer drain prior to the start of the Japanese Grand Prix (see frame enlargement #25). It was also during this section of the film where raindrops and water rippling from the racers and their cars became more prominent and noticeable on the 4K compared to the standard HD version. Ken cited red crush occasionally popping up in the middle of racing sequences but I didn't detect any crush on either of Shout's discs.

Shout has put Rush on a BD-100 (actual disc size: 84 GB). The transfer boasts a mean video bitrate of 80.0 Mbps with an overall bitrate of 94.0 Mbps for the full disc. Shout's MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 carries an average video bitrate of 29958 kbps. Universum's MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 delivers a mean video bitrate of 24982 kbps.

Shout's usual dozen scene selections accompany the 123-minute feature on both of Shout's discs. Universum also has twelve chapters on its disc.

Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, & 40 = Shout Select 2024 4K Ultra HD (downsampled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 32, 35, & 38 = Universum Film 2014 2K-scanned Blu-ray
Screenshot #s 27, 30, 33, 36, & 39 = Shout Select 2024 BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

Rush 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rush was recorded, mixed, and presented theatrically in Dolby Digital and DTS. Shout has supplied three audio track options to watch the film with on UHD and Blu-ray: a new Dolby Atmos mix (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible with a standard bitrate of 3987 kbps) encoded at an average bitrate of 4627 kbps and a maximum bitrate of 5751 kbps; a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (4190 kbps, 24-bit); and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (2029 kbps, 24-bit). The bitrates are identical on each disc. Universum's English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is also a workhorse with a healthy bitrate that averages 4167 kbps.

The core sonic properties of Rush's 5.1 mix that Ken discusses in his review are also present on Shout's discs. The film's sound design didn't have a lot of room for "improvements" but the Atmos offers upgrades in at least a couple areas. First, I felt that bass was enhanced and amplified in measurable ways without any audible distortions. When cars whip around the racing tracks, the LFE is expanded and opened up more than it is on the 5.1. In addition, the front sound stage has a greater aural presence to go along with finer details than the 5.1. Hans Zimmer's score is distributed well from the fronts and all the way across the rear channels on both the Atmos and 5.1 tracks.

Dialogue in Rush is spoken primarily in English but some other languages as well. Non-English lines have compulsory English subtitles ingrained on the print (see screen capture #15). I watched Rush with the optional English SDH turned on; they are thorough and accurate.

Rush 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout has licensed Universal's original bonus materials and included them on the second disc. For summaries of the extras, please refer to Ken's original review.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Introduction by Director/Producer Ron Howard (0:53, 1080p) - this recently filmed video intro features Howard going over (very briefly) the themes of Rush and a few other tidbits. In English, not subtitled.

DISC TWO: Blu-ray

• Introduction by Director/Producer Ron Howard (0:53, 1080p) - this recently filmed video intro features Howard going over (very briefly) the themes of Rush and a few other tidbits. In English, not subtitled.

• Race for the Checkered Flag: The Making of Rush (24:39, 1080p)

• The Real Story of RUSH (18:43, 1080p)

• Ron Howard: A Director's Approach (7:24, 1080p)

• Deleted Scenes (10:56, 1080p)

The Universum has all of Universal's supplements plus cast and crew interviews, which run nearly 55 minutes altogether: Chris Hemsworth (3:58), Daniel Brühl (14:44), Olivia Wilde (2:17), Alexandra Maria Lara (12:07), Niki Lauda (9:11), Ron Howard (5:45), Brian Grazer (1:37), Eric Fellner (1:38), Andrew Eaton (0:53), Brian Oliver (1:04), and Peter Morgan (1:31). You can select the interviews individually from the main menu. A lot of the sound bites are incorporated into the above featureettes but Universum has the unabridged interviews from Universal's press kit as well as their own EPK with Brühl and Lara, who speak in German for Universum's interviews. Universum has consolidated the English and German interviews for those two actors into a single reel. All of the other interview snippets are delivered in English by actors and crew members. The German subtitles can be switched off. (There is not an English-subtitling option for the German portions with Brühl and Lara.) Studio Canal UK also included the English interviews on a SD disc of its Blu-ray + DVD combo but that release is out of print.

Rush 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rush is a superior Hollywood racing movie with commendable performances turned in by the two leads. Shout Select's two-disc 4K/Blu-ray package delivers a/v upgrades in several areas. Even if you purchased Universal's Blu-ray, you'll want to double dip as I think you'll be pleased with the HDR grade and Dolby Vision presentation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and a MUST OWN for fans of Chris Hemsworth and Ron Howard.