Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Kerry Conran's lone feature to date was reviewed in the early years of the Blu-ray format by Sir Terrence. To read his synopsis of the film and his take on Paramount's a/v transfers, please click here.

Sky Captain and the intrepid reporter.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout Select's recent release of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) arrives as a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and standard Blu-ray combo. My copy did not come with a slipcover. The triple-layered disc is presented in Dolby Vision (Profile 7.6) with an HDR10 fallback layer. Shout advertises the movie, which was a film-out, as a 4K transfer from the 35 mm digital negative. Paramount has a track record of producing digital intermediates from film-outs of its catalog titles from the 1990s and 2000s. Sky Captain is no exception as the UHD appears struck from a native 4K transfer. Shout's 1080p Blu-ray is a BD-50. Prior to this release, the best version of the film on physical media was a Japanese BD-50 from Geneon Entertainment, which was a technical upgrade from the Paramount edition since this 2008 disc featured an MPEG-4 encode and a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. The 2006 Paramount disc came with the heavily antiquated MPEG-2 encode on a BD-25.

Any discussion of Sky Captain's visuals must address its cinematographic origins and the preparatory work done in pre-production. According to American Cinematographer (AC), director of photography Eric Adkins shot the picture in 1.85:1, which was the aspect ratio for the 16x9 native capture. Adkins utilized the Sony 24p CineAlta HDW-F900 camera for the whole shoot as well as 3 Fujinon lenses. The footage was printed on Kodak Vision Premier 2393 and Vision 2383. The DI was finished by EFilm. Adkins and colorist Steve Bowen spent four weeks at EFilm supervising the DI and making one final pass.

Joe Fordham chronicled the making of Sky Captain for the July 2004 issue of CineFex. The crew chose Elstree Studios in Britain for principal photog­raphy during a six-week period. Elstree's George Lucas Building sound stage contained the primary blue screen sets where Conrad directed Law and Paltrow. Adkins told Christopher Probst, a camera operator and second-unit cinematographer on Sky Captain who wrote a piece for the October 2004 issue of AC, that they chose blue­ screen over green screen because Law and Paltrow each have blonde hair and the black background suited them better. 2D supervisor Stephen Lawes stated to Fordham that the photographic backgrounds were more efficient in rendering animatics in 3D for reasons of timing and motion. Originally, Conran was going to shoot the movie in black and white with the exception of the Shangri-La sequence but producer Jon Avnet convinced him that wouldn't be commercially viable. But according to Fordham, the filmmakers still wanted to use color to simulate the look of hand-tinted black-and-white film. With compositing departments split between black and white and color, Lawes and his f/x colleagues deployed B&W as an underlay and added layers of color over at low percentages to produce rich depths of color. The B&W compositing consumed 65 to 70 percent of the final image while the color compositing supplemented the CG color along with colors derived from the blue screen shots.

Probst quoted Adkins as saying that all of the previsualization animatics were retained. Adkins uprezzed, textured, and lit them for inclusion in the finished film. Adkins attached a Polarizer filter on all of the cameras for the whole shoot. Conran and Adkins sought a film-noir appearance and the use of Polas on the blue screen shots helped prevent spill on a floor in wide shots. Filters also got rid of a light skip-up or a sheen on a face. According to Fordham, an in-camera diffusion effect was only added in post. Low, buck and sidelights were rendered in HD and the Polas toned down the glare.

Hollywood influences from the '30s and '40s guided Sky Captain's look. When the crew worked on the blue screen, they consulted films shot by James Wong Howe. In addition, Probst notes they studied Mark A. Vieira's black-and-white photography book, Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood, the movies of F.W. Murnau, and The Third Man (1949). Conran divulged to Fordham that he and his crew examined 2-strip and 3-strip Technicolor pictures. Conran said they were enamored of how skin tones were lit and how the colors responded in Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus (1947), a 3-strip Technicolor production.

Sky Captain on 4K and Blu-ray represents well, I believe, the intended look Conran and Adkins wanted. The transfers are free of any blooming, moiré effects, or compression-related artifacts. In making a number of direct comparisons between the UHD and 1080p transfers, which you can view in the Screenshots tab, the 4K image is a shade darker. I prefer the UHD because the D.V. and HDR add depth cues considerably. For example, I could notice in-motion on the UHD how group shots and multi-plane compositions reveal enhanced 3D depth. In addition, I got a sense of greater depth in some of the bird's-eye view shots. Colors in the Shangri-La scenes are lovingly rendered. For instance, see Screenshot #s 5, 10, and 12.

The UHD sports an average bitrate of 84.4 Mbps, with an overall bitrate of 93.4 Mbps.

Screenshot #s 1-20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, & 40 = Shout Select 2025 4K Ultra HD BD-100 (downsampled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, & 39 = Shout Select 2025 BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

A dozen chapters accompany the 106-minute feature on both discs.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround mix (4056 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 downmix (1580 kbps, 24-bit). The average audio bitrates are identical on both discs. I listened to the 5.1 mix twice. Dialogue is well reproduced, although I did increase the volume by two or three notches to elevate softer tones. Paramount's Blu-ray only has lossy DTS and Dolby Digital mixes. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 is a powerhouse! When the giant robots invade New York City, their stomping produces loud crunching noises courtesy of the .LFE. Two loud explosions emitted from my subwoofer. There are terrific panning effects along the surrounds when NYPD motorcycles whizz by and planes cruise through the skies. In an archival audio commentary, Avnet states that a lot of low-end sounds were put in post-production. Those can be heard here in relative abundance. The symphonic score by Edward Shearmur sounds like a cross between a sci-fi/adventure score that Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams would write. I also heard the warm orchestrations of a vintage composer like Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Indeed, Daniel Schweiger's liner notes in La-La Land Records' 2017 expanded soundtrack album disclose that Golden Age Hollywood scores were inserted into the temp track.

Shout provides optional English SDH for the feature.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout has carried over all of Paramount's extras from the studio's "Special Collector's Edition" R1 DVD, which also includes the Walmart exclusive, "Anatomy of a Virtual Scene" featurette.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary with Producer Jon Avnet - this feature-length track from Avnet focuses on the producing side of getting Sky Captain made from pre-production to the actual shoot with live actors. He shares lots of details from his meetings with Kerry Conran, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. One gets the sense while listening to Avnet that he applied his experience as a director well while mentoring the neophyte Conran. Avnet explains his strategy to get Sky Captain financed and picked up by a major studio. The track's first half is the strongest. Avnet's commentary only contains one gap. A must listen! In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Director Kerry Conran, Production Designer Kevin Conran, Animation Director Steve Yamamoto, and Visual Effects Supervisor Darin Hollings - this group commentary is more screen specific than Avnet's. The filmmakers chat about about how the effects work was designed and executed. Kerry Conran discusses working with the actors. The track includes several gaps, including an extended one. They stop talking as the end-credits song begins. All four speak in English. The track isn't subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Producer Jon Avnet - this feature-length track from Avnet focuses on the producing side of getting Sky Captain made from pre-production to the actual shoot with live actors. He shares lots of details from his meetings with Kerry Conran, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. One gets the sense while listening to Avnet that he applied his experience as a director well while mentoring the neophyte Conran. Avnet explains his strategy to get Sky Captain financed and picked up by a major studio. The track's first half is the strongest. Avnet's commentary only contains one gap. A must listen! In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Director Kerry Conran, Production Designer Kevin Conran, Animation Director Steve Yamamoto, and Visual Effects Supervisor Darin Hollings - this group commentary is more screen specific than Avnet's. The filmmakers chat about about how the effects work was designed and executed. Kerry Conran discusses working with the actors. The track includes several gaps, including an extended one. They stop talking as the end-credits song begins. All four speak in English. The track isn't subtitled.

• Brave New World – Part One (28:12, upconverted to 1080i) - This is the first of a two-part making-of doc. The interviewees include producer Jon Avnet, production/costume designer Kevin Conran, writer/director Kerry Conran, producer Marsha Oglesby, visual effects supervisor Darin Hollings, visual effects producer Daniel Rucinski, special photographic process Stephen Lawes, animation director/digital effects supervisor Steve Yamamoto, animation supervisor Rob Dressel, CG lighting director Michael Sean Foley, production supervisor Matthew Feitshans as well as actors Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Angelina Jolie. There is home-movie footage from 1998 of Kerry Conran working on his short The World of Tomorrow in his apartment, script-readings with Paltrow and Law, and behind-the-scenes footage. All participants speak in English. The track isn't subtitled.

• Brave New World – Part Two (23:35, upconverted to 1080i) - We hear remarks from Oglesby, Kerry Conran, Kevin Conran, Hollings, modeling supervisor Zack Petroc, Yamamoto, Dressel, Feitshans, director of systems engineering Brian Chacon, Avnet, Lawes, Rucinski, and editor Sabrina Plisco. This program focuses on compositing work, photo 2D animation, 3D CGI animation, and prepping Sky Captain for theatrical release. All commentators speak in English. The track isn't subtitled.

• The Art of World of Tomorrow (8:21, upconverted to 1080i) - this featurette presents interviews with production designer/costumer designer Kevin Conran. Various storyboards and sketches drawn for the film are shown. Conran discusses the influence architect Hugh Ferris had on his designs. He also talks about coming up with flapping wings for some of the planes and the different robots. Additionally, he comments on the costumes he outfitted for Frankie and the Mysterious Woman. In English, not subtitled.

• The Original Six-Minute Short: The World of Tomorrow (6:04, upconverted to 1080i) - Kerry Conran's original short, which was seen by producers Marsha Oglesby and Jon Avnet. This was his calling card for the Sky Captain feature. This cool short is titled "Chapter One: Mechanical Monsters." It contains a lot of footage that was the basis for the first reel of Sky Captain. It is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track (192 kbps). In English, not subtitled.

• Deleted Scenes (5:10) - two omitted scenes known as "Totenkopf's Torture Room" and "The Conveyor Belt" on the movie's DVD. The second excised scene displays some extensive animatics work and blue-screen shots with the actors. Each scene appears in non-anamorphic 1.85:1 and comes with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix (192 kbps). In English, not subtitled.

• Anatomy of a Virtual Scene (7:55) - this unique extra on the Sky Captain DVDs sold at Walmart shows before-and-after comparisons of the animatics and composite work performed for some scenes for the film. The featurette contains remarks by animation supervisor Rob Dressel and compositing supervisor Stephen Lawes. In English, not subtitled.

• Gag Reel (2:33, upscaled to 1080i) - a reel of goofs and gaffes committed by the cast in a few scenes. It shows the blue screens they were shot against along with props.

• Theatrical Trailers (4:51 altogether, 1080p) - three trailers (with runtimes of 1:58, 1:39, and 1:13) for Sky Captain presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound (448 kbps). While the trailers could be upconverts, they appear in excellent condition and could have been re-scanned in HD.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is reminiscent of a first-rate Saturday afternoon serial that audiences would flock to in yesteryear. In combining 2D background plates and 3D CGI, the film was a revolutionary breakthrough in the early to mid 2000s. I will see anything Jude Law is in and he appears in fine form here as the titular character. Gwyneth Paltrow's photographer/news reporter Polly Perkins, however, could have benefited from better character development. Shout Select's 4K UHD Blu-ray looks breathtaking. Please be mindful that the visuals have an intentionally stylized look. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 is crisp and fully dynamic. Although Shout hasn't produced any new extra features, all of Paramount's original supplements are brought over. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!