6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's highly acclamed novel set during the Roaring Twenties in 1922. Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, on Long Island. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla FisherPeriod | 100% |
Romance | 60% |
Melodrama | 52% |
Drama | 2% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Warner Brothers has released Director Baz Luhrmann's flashy and visually extraordinary adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel 'The Great Gatsby' to the UHD format. The disc includes a largely striking 4K/HDR image but curiously retains the DTS 5.1 soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray. No new extras are included.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
For its UHD release of The Great Gatsby, Warner Brothers presents the film with an upscaled 4K transfer, presumably based on a 2.5K digital intermediate (that sourced from a 5K native resolution
shoot),
and
standard HDR-10 color enhancement. The results are, generally, spellbinding, as lavish as both Gatsby's world and Luhrmann's production design. The
transfer approaches best-case scenario for an upscaled image, certainly aided by the high-yield native photography and precise attention to detail in
the film's core technical construct. Core textural complexities are generally off-the-charts wonderful, boasting insanely complex skin textures, period
clothing, and location extravagance with eye-popping intensity and inherent intricacy, all besting the 1080p Blu-ray, sometimes significantly. That said,
the movie's production and construction yields a fairly
artificial, flat, and smooth appearance. Through all of the textural wonders, there's an unmistakable gloss and sheen to the movie, offset by
occasionally
more gritty scenes, a handful of vintage shots, and several others made to appear somewhere between grainy vintage and contemporary clear.
Gatsby stands as one of the most hyper and heavily stylized films to appear on the UHD format thus far. Even within the same shot one will
encounter a
flat artificiality blended with appreciable image complexity, say two deeply dimensional and detailed characters against a terribly smooth, phony looking
background. Generally speaking, however, the picture's inherent textural qualities are only accentuated here, and the result is some of the most
enjoyably intimate and
razor sharp material yet to make its way onto UHD. But the trade-off is a more pronounced reveal of many of the film's smoother, phonier elements.
The film's HDR-enhanced color palette adds an appreciable zest and brilliance to colors. It's perhaps not the most immediately striking boost to color
the format has seen, but the added depth and punch are much appreciated and only serve to add sometimes significant spectacle and color separation.
Often the finest moments take place when a single color stands out against otherwise similarly colored, and usually darker and more drab,
backgrounds. Teal attire against a largely red room. Gatsby's yellow car cruising through the streets. Green grasses bountifully exploding off the
screen. Storefronts and neon signs deliver rich, deep colors of impressive nuanced diversity and stability. Black levels are scrumptiously deep and and
accurate, perfectly absorbing and complimentary. Flesh tones often capture a fairly warm, occasionally borderline hot, appearance, through to be sure
there are plenty of more neutral and creamy complexities on display as well. Artifacts are few; a hint of shimmering can be seen on the would-be
three-dimensional
graphics that open the film, but such is the extreme exception to the rule. The Great Gatsby is a formidable UHD, besting an already top-flight
Blu-ray with sometimes significantly improved sharpness and detail revelation and firmer, punchier color. The movie's structure and extreme stylization
make it perhaps not a definitive reference disc if one is wanting a more streamlined visual
experience, but it's an experience to be sure and a must-see for any UHD-capable movie fan.
I did experience a momentary pause and jerk in playback at the 1:34:00 mark, not repeatable on rewind, on the Oppo UDP-203.
This UHD release of The Great Gatsby joins a handful of other catalogue UHD releases not to feature a new soundtrack; rather than a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X presentation, Warner Brothers has opted to release the film with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that is a carryover from the previously issued 1080p Blu-ray. For a full audio review, please click here.
The Great Gatsby's UHD disc proper contains no bonus content, but Warner Brothers has bundled in the previously issued Blu-ray disc, which
houses all of the bonus features. For full supplemental reviews, please click here, but see below for a quick run-through of what's
included. This two-disc UHD set also includes a digital copy redemption code.
The Great Gatsby is not a film for all tastes. It's hyper-lavish and often visually and sonically frenzied. Narrative almost necessarily takes a backseat, particularly early on, but the film never feels like only an exercise in cinematic excess and frivolity, though it's certainly that first and foremost. Warner Brothers' UHD release is splendid, besting an already superior Blu-ray with stout textural brilliance and improved color saturation. The package, however, sees no change in either audio presentation or supplemental content. Highly recommended to newcomers buying for the first time on UHD, but those who own the Blu-ray might be wise to wait for a sale before upgrading.
2013
2013
Alternate Artwork with Bonus Content
2013
VUDU Instawatch
2013
2013
2013
2015
1956
2012
2012
Fox Studio Classics
1946
1978
2019
1997
2016
2017
Warner Archive Collection
1928
2001
2017
1937
2011
Masterpiece Classic
2015
Warner Archive Collection
1954
1932
1949