The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 15, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available as part of The Twilight Saga: 5-Movie Collection 4K.

Just a few weeks after Lionsgate offered a so-called "wide release" of The Twilight Saga: The Complete Collection on 1080 discs, the studio is once again partnering with Best Buy for a series of exclusive SteelBook releases presenting the Twilight films in 4K (with 1080 discs included), offering the first chance fans of the Twilight franchise have to experience the sequels in that format (Lionsgate previously released Twilight 4K way back in 2018, and the disc(s) in this set seem to be the same as the first 4K release). Potentially adding to the value of this set is the fact that all of the 1080 versions are the two disc releases, and the 4K UHD discs have all received upgraded Dolby Atmos audio.

Martin Liebman's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 Blu-ray review of the first 1080 release provides an apt plot summary and technical analysis.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate with an HVEC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. As with its forebears, this was shot on 35mm and finished at 2K, but this is another case where scoring can only "say" so much, since I'm giving this a 4.0 but I think it's definitely better looking than either of the first two films, but perhaps not quite as consistent in appearance as the third. This is the first film in the franchise where I felt that Dolby Vision / HDR actually materially warmed the image rather than cooling it, and that's evident even in the opening few seconds where there's more of a blood red look to the sun and title card, and again later in Bella's "vision" of more incredibly saturated reds during her "dream (nightmare?) wedding". But many of the "travelogue" scenes are considerably better suffused with better highlights in this version than in the old 1080 version. Some of the purples in the Rio sequences are especially evocative and are probably some of the best examples of the nuance HDR can bring to the table. Grain is mostly tightly resolved, if not quite at the consistent level seen in the third film, so that there are some passing moments that have the same pretty splotchy yellow look that is mentioned in other reviews. Detail levels are generally excellent, helped by recurrent uses of close-ups. The increased resolution may point out more clearly some of the CGI, as in an opening storm scene which looks a little more "manufactured" than in the 1080 version. My score is 4.25.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video side of things, my 4.5 score for this disc's Dolby Atmos track might suggest a "downgrade" considering Marty gave the 1080 disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track a 5.0, but putting aside my frequent mantra of "different reviewers means different opinions", I'll simply state that this is another case where the Atmos track is quite consistently immersive and well rendered, but where the difference between it and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track might be passing and/or fleeting at best. Once again, as with the third film in particular, a lot of the Atmos engagement is reserved for some nicely immersive ambient environmental effects, which especially in some of those aforementioned "travelogue" sequences, do provide some verticality and realistic placement of sounds. The "traditional" surround channels are regularly engaged by both effects and scoring. Dialogue (including Bella's voiceover) is always rendered cleanly and clearly. My score is 4.75. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Director Commentary

1080 Disc One

• Director Commentary

1080 Disc Two

• Love, Death, Birth: Filming The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (HD; 1:26:43)


• Jacob's Destiny (HD; 7:18)


• Bella and Edward's Personal Wedding Video (HD; 8:33)


• Jump to. . . offers direct access to various scenes and/or characters (not just Jacob or Edward this time).


• Music Videos (HD; 17:32)

A photo of the SteelBook cover is included in the The Twilight Saga: 5-Movie Collection 4K Blu-ray review.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This film may fall prey to the "let's split the last part into two films" gambit that has been part and parcel of several other notable franchises, but fans of this series should be generally well pleased with the technical merits of the 4K presentation, and the glut of supplements and handsome SteelBook packaging should add to that appeal.