The Grand Budapest Hotel 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Grand Budapest Hotel 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 4, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Criterion's The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years 4K.

Considering Wes Anderson's penchant for symmetry and Academy Ratio framings, at least at times, about the only problem some diehard Anderson fans may have with Criterion's impressive new set documenting "10 films and 25 years" may be that it's in a rectangular rather than a square box. That oversized box measures nearly 13" wide by 7 1/2" high by 3 1/2" deep and which some "liner notes" from Anderson joke is "upholstered in a sort of burlap canvas". It has a magnetized hinged cover that opens to display ten individual DigiBooks, one for each Anderson film, and each offering two discs, 1080 and 4K UHD, along with a sewn in pamphlet devoted to that film. While all of the films have had previous 1080 releases (not necessarily by Criterion), this set offers the 4K UHD debuts of each film.

The Grand Budapest Hotel has had two previous 1080 releases. My The Grand Budapest Hotel Blu-ray review covers the 2014 release from home studio 20th Century Fox. Svet Atanasov's The Grand Budapest Hotel Blu-ray review covers the 2020 release from Criterion itself. My review contains a plot summary along with a list of supplements and my reaction to the technical merits. Svet's review links to mine for plot information but contains another list of (different) supplements and Svet's reaction to the technical presentation on that disc.

The Grand Budapest Hotel 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Grand Budapest Hotel is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Criterion with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in a variety of aspect ratios. The pamphlet included with the DigiBook has the following information on the master:

The Grand Budapest Hotel is presented in the aspect ratios of 1.37:1, 1.85:1, and 2:40:1. Supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson, the new 4K digital master presented on the 4K Ultra HD disc was upscaled from the 2K digital source master, which was created from scans of the 35 mm original camera negative. The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remasterd from the original digital audio files. The feature is presented in Dolby Vision HDR (high dynamic range) on the 4K UHD disc, to preserve the wide color gamut of the theatrical presentation, and high definition SDR (standard dynamic range) on the Blu-ray.

As with the three chronologically preceding films in this set, the upscale from a 2K DI may once again mean that the film's palette nuances courtesy of the Dolby Vision / HDR grades are what attract the most instantaneous attention, and the new highlights can indeed by quite ravishing a lot of the time. Everything from some of the almost cotton candy pinks to more burnished blues, reds and golds all pop magnificently throughout the wending tale(s) the film offers, and some of the grading (as opposed to lighting) choices in particular look especially vivid. Vis a vis the somewhat purplish hue I mentioned in my old review of 20th Century Fox's 1080 disc is also perhaps slightly skewed toward pink now, at least more so than in SDR. Detail levels on all of the practical sets and costumes is typically excellent. Some of the miniatures and other VFX adjacent material may not look especially "realistic", but it is probably arguable that they weren't meant to.

The Grand Budapest Hotel 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Grand Budapest Hotel's remastered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track frankly didn't strike me as significantly different from the one on the old 1080 disc from 20th Century Fox, and that's an entirely good thing. All of the admittedly subtle at times surround activity I mentioned in my old review is intact and just as enjoyable, with the ebb and flow of activity and surround engagement that I specifically detail in that old review. Once again music is charmingly effective and quite widely imaged almost all of the time. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Grand Budapest Hotel 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Commentary is from 2020 and features Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jeff Goldblum and Kent Jones.

1080 Disc

• Commentary


• Visiting The Grand Budapest Hotel (HD; separate authored chapters approximately 35:00 total)


• The Making of The Grand Budapest Hotel (HD; 21:28)


• Storyboard Animatics (HD; 25:42)


• Video Essays

Wes Anderson Takes the 4:3 Challenge by David Bordwell (HD; 23:23)




The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz (HD; 16:08)

• Featurettes (HD; separately authored chapters approximately 42:00 total)


• Trailer (HD; 2:26)

The Archive edition features a wonderful pamphlet sewn/glued into the DigiBook with an essay by Richard Brody, along with a glut of photos and technical information.

The Grand Budapest Hotel 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Grand Budapest Hotel is arguably overstuffed, but it's filled with such wonder and wonderments that it hardly matters in the long run. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very appealing. Highly recommended.