The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 27, 2025

Videophiles may have understandably felt like IFC Films nailed two out of the three adjectives in this film's title when they released a 1080 version on disc way back in 2010 that featured an interlaced presentation. It was at least evidently encoded via AVC, unlike some early MPEG-2 interlaced Blu- rays that entered my review queue at around the same time, so there's that, but one way or the other while this release may irk some by not including a 1080 presentation of the feature (the accompanying 1080 disc is all bonus features), Arrow Video has once again come to the rescue of cult film lovers by offering another sumptuously packaged 4K release.

As mentioned above, The Good, the Bad, the Weird had a long ago 1080 release by IFC Films, and those interested can read Casey Broadwater's The Good, the Bad, the Weird Blu- ray review of that edition for a plot summary, list of supplements and Casey's reaction to the technical presentation.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray of the feature (as mentioned above, the 1080 disc in this package contains only bonus features), 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, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in our now ancient The Good, the Bad, the Weird Blu-ray review for a probably better representation of the palette despite any other inherent inadequacies of that presentation. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc of the main feature, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.36:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the presentation:

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Bot the Korean Cut and International Cut are presented with 7.1 audio mix.

The 4K SDR masters were supplied by CJ Entertainment. HDR10 and Dolby Vision colour grading was completed by Fidelity in Motion. Additional picture restoration was completed by R3Store Studios.

All audio mixes were supplied by CJ Entertainment. Additional audio mastering was completed by Þorsteinn Gíslason..

This new presentation of The Good, The Bad, The Weird has been approved by Director Kim Jee-woon.

Despite its interlaced presentation, the old 1080 disc got at least passable marks from Casey, but fans of this film are in for a treat with this really sterling new 4K UHD presentation. It's kind of interesting to me that CJ Entertainment evidently provided a 4K SDR master which was then further tweaked for the HDR / Dolby Vision grades by "outsiders" (though Fidelity in Motion is certainly understandably appreciated in this regard), but the result does not show any signs of any disconnect between source and additional blandishments. The appearance of both versions is typically beautifully organic, with a nicely resolved grain field and really precise looking fine detail on all of the practical sets and costumes. Detail is perhaps surprisingly constant even in some of the extremely wide outdoor vistas which are offered, where those so inclined can virtually count blades of grass or particles of sand at various moments. But once again it's probably the palette that provides the most overt visual gobsmacking, with the HDR / Dolby Vision grades really boosting some of the incredibly vivid primaries in particular. While the many outdoor scenes probably understandly benefit the most from the HDR grading, even a lot of the interior scenes offer gorgeously burnished hues.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Casey rather liked the old 1080 disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and the good news is the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track offered on this disc seems to recreate the same winning surround activity that Casey details in his review (I never owned the old IFC disc, which may actually be a good thing all considered, but I'm unable to do a side by side comparison). The ubiquity of outlandish action sequences offers some clear and consistent engagement of the side and rear channels, even if those rear channels are pretty explosive at times (in more ways than one). While it's obvious that the score by Dalpalan and Chang Young-gyu was meant to evoke Ennio Morricone, I'd point inquiring audiophiles to Jerry Goldsmith's work on Our Man Flint, which to my ears clearly influenced at least the Road of Desert cue. One way or the other, the score also is nicely dispersed in the surround channels. The glut of explosions and gunfire also provides good bursts of LFE. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One (4K UHD)

• International Version (2:09:52) and Korean Version (2:15:17) are accessible under the Choose Version Menu. The Korean Version is described as follows:

  This is the Korean theatrical cut of the film, in which the Korean independence fighters feature more prominently. It represents a halfway point between an early cut presented at Cannes and the ventual International cut, which combines the two.

• Introduction by Kim Jee-woon (HD; 1:29) gives some brief contextual background about the story and is subtitled in English.


• Commentaries

Commentary by director Kim Jee-woon and actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung (International Version)




Commentary by critic and producer Pierce Conran and critic James Marsh (International Version)




Commentary by director Kim Jee-woon, cinematographer Lee Mo-gae, lighting director O Seung-cheol, aaand art director Cho Hwa-sung (Korean Version)

Disc Two (1080)

• Corralling Chaos in the Desert (HD; 25:56) is a new interview with director Kim Jee-woon. Subtitled in English.


• Dusty Dust-ups and Sweaty Saddles (HD; 14:51) is a new interview with stunt choreographer Jung Doo-hong. Subtitled in English.


• Archival Extras

Running Fast (HD; 1:30:26) is a vintage feature length piece documenting the production. Subtitles in English.




The Good, the Bad, the Weird and the Vicious (HD; 18:55) features Kim Jee-woon and the cast in conversation. Subtitled in English.




Analogue (HD; 13:36) looks at cinematography, lighting and stunts. Subtitled in English.




Space (HD; 10:29) focuses on production design. Subtitled in English.




Sound (HD; 10:56) addresses sound design. Subtitled in English.




Movie / Storyboards Comparison (HD; 14:15) is subtitled in English.




Behind the Scenes Featurette (HD; 15:03) offers candid footage and is subtitled in English.




Making Of #1 (HD; 3:23) is subtitled in English.




Making Of #2 (HD; 1:03) is subtitled in English.




Interviews are subtitled in English:

Interview with director Kim Jee-woon (HD; 3:15)




Interview with actor Song Kang-ho (HD; 2:42)




Interview with actor Lee Byung-hun (HD; 2:58)




Interview with actor Jung Woo-sung (HD; 2:47)

Cannes Highlight Reel (HD; 3:02)




Deleted Scenes (HD; 43:55) feature optional commentary by Kim Jee-woon.




Alternate Scene (HD; 00:47) also has a commentary.

• Alternate Endings are all rather fascinating to wend through:

Alternate Ending 1 (HD; 1:52)




Alternate Ending 2 (HD; 1:52)




Alternate Ending 3 (HD; 1:52)




Alternate Ending 4 (HD; 1:52)




Alternate Ending 5 (HD; 11:49)

• Trailers

Korean Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:53)




International Trailer (HD; 1:53)




US Trailer (HD; 2:22)




UK Trailer (HD; 1:56)

• Photo Gallery

This is another handsomely packaged release from Arrow. An O ring encloses a nicely designed slipbox which itself holds the keepcase and other extras. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and itself holds three collectible postcard sized artcards. The slipbox also houses a double sided fold out poster and a really nicely appointed perfect bound collector's book with some great writing and the usual assortment of stills.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

About the only complaint I suspect some fans of this film may have with this release is that it doesn't include a 1080 disc with the main feature. Otherwise, this is another really beautiful looking and sounding release from Arrow, with an amazing array of supplemental material and very handsome packaging with extra swag. Highly recommended.