The Others 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

The Others 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2023

Alejandro Amenábar's "The Others" (2001) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Alejandro Amenabar; exclusive new program with Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, producer Fernando Bovaira, and Alejandro Amenabar; various archival programs; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

It very quickly becomes obvious that the large Victorian house will be transformed into a spooky playground because of the way the camera floats through it. The visuals make one anticipate the emergence of something disturbing, something that might repeatedly send chills down one’s spine. There are too many thick shadows and almost no proper bright light.

But instead of an ugly creature with an awkward-looking body, the Victorian house reveals a stunningly beautiful woman (Nicole Kidman) who looks after her two children (Christopher Eccleston and Alakina Mann). Because the children have a rare genetic condition that makes it impossible for them to tolerate light, the woman keeps the house as dark as possible. It is why from afar the house looks abandoned, at night even like a fragment from a nightmare that has temporarily come alive.

On a gloomy, eerily quiet day, the woman welcomes a trio of servants looking for work -- an old lady (Fionnula Flanagan), a mute young girl (Elaine Cassidy), and an old man (Eric Sykes) -- and even though they do not have references, she hires them to help her take care of the house. She could have managed without them if her husband (Christopher Eccleston) had been around, but he never came back from the war.

For a while, it seems like the servants are not only meeting the expectations of the woman but the house is slowly being reformed for the better. However, when one of the children complains that a ghost using the body of a young boy has begun revealing itself, the woman gradually becomes paranoid. Then, as her condition gradually worsens, inside the house and the surrounding areas the real and the surreal begin to merge and eventually become one as well.

Even though The Others was Alejandro Amenabar’s first English language film, the cinematic horror it produces is one hundred percent Spanish. In fact, its understanding and management of atmosphere, which is the core element of the classic Spanish horror/supernatural film, could not have been any more traditional. Amenabar simply utilizes better contemporary equipment to accomplish what the likes of Victor Erice, Carlos Saura, Fernando Arabal, and Jorge Grau did decades ago.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the entire story is structured around an intelligent misdirection that allows Amenabar to prepare a crucial reset of it. However, there are numerous clues that reveal the inevitable arrival of the reset, virtually all of which are easy to identify. How quickly one begins to identify the clues will determine how effective the inevitable reset is.

Unfortunately, the middle section, where the film must produce great atmosphere and suspense, features a lot of repetitive material with Kidman that overemphasizes the quality of her performance. As a result, the film slows more than it needs and, in several areas, even begins to drag.

All of Amenabar’s films, even the deeply unsettling Tesis, are beautifully crafted films that usually are very confident in their ability to balance great storytelling and great visuals. The Others has a good story to tell but it quickly creates the impression that it is going through a list of ‘rights’ it does not need. On the other hand, it is probably true that genre films like The Others can no longer be truly original because there are no more good tricks left for them to invent and genuinely surprise film lovers who have spent years analyzing their playbook.

The Others 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of The Others is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

The following text appear inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:

"Approved by director Alejandro Amenábar, this new digital master was created from the 35mm original camera negative, which was scanned in 4K by Mercury Films at Cherry Tower in Madrid. The original Dolby Atmos soundtrack was remastered from the magnetic tracks."

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-23 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #25-32 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release is sourced from a new 4K restoration that was supervised by director Alejandro Amenábar. The native 4K presentation cannot be viewed with Dolby Vision or HDR grades. I viewed the 4K presentation and sampled numerous areas of the 1080p presentation.

The new 4K makeover that was prepared for this film is quite the revelation. Indeed, the cinematography emphasizes various types of shadows and shadow nuances that make the darker footage -- which is more than two-thirds of the film -- look quite spectacular because now depth is very impressive. Clarity and sharpness are striking, too. Interestingly, the strength of the 4K makeover is such that in 1080p the visuals look very, very impressive as well. Highlights are beautifully balanced, too. Some of the most significant improvements are in the area of color reproduction. Not only are saturation levels better and properly rebalanced, there are entirely new ranges of supporting nuances that make the visuals appear a lot healthier. Image stability is excellent. I did not encounter any surface anomalies to report in our review. The entire film looks immaculate as well.

The Others 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English Dolby Atmos. Obviously, if your system cannot decode it, you will be getting an English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

In select areas, the Dolby Atmos track produces such humongous dynamic contrasts that it almost feels like it does too much. I did not see The Others at my local theater, but I have to wonder if this type of dynamic intensity is accurately replicated or the Dolby Atmos track simply elevates everything to a whole new level. So -- and please understand that I am not exaggerating -- you probably want to be quite conservative with your audio settings when you sit down to revisit The Others in 4K. I had the volume of my system turned up slightly more so that I can hear all exchanges and had to make some adjustments. For the record, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

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

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Alejandro Amenabar in 2022. It is in Spanish and subtitled in English. Mr. Amenabar discusses in great detail how The Others was conceived, its unique stylistic appearance, the emergence of particular clues revealing the true identities of the main characters, specific lensing choices and how light and shadow are manged in them, etc. It is a very informative commentary that covers all areas of the production of The Others.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by Alejandro Amenabar in 2022. It is in Spanish and subtitled in English. Mr. Amenabar discusses in great detail how The Others was conceived, its unique stylistic appearance, the emergence of particular clues revealing the true identities of the main characters, specific lensing choices and how light and shadow are manged in them, etc. It is a very informative commentary that covers all areas of the production of The Others.

• Alejandro Amenabar and Pau Gomez - in this exclusive new program, Alejandro Amenabar and critic Pau Gomez discuss conception and production of The Others as well as some of the religious symbolism in its story. The program was produced by Criterion in 2023. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (37 min).

• A Look Back at "The Others" - in this exclusive new program, Alejandro Amenabar, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, and producer Fernando Bovaira explain what attracted them to and involvement with The Others. The program was produced by Criterion in 2023. In Spanish and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (62 min).

• The Making of "The Others" - this archival program features clips from interviews with Alejandro Amenabar, Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, and cinematographer Javier Aquirresarobe, amongst others, as well as scouting and raw footage from the shooting of The Others. In Spanish and English, with English subtitles where necessary. (29 min).

• On the Set - this short archival program takes a closer look at Alejandro Amenabar's working methods during the production of The Others. In English and Spanish. (5 min).

• Art Direction - this archival program features footage of the set design models and costume illustrations, with audio commentary by production designer Benjamin Fernandez. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (3 min).

• Visual Effects - this archival program focuses on some of the digital effects that were used in several scenes in The Others, with audio commentary by visual effects supervisor Felix Berger. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (7 min).

• Recording the Soundtrack - presented here is archival footage shot during a soundtrack recording session. It features comments by Alejandro Amenabar. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (6 min).

• Photographing the Dead - presented here is archival footage from a photography session for one of the key props in The Others, with audio commentary by Alejandro Amenabar. In Spanish, with English subtitled. (4 min).

• Audition Footage - presented here is archival footage from an audition session with actors Alakina Mann and James Bentley. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for The Others used by Dimension Films/Miramax. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Philip Horne as well as technical credits.

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

This upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo release of The Others offers a pretty dramatic upgrade in quality. I think that even some of the film's biggest fans will be quite surprised by the new 4K makeover that was prepared for it because there is simply a lot more to see and hear now. While I am not ready to declare that it is the most impressive 4K makeover I have seen done and presented on 4K Blu-ray to date, it is definitely one of the top five. In addition to the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo release, Criterion is bringing to the marketplace this standard Blu-ray release. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.