The Italian Job 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Italian Job 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the 2003 remake film 'The Italian Job' to the UHD format. New specifications for the UHD include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio. The film was previously released to Blu-ray very early in the format's lifespan in 2006 with lossy audio and an MPEG-2 video encode, so this represents a substantial upgrade, even without perfect video and an Atmos track. The bundled Blu-ray is that same disc.

The Italian Job 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

This is certainly a significant upgrade from the original Blu-ray in all areas of concern: detail, its filmic essence, color reproduction, compression, and so on, but nevertheless this new 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD release of The Italian Job hardly ignites the UHD format. The picture is solid enough on its face, and can look quite nice at times with its vast improvement to compression and holding to a fairly attractive filmic veneer, but grain is not always well maintained, with some shots, especially in lower light, appearing adequately grainy and some others looking a little smoothed out. Sometimes differences are obvious from one scene to the next in terms of graininess and image fidelity. The picture is certainly not waxy or completely devoid of its natural film appearance -- it's never hopelessly pasty and smooth or anything of that sort -- but there is a certain sense of grain reduction at work. Still, the image boasts some solid details to faces, clothes, and environments, and certainly well beyond the rather pitiful Blu-ray that is admittedly from a different era of quality, compression, and so on. Still, one can see some areas for improvement for this release, but it is not at all bad; it could just use a little finesse around the edges.

The new Dolby Vision grading again offers subintimal improvements over the previous Blu-ray issue, especially in color depth and accuracy. There's really no comparison, but viewers will note a more lifelike palette, richer hues, more vivid whites, deeper blacks, and more realistic skin tones. The entirety of the color spectrum has been enhanced with a realistic, well defined, and stable appearance. Much like the textural elements, this color palette will not set the UHD world on fire, but the stability and accuracy are great gains for the film and present the content with, overall, a satisfying level of accuracy.

The print shows the very odd speckle but such are rarely, if at all, bothersome. Though not a perfect UHD image, it looks solid enough and still holds significant gains over the previous Blu-ray. Even with some mild drawbacks, fans will find this to be well worth the upgrade cost. The image tops out at about a 4.0/5.0 for the video score, and hangs out there quite a bit, but can dip down to the 3.0 range as well, so 3.5 seems a good compromise for the overall UHD video score.

The Italian Job 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Even without a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, The Italian Job enjoys a significant boost with this upgrade to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio, improving upon the dated and somewhat dull 5.1 lossy track from the 2006 release. The presentation improves clarity and spatial awareness with enhanced placement and pinpoint precision to music and action alike. The track is fuller, richer, more lifelike in instrumentals and immersive atmosphere. Listeners will enjoy the total crispness and seamless integration of all elements. Musical fidelity is strong and location elements in bustling exteriors spring to life with excellent depth and placement. Action scenes are deep and alive with intense clarity and excellent imaging and discrete elements alike working in tandem to bring about a fine audio experience in this channel configuration. This is evident in the early minutes when an explosion sinks a safe down to ground level and a boat chase ensues. Dialogue is also clear and nicely established in the front-center speaker.

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

This UHD release of The Italian Job includes no extras on the UHD disc. All of the extras are on the bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to the 2006 issue. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for further descriptions. A digital copy code is included with purchase.

• The Italian Job - Driving School
• The Mighty Minis of The Italian Job
• High Octane: Stunts from The Italian Job
• Pedal to the Metal: The Making of The Italian Job
• Putting the Words on the Page: The Making of The Italian Job
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Previews

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

Paramount's new UHD release of The Italian Job delivers good -- but not quite great -- 2160p/Dolby Vision video that is a significant improvement over the old 2006 Blu-ray. The audio track is likewise improved in the upgrade from lossy 5.1 to lossless 5.1. Even without an Atmos mix, the elements sound good and the track is very engaging around the entire surround spectrum. No new extras are included, but the bundled Blu-ray does carry over the legacy extras. Recommended.