The Arrival 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Arrival 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 10, 2026

This summer's "big alien" movie Disclosure Day is opening just as this review is being written, and if it suggests aliens are already among us, it's certainly not the first to do so. If Spielberg's take on either these or his previous extra terrestrials tends to be pretty rosy, all things considered, The Arrival may call to mind a certain architect named David Vincent, who was in fact identified weekly as "architect David Vincent". This would-be Howard Roark ended up being the first human to become aware of The Invaders, as the short lived Quinn Martin thriller series was called. In both that case and this one, the aliens are not exactly friendly, and also kind of weirdly in both properties they're ultimately identified by a crucial difference in joints (in the series it was fingers, in this film, knees). The Arrival had a long ago 1080 release by Lionsgate, but now Lionsgate Limited via the Vestron Video imprint is revisiting the film in both 4K UHD and 1080, with some appealing supplements.

Martin Liebman's The Arrival Blu-ray review of that aforementioned 1080 release by Lionsgate offers plot information and a reaction to the technical presentation (that disc offered only trailers for other films as the ostensible bonus features).

The Arrival 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package.

The Arrival is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate's Lionsgate Limited etailer and the Vestron Video Collector's Series imprint with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1 (a new 1080p AVC encoded transfer is also included on a separate disc). Marty wasn't exactly thrilled with the video presentation of the old Lionsgate release, and I suspect he'd be even less thrilled now seeing this decisive upgrade in both 1080 and 4K. Just doing a cursory comparison of screenshots between this review and Marty's (I've tried to come close to replicating a couple of the screenshots Marty uploaded to accompany his review) will easily show the improvements across the board with these new presentations. Both the 1080 SDR and of course especially the 2160 presentation with its HDR / Dolby Vision accoutrements present a substantially better suffused and more accurate looking palette. The old 1080 presentation looks like it was artificially brightened to an egregious degree, and that is commendably absent here, to the point that some curmudgeons may complain about a few moments of murky shadow detail even with the blandishments of HDR. As is discussed in passing in some of the supplements, this was made near the dawn of the CGI age, and some of the special effects may come off as a bit on the quaint side to younger eyes in particular. Grain can ebb and flow, especially in some opticals, but looks organic throughout.

The Arrival 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Arrival features a Dolby Atmos track (kind of interestingly given its fairly early release in the 1080 era, the old Lionsgate disc sported a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track). Marty gave middling marks to the track and was especially aware of amplitude issues, and while this is definitely a bombastic track quite a bit of the time, I found surround activity to be immersive and largely convincing, if, again, some of the effects sequences may sonically be nearing "quaint" territory as well in terms of whooshing clamor swirling around the listener. Marty wasn't too thrilled about the clarity of the old 7.1 track, but this Atmos track offers fluidity and fine fidelity, with generally smart prioritization. Dialogue is rendered cleanly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Arrival 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Both the 4K UHD and 1080 discs in this package sport the same slate of supplements. Interestingly once again so-called "legacy" special features include previously unreleased items.

• Lionsgate Limited Extras

Convergence: David Twohy on The Arrival (HD; 17:39) is a new interview with the director, who suggests the film may be more relevant today than it was when it was originally released. He also shares some funny if kind of sad anecdotes about Charlie Sheen.




Prescience: Actress Lindsay Crouse (HD; 6:23) is a new interview with Crouse.




Into the Vortex: Visual Effects (HD; 13:20) lloks at some of the special effects and includes archival interviews and video.




Technosignatures: Remastering Picture + Sound (HD; 8:24) is another in what has been something of a series with these Lionsgate Limited 4K releases, with the director visiting the 4K remastering suite.

• Legacy Special Features

Audio Commentary by David Twohy




New Horizons (HD; 26:56) is making of featurette with quite a bid of candid footage of various locations.




The Making of Arrival (HD; 21:43) takes another EPK look at the film with a number of interviews.




Alternate Ending (HD; 3:11)




EPK B Roll (HD; 5:18)




EPK Interviews with Cast & Crew (HD; 6:09)




EPK Featurette (HD; 7:17)




Promo Reel (HD; 3:45)




Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:11)




Home Video Trailer (HD; 2:04)




TV Spot (HD; 00:33)

The sleeve is reversible and the keepcase encloses a digital copy. Packaging also features a slipcover.

The Arrival 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Slight spoiler alert, but one of the "side benefits" of The Arrival is we don't have to blame global warming on ourselves anymore. This is an interesting effort within what might be called the "ET subgenre", even if it's also undeniably silly at times. Lionsgate's new 1080 and 4K presentations materially improve on their old 1080 release, and the supplements are also very enjoyable. Recommended.