Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

CBS/Paramount brings 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock' to the UHD format with a new 2160p/Dolby Vision video presentation; the studio has chosen to repurpose the existing Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack. All of the supplements carry over from the 2009 Blu-ray, and the Blu-ray itself has received a facelift. At time of writing, this UHD is only available as part of a four film UHD bundle with Star Trek: The Motion Picture.' 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,' 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.'

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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

Paramount releases Star Trek III: The Search for Spock to the UHD format with a solid, often impressive, but never quite perfect 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation. The picture is a fairly good improvement over the concurrently released remastered Blu-ray. While this is clearly sourced from the same remaster, it finds an appreciably sharper façade, bringing out the film-best qualities for textural nuance throughout the film. Faces and uniforms are of the most obvious beneficiaries, both enjoying notably crisper, better defined elements. Certainly in terms of raw presentation characteristics this is an inferior image compared to both The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, but the 2160p resolution and the quality of the remaster work offer the sharpest, clearest, cleanest presentation ever for home viewing. Grain is a little on the spiky side and a number of softer focus shots appear throughout, but this is easily the best textural presentation of the film and by a good margin over the Blu-ray, which is itself somewhat lackluster. This could also be described similarly within the larger UHD arena, but for this film it seems to approach best case scenario.

The Dolby Vision color grading pushes the film's tonal spectrum further than the Blu-ray, which is rather lackluster and at times too unconvincing and washed out. The film is not abundantly colorful to begin with -- it's tonally dark, much of the time -- but it does enjoy boosted depth and, perhaps most importantly, superior reds in the Starfleet uniforms, which are more a color reserved for the film's first half. White luminance and intensity are better here, too, particularly on the opening titles, and black levels are deep and accurate. The darker second half holds even without much in the way of bursting, bold, or brilliant colors. But in every scene and scenario the improvements to accuracy and depth, be they minor or major, are welcome and vital. This is not the best looking of the Trek films on 4K but it's an improvement over the remastered Blu-ray and by far the version to choose when the craving strikes to watch.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This UHD release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock recycles the existing Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack from the 2009 Blu-ray. Please click here for a full review.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock contains two commentary tracks on the UHD disc and the full suite of extras on the included Blu-ray. Please click here for full coverage.

UHD:

• Audio Commentary: Director Leonard Nimoy, Writer/Producer Harve Bennett, Director of Photography Charles Correll, and Actress Robin Curtis.
• Audio Commentary: Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor.

• Audio Commentary: Director Leonard Nimoy, Writer/Producer Harve Bennett, Director of Photography Charles Correll, and Actress Robin Curtis.
• Audio Commentary: Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor.
• Library Computer
• Production
  
  
  • Captain's Log
  • Terraforming and the Prime Directive
  • Industrial Light & Magic: The Visual Effects of Star Trek
  • Spock: The Early Years
• The Star Trek Universe
  
  
  • Space Docks and Birds of Prey
  • Speaking Klingon
  • Klingon and Vulcan Costumes
  • Star Trek and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
  • Starfleet Academy SciSec Brief 003: Mystery Behind the Vulcan Katra Transfer
• Photo Gallery
• Storyboards
• Theatrical Trailer

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Search for Spock is perhaps the most unheralded of the original six films. In 2021 it still plays well and the original 3/5 score may have been a mite low. Nevertheless, the important thing here is the 4K video quality, which is solid if not unspectacular in the larger 4K arena. Paramount has left well enough alone in terms of audio and supplements, both of which are fine. Recommended.