7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
Starring: Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin FirthDrama | 100% |
Period | 46% |
Mystery | 31% |
Psychological thriller | 31% |
Thriller | 17% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (2011) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include video interview with writer John Le Carre; interviews with cast members, director Tomas Alfredson and screenwriter Peter Straughan; short featurettes; audio commentary; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The lonely spy
Kino Lorber's release of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray offer presentations of a recent 4K restoration from the DSM (Digital Source Master), which was supervised and approved by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema.
Two sets of screencaptures are included with this review. Please note that the screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
Screencaptures: 1-14 are from the 4K Blu-ray.
Screencaptures: 16-36 are from the Blu-ray.
In 2012, we reviewed two Blu-ray releases of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The first was this Region-B release from StudioCanal, while the second was this Region-A release from Universal Pictures. I have only the first release in my library. I do not have the second release and therefore cannot offer any comments on how it compares to Kino Lorber's new release.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
I viewed the entire film HDR enabled. I think that the new 4K master offers some minor yet noticeable improvements that expand the dynamic range of the visuals. The difference is noticeable during brighter and darker footage, as well as in 1080p and native 4K. However, whenever there are wider ranges of brighter nuances, the improvement becomes very easy to appreciate. As a result, often times it feels like depth is better. This being said, the management of light is such that in a lot of areas it feels like sharpness, clarity, and depth are intentionally suppressed. There are some specific color nuances that tremendously help as well. On the previous Blu-ray release these color nuances seemed quite prominent while here they are better balanced, which is arguably the biggest reason why the dynamic range of the visuals feels superior. Delineation ranges from very good to excellent. However, I have to say that I expected to see even tighter visuals. As it is, the current presentation reveals a few darker areas that looked a tad loose on my system. Some additional encoding optimization could have been used to ensure an overall excellent presentation. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free).
BLU-RAY DISC
I don't think that you would see a noticeable improvement in quality on this release if you already have the previous Region-B release. I want to make it very clear what this means. I do believe that trained eyes will spot some areas where the dynamic range of the visuals will be superior. However, delineation, clarity, and depth will most likely look identical on your system. Why? Because the film's period appearance is such that it becomes extremely difficult to spot actual differences if you do not know where to look while performing direct comparisons with the older release. On my system, I found it extremely difficult to recognize the 'new', even though I had already seen improvements in native 4K. One more thing. Some of the loose darker footage becomes even looser in 1080p, so I think that additional encoding enhancements could have been helpful here as well. Still, the overall quality of the presentation is very solid. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
My guess is that the existing 5.1 track is a perfect replica of the original soundtrack. I thought that the previous 5.1 track from the Region-B release was outstanding too, so I did not expect to notice a difference. I mention this in case you might be wondering, or speculating, why the 4K Blu-ray release did not get a Dolby Atmos track. Well, I don't think that it needs one. There are no technical anomalies to report in our review.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
During the Cold War era, the men that were part of the intelligence community and fought hard to neutralize visible and invisible enemies capable of changing the course of history behaved almost exactly like the people you will see in Tomas Alfredson's second feature film, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Their environment was a lot like the one you will see recreated in the film as well. How do we know that these statements are true? Because over the years these men were expertly profiled and their environment accurately described in some quite brilliant books written by John Le Carre, who was one of them. I quite like the original 1979 TV series, but Alfredson's film is a legit contemporary masterpiece. Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray release offers a very solid technical presentation of the film that makes it quite a treat to revisit at home. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Special Edition
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