Straight Outta Compton 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Straight Outta Compton 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Director F. Gary Gray's ('Friday', 'Men in Black: International') 2015 film 'Straight Outta Compton' returns to 4K UHD in this 10th Anniversary Limited Edition SteelBook courtesy of Universal. 'Straight Outta Compton' follows the five young men who comprised the group N.W.A as they used their real-life experiences, poetic lyrics, and solid beats to break boundaries and become on of the most influential groups of previous century. Playing his father, O'Shea Jackson Jr. portrays Ice Cube, expertly capturing his mannerisms and idiosyncrasies, headlining a cast that also includes Corey Hawkins ('The Last Voyage of the Demeter'), Jason Mitchell ('Kong: Skull Island'), and Paul Giamatti ('The Holdovers'). Accentuated with a blistering soundtrack, the disc boasts a healthy transfer and a brilliant DTS:X Master Audio track. The two discs found within (a 4K UHD disc and a Blu-ray disc each containing the feature film and special features) are identical to those which comprise the standard UHD release from 2018. Please scroll down to the 'Special Features and Extras' section below for a discussion of the newest SteelBook. A Digital Code is also included.

Straight Outta Compton 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

To learn about the film's 2160p presentation, please follow this link.

Straight Outta Compton 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For an assessment of the film's audio track, please follow this link.

Straight Outta Compton 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Going for a stark and dramatic look, the cover of the new Straight Outta Compton 4K 10th Anniversary Limited Edition SteelBook goes with a simple but effective black and white color scheme. The main body of the cover is black. The film's title dominates the top half of the image, the words confined to text boxes outlined in white that mimic, in both font and color, the parental warning stickers that were created and used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after action taken by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). Below that are five narrow portraits of the five members of N.W.A, with the names of the men printed below them in white block letters. The spine features the film's title in a similar style that, though the words are laid out horizontally instead of vertically, still mimics that of the vintage warning sticker. Like the cover the text sits in a field of black. Universal's logo sits at the bottom. Legendary's is just above it. Maintaining the same color scheme as the front, the reverse image is that of a hat that reads "Compton" sitting on an aged and cracked concrete floor in front of brick wall that is similarly distressed and in need of maintenance. Universal's and Legendary's logos are found in the bottom left corner along with a copyright statement. A product number, as usual, is found in the lower right. Opening the SteelBook, the Digital Code resides under the two tabs on the left side. On the right side, the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray disc are stagger-stacked, each on its own hub, with the 4K UHD disc on top. Removing the discs and the Digital Code reveals a two-panel image of a brick wall. A "Parental Advisory Explicit Content" warning label is painted on the wall on the left side. The right side displays only bricks. The SteelBook has the preferred matte finish which resists fingerprints associated with normal handling very well. While the front (and back to a lesser degree) cover conveys some of what the viewer can expect from the film in terms of the subject of the film and a sense of dramatic tension, I would have been much more pleased to see a still from one of the film's recreated concert performances gracing the interior instead of the rather drab and lifeless brick wall, however symbolic it may be.

For a look at the legacy on-disc supplemental material that has been brought forward to this release, please follow this link.

Straight Outta Compton 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Touted as the world's most dangerous group, N.W.A, whether one loved them or hated them, was inescapable in the late 1980s and their early tracks were not only revolutionary but a revolution. The excellent cast captures that energy and atmosphere well in an intensely human film that's worth watching for music fans everywhere, even if hip hop is not their preferred genre. The cover of the new SteelBook is an unquestioningly dramatic and bold statement even if the reverse and interior can't quite measure up. Highlighted by a blistering audio track, fans of the film and SteelBook collectors alike should seriously consider the Straight Outta Compton 4K 10th Anniversary Limited Edition SteelBook, especially if the film is absent from their libraries. Highly recommended.