8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
Allied commandos are dispatched deep inside the Burmese jungle to blow up a strategic bridge built by British POWs.
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins (I), Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald (I)Drama | 100% |
War | 49% |
Epic | 45% |
History | 45% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.55:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.55:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish VO, Russian VO, Spanish Castilian and Latin American
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Sony has released David Lean's World War II masterpiece The Bridge on the River Kwai to the UHD format. The disc offers 4K video with HDR colors and a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. No new extras are included.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
The Bridge on the River Kwai looks fantastic on this 2160p/HDR-enhanced UHD. The movie is so crisp and clean and amazingly detailed and
bountifully colored it practically looks like a brand-new release. The image is consistently and evenly grainy. Grain-haters are not going to like this
image, at all, and there are times when the grain field does appear a touch sharp, but it's very complimentary and pure. Details are resultantly very
crisp. The image offers a breathtaking parade of supremely sharp natural elements. Leaves, woods, muds, rocks, sand, anything of the like finds
incredible textural nuance and razor sharpness even at distance. Uniform textures are revealing of every fray, crisp seam, stitch in close-up, and
caked-on
sweat and grime. Faces are incredibly revealing, showcasing every hair, pore, and imperfection with striking complexity. Colors are well saturated. The
HDR color palette offers a modest boost in saturation but never alters the movie's fundamental color scheme. Obviously, much of the film is comprised
of earthy variations on browns and beiges. Again, wood and terrain, joined by military uniforms, form the dominant color scheme, though green
vegetation appears beautifully accurate and pure while scenes away from the camp reveal more abundantly colorful accents and some flowers with
very
pleasing punch. Black levels hold very deep and pure, even in the many day-for-night moments. Skin tones appear true. Those paying extremely
close attention will spot one or two insignificant speckles, but otherwise this is a flat-gorgeous UHD, amongst the top handful the
format has yet produced.
The Bridge on the River Kwai's soundtrack has been given a boost to Dolby Atmos, and the presentation thrives on the expanded sound field which is utilized naturally, never with any forced components. The top layer most notably engages as thunder cracks and rolls in various parts of the movie; the sense that it's directly atop the listener is clear, and the sensation is amongst the better, most pronounced and very natural, yet heard with the Atmos format. Additionally, some footsteps seem to emanate from overhead as the bridge is being wired to explode and guards pace above on the wooden structure. A key explosion near film's end delivers prolific depth and stage saturation. Gunfire pops with commendable authority. Environmental din is filling and expressive. The track spreads wide to accompany every insect, rolling waves in one scene, and other natural sound elements that add a critical layer of realism to the proceedings. Music delivery comes wide with superbly clear and detailed notes. Dialogue is firmly positioned in the front-center and clarity is strong. This is a fantastic listen that compliments the movie very well.
The Bridge on the River Kwai contains no new extras on the UHD disc, but it does carry over all of the previously released extras on the
bundled Blu-ray. It also, of course, contains the usual Sony UHD bonuses, including cast and crew still photos and a collection of categorized
"moments"
(2160p/HDR/Atmos): Shears, Colonel Nicholson, Colonel Saito, and The Bridge. Below is a list of the supplements
included on the bundled Blu-ray disc. For full supplemental reviews, please click here. A UV digital copy code is included with
purchase.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a quintessential wartime picture that expands on the usual bullets and bombs into a sublime character study and a lesson on film writing and craftsmanship. Sony's UHD is amongst the best the format has seen, with incredible picture, fantastic sound, and a nice compliment of carryover bonus features. This UHD earns my highest recommendation.
60th Anniversary Edition
1957
65th Anniversary Limited Edition
1957
1957
1957
Collector's Edition
1957
2006
1961
1963
Collector's Edition
1978
1970
2006
60th Anniversary Limited Edition
1962
1983
1998
Final Cut | 40th Anniversary Edition
1979
2008
The Director's Cut | Single-Disc Edition
1981
2010
Der Hauptmann
2017
1967
1962
1987
1975
1977
Der Untergang | Collector's Edition
2004