Top Secret! 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Top Secret! 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the 1984 comedy film 'Top Secret!,' directed by the trio of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker; and starring Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, and Peter Cushing; to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video. For this UHD release, Paramount has simply ported over the existing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that accompanied the film's 2022 Blu-ray release. There are no extras on the UHD disc, but the 2022 Blu-ray is also included and houses the extras from that issue. In short, this is a fairly standard Paramount UHD drop with the typical video-only upgrade. Do note that at time of writing, this UHD is exclusive to the ZAZ: The Collection! three-film UHD set which also includes a newly released UHD disc for Airplane! and a non=SteelBook version of The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad.

Top Secret! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the UHD disc output at 1080p. They are not representative of the UHD/Dolby Vision image you will see on your screen.

Paramount released the long-awaited Top Secret! to the Blu-ray format in 2022 and the results were not impressive, to be kind. It was a poor transfer, one that might have passed as "decent" at the dawn of the Blu-ray age but, in more recent times, was clearly falling far behind Blu-ray's capabilities. So here is the film on UHD. Does it improve at all on the disappointing Blu-ray? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding yes.

Paramount's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation of Top Secret delivers a very nice upgrade from the Blu-ray. It is not a top tier UHD by any stretch of the imagination, but it does bring a pleasant, enjoyable, and filmic image to the screen. The picture improves upon the Blu-ray even in these simple areas, yielding real grain, natural texture, and nice detail complexity as opposed to the soft, processed, and smoothed look found on the 1080p image. While I would never label this as "striking," I would call it "satisfying," at least by-and-large, for its consistency and its efficiency. Viewers will enjoy the much higher, crisper, and more tangibly realistic detail on display and at work here, offering good to, at times exceptional, definition to the gamut of content, notably faces and clothes but also various location details and support visuals. Some of the more complex elements really shine, like a suitcase full of watches and postcards at the 12-minute mark (see screenshot above), not to mention the wall texture behind the characters. Certainly in faces and clothes, the UHD is leaps and bounds superior to the fuzzy looking Blu-ray.

In similar fashion, the Dolby Vision color grading sees the material improve by leaps and bounds over the Blu-ray, but next to other UHD releases this is not a standout performer by any means. Colors are firm and pleasing. The movie does not really push to punchy or vivid hues, but just the stability and solidification are more than enough reason to upgrade over the comparatively poor performing Blu-ray. The palette enjoys satisfying accuracy, with a gamut of tones appearing well saturated within the film's intended visual structure, appearing properly graded to present accuracy but not tinker with the overall mood. Clothes and faces are realistic and support elements deliver pleasing splashes of additional color. Black levels are very nice here, whether in low light locales or considering things like black German military uniforms. White balance is very nice, well improved over the Blu-ray, again very noticeable on clothes.

I did not notice any severe print issues or troublesome encode artifacts. I think fans are going to be thrilled with he level of upgrade here, even if this one doesn't leap to the top of the UHD format heap.

Top Secret! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This UHD release of Top Secret! simply ports over the existing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack from the 2022 Blu-ray. Please click here for full coverage.

Top Secret! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Top Secret!, as it currently ships in the ZAZ: The Collection! boxed set, includes only the extras from the original Blu-ray on the bundled Blu-ray disc. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. Do note that there are some additional physical extras in the ZAZ boxed set. More detail on those may be found here.

• Audio Commentary: Directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker; Producers Jon Davidson and Hunt Lowry; and Moderator Fred Rubin.
• Alternate Scenes
• Bookstore Backwards
• Top Secret! Theatrical Trailer

Top Secret! 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paramount has done a good job in bringing Top Secret! to the UHD format. It offers a decent UHD image that is a fairly large upgrade over a troubled Blu-ray. The studio has otherwise put in little effort, offering no new audio track and no new extras. It is also exclusive to the previously linked ZAZ: The Collection! three-film boxed set. Even if the UHD image is not perfect, it's a big enough improvement to warrant a buy, even with no other incentives on the table to help persuade fans to purchase.