7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young man searches for the "master" to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. Along the way he must fight an evil martial arts expert and an rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter.
Starring: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry, Faith PrinceMartial arts | 100% |
Music | 24% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian SDH, Swedish, Thai
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Sony has released the fan-favorite 1985 film 'The Last Dragon,' directed by Michael Schultz and starring Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry, Faith Prince, and Leo O'Brien, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. A new audio commentary track is also included on the UHD disc. The bundled Blu-ray is identical to Sony's original 2015 issue.
For 1080p screenshots sourced from the Blu-ray, please click here.
Sony's 2015 Blu-ray was quite the looker, and it still is. Watching it in spurts again for the sake of comparing it to the UHD revealed an image that
holds
up beautifully today. It's one that is organically filmic, crisp, and efficient: it offers the film medium at just about its best at the 1080p resolution. The
UHD still manages to offer a fairly sizeable improvement, especially in the area of the Dolby Vision color grading, but more on that in a moment. The
2160p resolution amplifies the image's filmic essentials, yielding a superior grain structure even against the very fine grain on the Blu-ray. It's
healthy
and looks like it hasn't been touched at all. The overall clarity gains are striking, and the improvements to fine level detail are vital. The UHD brings
out
better clothing elements, superior skin textures, finer hair elements, and crisper environmental details, even well into the background. Even some
complex overhead distance shots see remarkable gains. Look at a shot of a pier area at the 6:23 mark and compare the clarity of the lines of the
individual boards on the Blu-ray and the UHD. There is no mistaking the vast superiority of the UHD here, and in every shot. The movie looked good
on
Blu-ray, but the UHD takes it to another level of accuracy and complexity.
The more substantial gain here comes courtesy of the Dolby Vision grading. Wow. The Blu-ray looks positively dull, flat, and washed out in
comparison. The
UHD's gains to color vividness, vitality, depth, and boldness are quite remarkable. Everything from warm woods to bright clothes, from skin to
neon lights, enjoy vast improvements to color richness and saturation. That extends to every color, and not just the punchiest reds or oranges, but to
grays and browns and other less vivid colors as well. Black level depth is wonderful and true, whites pop with newfound life and vigor, and skin tones
are far healthier and fuller on
the UHD. This is a radical improvement. Add in the perfect encode and flawless print and this is easily one of the finest looking UHD discs on the
market.
The new Dolby Atmos track replaces the 5.1 lossless track from the previous Blu-ray, and it makes a difference. The sense of stage fullness is greater with the Atmos track, of course not just because of the additional speakers at work but also because of their proper utilization. The musical elements and general atmospheric detail (such as the scene inside the packed movie theater early in the film), offer a satisfying sense of environmental saturation that the Blu-ray cannot quite achieve. The overhead channels are not really used for significant discrete elements, and the original track was not engineered to do so, so the top layer is mostly left as fill support, of which the track does a fine job. Overall clarity is excellent as well, and the spacing is precise and pronounced. Dialogue is clear and centered in addition to being well prioritized throughout.
The UHD disc includes a new extra: a fan commentary featuring Comedian Amber Ruffin and Author Lacey Lamar. The included Blu-ray disc for
The Last Dragon, which is identical to Sony's 2015 issue, contains a commentary, a documentary, and a trailer.
See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code
is
included with purchase.
UHD:
The Last Dragon is a fun and easy tongue-in-cheek entertainer that understands itself and plays to its strengths. It may be a bit overlong but the cast is strong, the characters are endearing, the comedy works, and the music remains infectious. One of the stalwart and quintessential 80s films, The Last Dragon holds up as a fan favorite that's received a wonderful new UHD release that delivers jut about reference 2160p/Dolby vision video, a great Atmos soundtrack, and a fun new commentary. It also ships exclusively, at time of writing, in a handsome SteelBook. What's not to love? Highly recommended!
Special Edition
1983
1988
Special Edition
1982
1985
2011
Final Mission
2018
Special Edition
1981
2021
1994
1985
1987
1976
Ninja Busters / The Tournament
1972-1984
Special Edition
1985
1974
Yellow Faced Tiger | Huang mian lao hu | 黄面老虎 | Original Mandarin Cut + Alternate English Cut
1974
2K Restoration
1980
1991
1990
35th Anniversary Limited Edition
1989