The Place Beyond the Pines 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

The Place Beyond the Pines 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Derek Cianfrance's third feature The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) was reviewed by my colleagues Brian Orndorf and Kenneth Brown more than a dozen years ago. Brian did a theatrical review while Ken wrote about Universal Studios' BD-50. To read their thoughts on the film, please consult the linked reviews.

The family Luke wants.

The Place Beyond the Pines 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout Select's recent release is a two-disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/standard Blu-ray combo. (My copy didn't come with a slipcover.) Derek Cianfrance approved a new 4K restoration that's the basis for the UHD and 1080p Blu-ray. The former is presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). According to American Cinematographer (AC), director of photography Sean Bobbitt filmed TPBtP in the 2.40:1 ratio on 2-perf Super 35 mm using a handheld Arricam Lite. The negative film consisted of Kodak Vision2 50D 5201; Vision3 250D 5207 and 500T 5219. The camera package comprised Cooke S4 prime lenses (ranging from 12 mm to 135 mm) and an Angenieux Optimo 24-290 mm zoom lens. AC writer Michael Goldman profiled the film for the April 2013 issue of the magazine. Bobbitt told Goldman that he wanted to obtain a particular warmth and softness in the images that was not as sharp compared to other lenses. In watching the Universal/Shout BDs and Shout 4K, I feel those qualities are reflected in the transfers. Imagery doesn't appear too sharp (even on the 4K). Goldman also interviewed Cianfrance for his article. The director wanted to film in Schenectady, New York during the summer because the forest has an "incredibly green" tone. This is especially prominent on the 2160p transfer as the pine trees are lush with a darker green that's more solidly defined than the two HD transfers (e.g., see Screenshot #37).

Following principal photography, TPBtP was color-graded and converted to a digital intermediate for DCP. DI colorist Tom Poole graded both the production's dailies and the final picture on a DaVinci Resolve at Company 3 in New York. Poole didn't alter much what Bobbitt captured on celluloid. He described to Goldman what he wanted to maintain: "We tried to emulate a deep, print-y aesthetic, keeping colors strong and bold. From a color standpoint, we kept most scenes true to the natural color temperature of the environment. It was important to Derek and Sean to retain the color of the lush greenery around Schenectady in the summer." Color correction came down to inserting dynamics and adjusting the lighting in places. For example, there's a shot where Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) is outside a bank and then enters it through a door. Poole aimed for a color balance here by adjusting from daylight to tungsten or daylight to fluorescent for other scenes.

Grain prominence is very similar in Shout's UHD and standard Blu-ray presentations. I didn't see it spike or appear more coarse on the 4K. I noticed it often in close-ups of Luke and Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper). There's a good smattering of grain in a wide shot during a diner scene with Luke and Romina (Eva Mendes) in conversation. (See frame grab #19.) Black are deep in both transfers but they're sometimes super deep (without looking crushed) on the 4K. For instance, see the silhouettes of Jason (Dane Dehaan) and AJ (Emory Cohen) in Screenshot #34. I didn't spot any source flaws on Shout's 4K or Blu. (No dirt or specks.)

The UHD is housed on a BD-100 and sports an average video bitrate of 79.2 Mbps for the feature and an overall bitrate of 88.4 Mbps for the whole disc. Shout's Blu-ray employs the MPEG-4 AVC encode and boasts a mean video bitrate of 34994 kbps. The feature on Universal's BD-50 carries a standard bitrate of 31963 kbps. Shout's 1080p transfer is a shade brighter than Universal's ( #27 with #26 and #30 with #29).

Screenshot #s 1-25, 28, 31, 34, 37, & 40 = Shout Select 2025 4K Ultra HD BD-100 (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 26, 29, 32, 35, & 38 = Universal Studios 2013 BD-50
Screenshot #s 27, 30, 33, 36, & 39 = Shout Select 2025 BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

There are twelve chapter breaks for the 140-minute feature. (Universal's disc has twenty scene selections.)

The Place Beyond the Pines 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

TPBtP was recorded and mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1. Shout has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (3883 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (2033 kbps, 24-bit). (The average audio bitrate for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix on the Universal BD is marginally higher at 3909 kbps.) Cianfrance and his sound design team place the viewer in the middle of the amusement park during the main titles. Sounds are circular and completely enveloping. The viewer can really hear the motorcycle engines when Luke and two others rev them up inside a steel cage's "globe of death." There's also a loud rush when Luke rides his motorbike through congested traffic. There's also great directional f/x when Luke lifts up a garage door to Robin's (Ben Mendelsohn) shop. Spoken words are generally legible. It should be noted that Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes sometime mumble their lines and speak in lower tones that can be a little hard to discern. The surround channels deliver excellent ambiance in the traveling circus and forest scenes. One can hear crickets and cicadas.

Rock musician Mike Patton's score is heavy on atmosphere and texture. His music sets the mood for scenes and the states of characters with aplomb. Cianfrance also utilized several preexisting pieces of music that he layered into the sound track. Arvo Pärt's "Fratres for Strings and Percussion" reminds me a lot of James Newton Howard's scores. Cianfrance also inserted "Ninna Nanna Per Adulteri" into about four scenes. This is a cue Ennio Morricone wrote for the Italian film Cuore di mamma (Mother's Heart, 1969). The vocals and instrumentals are beautiful, sad, and wistful.

The optional English SDH deliver a complete and accurate transcription of the film's dialogue and sound f/x. I didn't notice any missing words or typos.

The Place Beyond the Pines 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout has ported over the same extras (a small batch) from the Universal release. For additional details on them, please refer to Ken's review.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary with Co-Writer/Director Derek Cianfrance - this terrific feature-length track with Cianfrance covers a large terrain across 140 minutes. He discusses the two cinematographers for the picture (a DP who was originally slated to film it but didn't; Bobbitt, the second, who did). Cianfrance talks about his original outline for the film and various drafts of his screenplay. He explains how Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, Ray Liotta, and Dane DeHaan each became involved. The filmmaker describes how Schenectady is a primary character in the movie. It's fascinating to hear many of the pictures Cianfrance watched in film school and how they influenced him when he made TPBtP. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Co-Writer/Director Derek Cianfrance - this terrific feature-length track with Cianfrance covers a large terrain across 140 minutes. He discusses the two cinematographers for the picture (a DP who was originally slated to film it but didn't; Bobbitt, the second, who did). Cianfrance talks about his original outline for the film and various drafts of his screenplay. He explains how Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, Ray Liotta, and Dane DeHaan each became involved. The filmmaker describes how Schenectady is a primary character in the movie. It's fascinating to hear many of the pictures Cianfrance watched in film school and how they influenced him when he made TPBtP. In English, not subtitled.

• Going to THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES Featurette (4:33, 1080p) - this promotional featurette is essentially an extended trailer for TPBtP. It does contain some behind-the-scenes footage and interview snippets with Gosling, Cooper, Cianfrance, and Mendes. All content is in English, not subtitled.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (9:53 altogether, 1080p) - As Ken has noted, the four deleted/extended scenes are titled "80/20" (2:47), "Luke Goes to Jail" (4:00), "Military School" (1:30), and "Jason Meets Dean at Robin's" (1:34). In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:29, 1080p) - Focus Features' official post-festival trailer for The Place Beyond the Pines presented in about 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (1591 kbps, 16-bit). Please note that this trailer didn't appear on Universal's US BD but was included on the Arthaus and Studio Canal Region B discs released in Germany and the UK, respectively.

The Place Beyond the Pines 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Place Beyond the Pines finds Gosling at his laconic best. The whole cast is stellar. Commentators have claimed that the film's second half is its weakest. I see their point since it isn't as strong as the first. But Dane DeHaan elevates the material with a completely naturalistic performance for a character who, just like his father, is taciturn and pensive. The script has some shortcomings (e.g., gaps in logic during a few scenes), but the film is still excellent overall. The recent 4K scan that Cianfrance approved looks outstanding on the UHD. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.