Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Spartacus 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal has released 'Spartacus' to the UHD format for the first time with a spellbinding 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer and a new DTS:X Master Audio lossless soundtrack. This UHD builds on the sublime 2015 restored Blu-ray which replaced the 2010 edition that suffered from a less-than-desirable picture quality. This UHD brings over almost all of the extras found on the 2015 disc.

Spartacus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

Spartacus' history on high definition reads like a redemption story. First, there was the 2010 Blu-ray, one of the most reviled Blu-ray presentations to date. Then, there was the 2015 restored edition, a sublime presentation of a masterful film. Now, there is the 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD that is unquestionably the ultimate version of the film which probably looks better than when the film was theatrically projected upon release. The image's excellence is immediately in evidence during the opening titles. The black backgrounds appear significantly more rich and true and the white titles more intensely luminous and accurate when comparing it against the restored Blu-ray from 2015. The Dolby Vision color palette is a work of art. Tonal intensity seen on red Roman capes and blue skies offer superior punch and a level of color depth and intensity well beyond the Blu-ray's capabilities. These are borderline transformative tones, not fundamentally altering the original content but finding a new level of boldness and beauty that SDR simply cannot muster. There are times when skin tones appear a little more bronze than fleshy but generally speaking there's a pure, healthy vitality to every example, particularly as much of the action takes place outside under a scorching hot sun. Many of the film's boldest colors are often seen in contrast against earthen backgrounds which are themselves the beneficiaries of the terrific color grading, bringing newfound life to sandy, gravely locations. Look at the slave pits early in the film from which Spartacus is plucked and set on history's path. Here the viewer will find impeccable contrast and perfectly lifelike tones in expansive abundance. Many of the structural cues throughout the film are made of woods and materials of an earthen nature, too, and there's no missing the breathtaking excellence even in the film's more mundane outputs.

The 2160p resolution yields a breathtaking experience, one of greatly expanded sharpness and clarity beyond even the wonderful Blu-ray restoration release from half a decade ago. Those aforementioned quarries filled with sand and rock where the slaves toil under the hot sun to begin the film stand as one off the earliest, and best, examples of the insane levels of clarity the image has on offer. The pure detail of the earthy elements extends well into the background, and certainly foreground definition rises, for this film, to unprecedented levels and, for the UHD format, to near top excellence seen on any transfer for environmental definition. This level of clarity certainly extends to characters, where viewers will be privy to an extravagant increase in fine definition and sharpness. Sweat, hairs, pores, and accumulated sand and blood present with such finessed clarity and intimacy as to practically set a new standard for the UHD format. The picture is accompanied by a fine grain structure, more pronounced on UHD compared to that on the Blu-ray but ever faithful and in perfect proportion. The picture is free of unwanted print blemishes and encode artifacts. Spartacus has never looked better -- this is a rather substantial improvement even over the reference Blu-ray from 2015 -- and the UHD format has a new jewel in its crown.

Spartacus 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like the video presentation has only seen an upward swing over the years, so too has every major release of Spartacus increased its channel count. The original Blu-ray featured a 5.1 lossless soundtrack, the resorted disc a 7.1 lossless presentation, and this one a DTS:X Master Audio presentation. The overture music is majestic, delivering with extraordinary energy, fidelity, and total stage immersion. There's perfect balance between front and rear, the former more dominant, the latter expertly engaged and complimentary. Such holds true for the duration. Music never falters, featuring aggressive yet balanced stage entrance and a saturating presence that favors the fronts but is never timid about integrating the rears and engaging the subwoofer. Music doesn't discretely engage the top end but the light supports do help make for a more immersive overall sound field. Effects are excellent in sum, offering precision clarity to all elements, including clanking wooden swords during training and full-on battle sounds with metal-on-metal mayhem during life-and-death clashes. Indeed, large-scale battle scenes offer a tremendous level of activity all around the listener, married to the precision clarity defining all of the battle din. There are a few occasions where the track's dynamics are not quite so immersive as one might want. At the 11-minute mark, the sound of working slaves are just about exclusively found across the front; a more absorbing din might have been preferable at this stage of the track's development, but it's a small aside to a much larger and very rich audio presentation. Dialogue is clear, center focused and always well prioritized for the duration.

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

This UHD release of Spartacus contains all of the extras from the 2015 release minus an image gallery, though it is included on the bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to the 2015 issue. All supplements are presented at 1080p, though several are simply upscaled from the 480i resolution featured on the Blu-ray. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a slipcover.

• I Am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas
• Restoring Spartacus
• Archival Interviews
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind the Scenes Footage
• Vintage Newsreels
• Theatrical Trailer

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

There was a time when Universal Blu-ray catalogue titles were put on the market with seemingly little to no care or concern for quality -- the original Spartacus release is evidence of that -- but the studio has quickly risen in the ranks as one of the best not only in support of vintage catalogue classics on UHD but as one of the best in technical presentation, too. Spartacus is a crown jewel for the studio's UHD output. As its Blu-ray was reference in 2015, so too is its UHD in 2020. The new audio track is wonderful, too, and the carryover supplements are strong. Spartacus' UHD release earns my highest recommendation (as does the collectible packaging SteelBook variant).