Swordfish 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Swordfish 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 9, 2025

Swordfish is one of those films which may in fact look better on paper than it does on celluloid, so to speak. Presented with a cast that includes Hugh Jackman, John Travolta and Halle Berry (doing her very well publicized first topless scene), what normal, everyday prospective ticket buyer wouldn't be interested? It's perhaps just slightly comical that some genre enthusiasts claim that Swordfish is a so-called "action thriller", to which some curmudgeons (ahem) might reply, "Yeah, if you think sitting at a computer is action, maybe". Swordfish received a very early (like, 2006!) release on 1080 disc from parent studio Warner Brothers*, and then has had a couple of subsequent re-releases, but Arrow is now offering a new 4K UHD release (without any 1080 disc) culled from the original camera negative, with Arrow offering some new supplements in addition to some previously released ones.

*That release was so early it made the veritable "Top 100" of our database, coming in at Number 81.

As mentioned above, Swordfish had a 2006 release on 1080 disc, and Martin Liebman's Swordfish Blu-ray review of that release provides a plot recap, list of supplements and Marty's reaction to the technical presentation.

Swordfish 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Swordfish is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the presentation:

Swordfish has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with stereo and 5.1 audio.

The film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K / 16 bit resolution at Warner Bros. / Motion Picture Imaging. The film was restored in 4K resolution and colour graded at Duplitech.

This new restored master of Swordfish has been approved by Director Dominic Sena.

All materials source for this new master were made availble by Warner Bros.

QC review was completed by Pixelogic.

Marty gave excellent marks to the old 1080 disc, but of course a 4.0 score granted in 2008 (when Marty wrote his review) might not warrant the same response today, and for what it's worth it may be salient to note that the old 1080 disc had a VC-1 encode. Perhaps just slightly hilariously given my warning above about how downscaling 4K HDR screenshots to 1080 and SDR can seriously tweak the palette, at least some of the bizarre yellows and greens on display in the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review are indeed part of the presentation. As Marty mentioned in his 1080 review, the ubiquitous presence of almost sickly green and yellow tones is (maybe weirdly) one of the film's most distinctive features from a purely visual standpoint. The greens in particular attain an almost alien presence at times in this version courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision. It's frankly been years since I watched the old 1080 disc, and it's no longer in my collection, but I read with some interest Marty's comments about a lack of grain, which may suggest the older disc had some filtering (I simply can't remember well enough to state one way or the other). Grain is certainly observable here, and as one who can sometimes chafe at overly thick looking grain at this increased resolution, I found things to resolve tightly and organically throughout.

Swordfish 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1080 disc that Marty reviewed is so old (why do I feel like I'm setting up a joke for Johnny Carson?) that it actually only offered lossy audio, so this disc's combo of either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or LPCM 2.0 options should be welcomed by fans, especially since the sound design of the film is so deliberately hyperbolic so much of the time. While surround activity is near consistent (if occasionally relegated to relatively subtle ambient environmental sounds), as Marty mentioned in his review, at least a couple of set pieces, including a calamitous car chase sequence, allow the surround track to fire on all cylinders and/or channels, as the case may be. That sequence in particular offers not just clearly discrete channelization but some amazingly whirlwind like panning effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

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

I've noted what look to be the new supplements below with an asterisk (*). More information on the older supplements can be found in Marty's review, linked to above.

• Audio Commentary by Director Dominic Sena


• Soundtrack Hacker* (HD; 12:31) is an interview with the film's co-composer Paul Oakenfold.


• How to Design a Tech Heist* (HD; 20:49) is an interview with the film's production designer Jeff Mann.


• HBO First Look: Swordfish (HD; 15:02)


• Effects in Focus: The Flying Bus (HD; 8:14)


• Planet Rock Club Reel (HD; 4:11) is a music video by Paul Oakenfold.


• Swordfish: In Conversation (HD; 12:47)


• Alternate Ending #1 (HD; 3:48) is sourced from pretty shoddy looking video. This has an optional commentary by Dominic Sena.


• Alternate Ending #2 (HD; 2:08) is sourced from pretty shoddy looking video. This has an optional commentary by Dominic Sena.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:12)

While not packaged as extravagantly as some of Arrow's other recent releases, this features both a reversible sleeve and double sided fold out poster that offer the same two choices of imagery. The insert booklet features both new writing by Priscilla Page as well as an archival piece culled from American Cinematographer.

Packaging features a slipcover.

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

Yes, Swordfish is probably undeniably something of a mess, but at least it's often a stylish mess, and that opening monologue by Travolta has enough "meta" content to serve several films. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.