Sound of Freedom 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Sound of Freedom 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 19, 2025

Angel Studio has re-released the hit 2023 film 'Sound of Freedom' to the UHD format. The original Blu-ray released in November 2023 with little fanfare: the disc was practically barebones in terms of extras and it released with a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Here, more than a year later, is a UHD release. The UHD adds tons of new extras -- two commentaries and an entire Blu-ray disc's worth of content -- but it retains the same lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. It also adds 2160p video, but no HDR or Dolby Vision color grading; it sticks with an SDR presentation. This version also ships exclusively in SteelBook packaging. See below for more on the new video presentation the new supplements, and a few words on the SteelBook.

For a full film review, please click here.

Sound of Freedom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For screenshots of the included Blu-ray release, please click here.

As noted above, Sound of Freedom arrives on the UHD format with a 2160p transfer but is absent any HDR or Dolby Vision color grading. That's right, it's BT.709 all the way. Well, at the very least, the movie looks good. The color spectrum is full and vivid if not with a hint of warmth to it, with bold primaries, great vividness, satisfying saturation, and a consistent level of depth and pop. Black levels are handsomely deep and white balance is good, if not a little on the creamy side of the spectrum. Despite the lack of HDR or Dolby Vision, it's easy to be satisfied with the color grading as it is. Sure, a boost would be nice, but what's here is not at all bad by any stretch of the imagination.

As far as the 2160p resolution gains go, they show solid boosts over the Blu-ray. One of the key areas of improvement is better noise management. It's not gone, but I found it less intense here. The picture on the whole is clearly sharper, though maybe more moderately than dramatically. Still, "moderately" is far better than "barely," which is what I feared going in. Viewers will meet a steady barrage of high yield skin definition, with razor sharp lines, pores, and stubble in plain evidence in every shot, whether in bright exteriors, interiors lit with fluorescent lights, or in low light. Clarity extends corner to corner, capturing clothes and environmental details -- whether crammed offices of packed streets -- with pause worthy delight, all but begging viewers to stop playback and enjoy the clarity on display. As with the colors, I can't complain, but I also can't say this is worlds better than the Blu-ray: improved, yes, but not a gargantuan leap. It looks great, and it fixes some of the complaints I had about the Blu-ray, but the whole package could have been more.

Sound of Freedom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full review of the included Dolby Digital 5.1 lossless soundtrack, please click here.

Sound of Freedom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This new release of Sound of Freedom contains new commentaries on both the feature film UHD and Blu-ray discs, while a third Blu-ray Disc houses all of the video-based extra content.

Feature film discs:

• Writer and Director Commentary with Alejandro Monteverde & Rod Barr
• Producer Commentary with Jaime Hernandez

Blu-ray Bonus Disc:

• Behnd the Scenes (1080p, 15:44): Writer/Director Alejandro Monteverde and Writer Rod Barr discuss the difficulties in making the film on a budget, tackling such a heavy topic, and infusing light into the film to counter the darkness. Other cast and crew discuss working with children without exposing them to the depths of the movie's themes, creating their characters and trying to embrace the darkness as actors while struggling against a hatred of the child trafficking narrative. In Spanish with English subtitles and English with Spanish subtitles.
• Crafting the Film: A Roundtable Discussion (1080p, 11:32): Kelly Shelton (Director of Marketing - Angel), Jaime Hernandez (Producer), and Alejandro Monteverde (Writer/Director) discuss how the film came together and how decisions were made on filming locations. The piece also explores the challenges the filmmakers faced while filming in remote locations. It also explores set building, funding difficulties, and why the cast and crew were willing to sacrifice to help see the film to completion.
• The Origin of Sound of Freedom (9:37):A roundtable discussion with Kelly Shelton (Director of Marketing - Angel), Alejandro Monteverde (Writer/Director) and Rod Barr (Writer) who discuss topics ranging from the origins of the film from a news report in 2015 to a personal story that helped shape the film. They also discuss film construction consideration to deal with a difficult topic without losing their audience.
• Walking the Red Carpet: Worldwide Premieres (1080p, 22:55): Cast and crew discuss their involvement, memories of filming, and personal emotions about the film in a series of short interviews shot at various at premieres.
• Making of Sound of Freedom (1080p, 16:45): Writer/Director Alejandro Montverde discusses the difficulties of filming such a challenging topic. Cast and crew discuss their roles in the film's production and the precautions taken to film without sensationalizing or exploiting anyone or anything. It also covers the difficulties they faced filming in remote and potentially dangerous locations. In Spanish with English subtitles.
• Rescuing a Blockbuster: A Roundtable Discussion (1080p, 14:03):Kelly Shelton (Director of Marketing - Angel), Jaime Hernandez (Producer), Alejandro Monteverde (Writer/Director), Jared Geesey (Chief Distribution Officer - Angel), and Jordan Harmon (President - Angel) discuss approaching Angel Studios to distribute the film after their original agreement fell through after filming and how the film exceeded expectations at the box office while giving thanks to God for the film's success.
• The Worldwide Impact of the Sound of Freedom (1080p, 13:49): Kelly Shelton (Director of Marketing - Angel), Neal Harmon (CEO/Co-Founder - Angel Studios), Jordan Harmon (President - Angel Studios), and Jeffrey Harmon (CMO/Co-Founder - Angel Studios) discuss the impact of the film, its status as a box office hit surprise, the importance of the film's impact on viewers, and how the film helped bring awareness to the issue of child trafficking while also helping to pass legislation in multiple countries, gaining support for organizations that help children.
• Sound of Freedom with Raymond Castellon (1080p, 53:54): Raymond Castellon interviews Writer/Director Alejandro Monteverde, Actress Yessica Borroto (Gisslle), Actor Manny Perez (Fuego), Actor Bill Camp (Vampiro), Writer Rod Barr, Actor/Producer Eduardo Verastegui (Paulo Delgado), and Actor Jim Caviezel (Tim Ballard). Topics covered include: the difficulties in writing about a real person, the importance of light in the cinematography, the awareness the film brought to the topic of child trafficking, the struggle to portray a negative character accurately despite hating what they represent, how various people got involved in the project, and the goal of bringing hope into a dark topic by inspiring more people to help trafficked children. He also interviews activist Timothy Ballard, the film's inspiration, about how he moved into child rescue, how he got involved in the film, how he helped write the film, and how people can help support ending child trafficking by helping bring awareness to the problem. Partially in Spanish with English subtitles.
• Behind the Scenes Photo Slideshow (1080p)
• Script Pages Slideshow (1080p)
• Sound of Freedom Official Trailer (1080p, 2:06)
• Angel Studios Trailer (1080p, 2:48): Trailers for various Angel Studios programs and films, including Sound of Freedom.

The SteelBook is a little different than many. Rather than a J-card, the top of the SteelBook includes the UHD banner built right in. The film's title is below it, center, and the letters are debossed. Also included is a prominent image of Tim Ballard, clutching to a child, with a fire to his left and a kidnapping in progress on his right. The words "God's children are not for sale" appear on the right beside Tim's head. The read panel feature a father and son embrace (as seen in the film) in black and white with a special features listing, tech specs, a billing block, and other information, like the barcode, on the rear. The spine is black with the film's title centered, the Angel logo at the top, and an UltraHD logo at the bottom, all in white.

Inside, there is no digital copy code. There are three discs, one on its own hub on the left and two on the right on their own staggered-stacked hubs. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features a densely green wooded area with Tim and a child escaping, almost in silhouette, on the right.

Sound of Freedom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Well, fans of Sound of Freedom might righty be itching to upgrade for the SteelBook casing and the influx of new (and very welcome!) extras, and even for the 2160p resolution boost, but...for all these improvements over the original Blu-ray, the UHD disc is still saddled with a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and no HDR or Dolby Vision color grading. Not sure why it was released with so many new features and yet not going all the way to make this a clear-cut upgrade but...here it is. Three steps forward, two steps back. You decide.