The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

In time for its 20th Anniversary, '40-Year-Old Virgin' arrives on 4K UHD disc in this 20th Anniversary Limited Edition SteelBook courtesy of Universal. Written by Steve Carell ('The Office') and Judd Apatow ('Trainwreck'), who also directed, Carell stars as Andy, the man who embodies the title's description. The cast includes Paul Rudd ('Ant-Man'), Seth Rogen ('Knocked-Up'), Romany Malco ('Weeds'), and Catherine Keener ('Joker: Folie à Deux'), each of whom is allowed to demonstrate their comedic skills in a film that is as vulgar as it is funny. Both the Theatrical and Unrated Cuts are included, and the 4K disc includes a new feature with Apatow, Carell, and other members of the cast from a panel hosted before a screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Inside the SteelBook is a Blu-ray disc (identical to that of the previous release), and a Digital Code redeemable through Movies Anywhere. Please scroll down to the 'Special Features and Extras' section below for a discussion of the newest SteelBook.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a discussion of the 2160p presentation, please follow this link.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For an assessment of the new Dolby Atmos track, please follow this link.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The cover of the new SteelBook is dominated by a vintage 70s orange that serves as the background of the collage of headshots, and is also used as the font color for the title's text. The title is centered and sits near the bottom. In the center and near the top is Steve Carell's Andy. Flanking him the next tier down are Paull Rudd and Seth Rogen. The third tier features images of Catherine Keener, Romany Malco, and Elizabeth Banks. The bottom tier consists of Leslie Mann and Jane Lynch. The collage of headshots and the title are surrounded by a white border. The spine utilizes a consistent color scheme with the film's title in the same retro orange on a field of white. Universal's logo sits at the bottom. On the reverse side one simply finds an image of an Steve Carell's Andy. He's seated and looks slightly awkward. Save for Universal's logo and copyright statement in the lower left and a product number in the lower right, the rest of the back cover is an empty plain white field. Opening the SteelBook, the Digital Code rests 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 Elizabeth Banks' Beth and Carell's Andy as she aggressively bites his lower lip while the two are in her aquatically themed bathroom. The SteelBook has a matte finish that should resist most evidence of normal handling, though the extensive white surface area makes me a bit nervous. While the the front cover captures the cast, the exterior feels like something of a missed opportunity. A more interesting and appropriate exterior design might have featured Andy as a "mint in the package" action figure the likes of which line the shelves in his apartment. There could have even been a smart tech price tag on it as an extra nod to the film. As it stands, though, what we have is attractive enough in-hand, it's just a bit pedestrian.

The 4K UHD disc features one new extra along with the legacy commentary, as below. All other legacy features are found on the Blu-ray disc.

• NEW! 20th Anniversary Discussion (48.43) - Filmed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures before a screening of the film, Apatow and Carell kick off the discussion by discussing the origins of the film, starting with a pitch of a group of men playing poker, with one of the men clearly not able to keep up with the sex-related discussion. Jane Lych covers her improvised audition, which was later transcribed and put into the film verbatim. Jerry Bednob and Judd Apatow share how Seth Rogen was constantly pushing to make the film "dirtier". Kat Dennings recounts that this film was the first big project she was a part of, with Catherine Keener sharing her appreciation for Dennings and Carell. All the members of the panel, through various stories, recount the vast amount of improvisation that was done on the set, with some being more comfortable with it at the time than others. Numerous humorous anecdotes are shared, with many of the comments being as filthy as the film itself. Particular attention is paid to the chest-waxing scene, with Carell finding his scene-mates' reactions to be the funniest part of that sequence, and the list of curses for Carell to shout that was curated by Rogen. The segment closes with the group taking questions from the audience.

• Feature commentary with Director/Co-Writer Judd Apatow, Actor/Co-Writer Steve Carell & Cast

The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While perhaps not the most creative or evocative SteelBook design I've seen this year, and though the front and back cover don't really capture the heart or nature of the film, it does highlight the essential members of the cast. The interior image, that of Carell's Andy looking uncomfortable and being dominated by Elizabeth Banks' lusty Beth is truer to the film in every way, and could well have served as a more exciting cover. Still, SteelBook collectors will likely want to secure a copy for the right price, and fans of the film will want to add it to their libraries due to the improvements found on the 4K disc and the newly filmed panel discussion as well. The 40-Year-Old Virgin 4K 20th Anniversary Limited Edition SteelBook comes highly recommended.