Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Triangle of Sadness 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 13, 2023

Ruben Östlund's "Triangle of Sadness" (2022) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include filmed conversation between Ruben Ostlund and filmmaker Johan Jonason; deleted scenes; visual effects demonstration; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

You wanted equality, correct? Then surely you can practice what you preach. Pay your half of the bill now and we can go back to the hotel. Does the young man mean it? Does he lack basic manners? Or is he testing his date, a girl his age, to find out how much of his apparently very odd sense of humor she can tolerate? After a few awkward moments of silence, the girl turns off her phone and looks at him, first surprised then visibly annoyed, and utters something about not having seen the bill that has been sitting in the middle of the table for quite some time. The young man instantly shoots down her claim with basic logic. Now the girl becomes angry. She creates a huge scene and complains about how the young man’s supposed obsession with money is breaking their relationship. She also tells him that she has had enough of it, hoping that he would capitulate because he has embarrassed himself. But the young man stands his ground and the girl finally pulls out her credit card while simultaneously declaring that the entire bill will be paid with it. This is not what the young man wanted her to do, so once more he proceeds to explain to her how the equality she desires works -- she pays her half of the bill and he pays his half of the bill. When moments later the waiter returns and informs the girl that he is having problems charging her credit card, the young man takes the lead. The girl still tries to play proper defense, but the more she does, the more effective the young man’s arguments become because he has caught her lying yet again. She is unable to pay because she does not have enough credit. Later, in their hotel room, the girl finally surrenders and admits that the entire scene in the restaurant was part of an act. Equality? It is good to have but only when she benefits. The rest of the time her boyfriend should behave like a real gentleman and treat her like a queen, which would mean that she should not be expected to pay for dinner. Ever.

While a bit uneven, the opening segment of Triangle of Sadness sets expectations very high. It cuts through hypocrisy like a hot knife through butter. Can the rest of Triangle of Sadness be just as impressive?

In another segment, the young man and his girlfriend are seen having a wonderful time on a $250,000,000 luxury yacht where excess is as ordinary as it was centuries ago throughout the halls of the Versailles. Top-grade black Russian caviar, chilled Dom Perignon, sea urchin appetizers, the finest stakes money can buy, and beautiful servants trained to greet the caprices of the guests with a proper smile. If you wish to recharge your batteries, this is the ultimate charger. In a casual conversation with an aging, overweight, and remarkably cynical Russian speaking with a thick accent, the young man and his girlfriend nonchalantly reveal how they were able to afford the charger. Both are online influencers, so someone else paid for them to spend time on the charger and take pictures that would promote it. The Russian had to pay for the charging procedure but he was happy to do it. Years ago, after the Iron Curtain collapsed, he became a multi-millionaire while “selling shit”. Back then, distributing agricultural fertilizers was a booming business that could make big dreams come true.

Another casual encounter between the young man and his girlfriend and a polite British couple in their late seventies, possibly early eighties, effectively pushes Triangle of Sadness in a different direction and ultimately into an abyss. The couple reveals that they accumulated their wealth while selling hand grenades to brittle democracies around the world. It was a booming business too, but the UN and other similar entities complicated it so much that they chose to retire.

By the time it is revealed that the captain of the charger is an intolerable drunk and devout Marxist that loves to spout nonsense, it is already painfully obvious that the only ambition of Triangle of Sadness is to self-destruct in the most cynical, unoriginal, and amateurish way possible. Triangle of Sadness pays homage to three classic films: Lord of the Flies (1963), La Grande Bouffe (1973), and Swept Away (1974). However, its understanding of their ability to satirize and stimulate the mind to ponder the nature of various socio-cultural and socio-political contrasts and realities is quite simply non-existent.

Ruben Ostlund wrote, directed, and edited Triangle of Sadness. Given how poorly the film turned out, it is tempting to write that the praise Ostlund has received is baffling, but in an odd, completely unintended way it makes sense. Triangle of Sadness undoubtedly resonates very well with a lot of contemporary critics whose views on quality and kitsch appear to be as skewed as those of the overpampered guests on the charger.

Triangle of Sadness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Triangle of Sadness 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".

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 #1-30 are from Triangle of Sadness Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #33-37 are from Triangle of Sadness 4K Blu-ray.

The 4K presentation of the film cannot be viewed with Dolby Vision or HDR. However, the film looks so striking in 4K that I must declare that the 4K presentation is among the very best to be produced by a 4K Blu-ray release. Delineation, clarity, and depth are simply incredible, both during well-lit or daylight footage and darker footage where light is restricted. The dynamic range of these visuals is terrific, too. Once I was done viewing the film in native 4K, I sampled various areas of the 1080p presentation and was just as impressed by the quality of the visuals. I think that in select areas -- like the island footage where there are quite a few panoramic shots -- sharpness is marginally better in native 4K, but in 1080p the exact same visuals look absolutely stunning, too (see screencaptures #4 and 5). What about color reproduction? In native 4K, the range of colors is breathtaking. I would say that these are the type of lush colors you would see in digital posters but without the often noticeable digital harshness that is associated with them. It is an all-around superb quality that is expected from native 4K presentations, but it is so consistent here that it can only be described as incredible. What about darker areas where many times there are notable fluctuations in quality between 1080p and native 4K content? In native 4K, the range of shadow nuances is astonishing, so whatever the camera was able to capture you will see easily see it without having a huge screen. Fluidity is outstanding and all visuals move as smoothly as you can imagine. Image stability is impeccable.

Triangle of Sadness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with a few exchanges in Swedish). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is crystal-clear, sharp, and very potent. I would describe the original soundtrack as very organic because plenty of random sounds and noises are allowed to roam in it, but the recording equipment must have been incredible because even very minor dynamic nuances are exceptionally easy to appreciate. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Triangle of Sadness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Trailer - an original trailer for Triangle of Sadness. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Ruben Ostlund and Johan Jonason - in this exclusive program, filmmaker Johan Jonason discusses the conception and production of Triangle of Sadness with director Ruben Ostlund. There are various observations about the behavior of the different characters in the film. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Erik, the Extra - presented here is footage from the shooting of one of the most disgusting scenes in Triangle of Sadness featuring producers Erik Hemmendorff. In Swedish, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Visual Effects Demonstration - this program focuses on some of the visual effects that were used during the shooting of Triangle of Sadness. With music and English text. (7 min).

• Deleted Scenes - presented here are several deleted scenes. In English. (13 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film critic A. S. Hamrah as well as technical credits.

Triangle of Sadness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After the impressive opening segment, I thought that Triangle of Sadness had the potential to evolve into a memorable cinematic wrecking ball of the kind that Marco Ferreri would have loved to direct if he was still around. Instead, Triangle of Sadness chose to self-destruct in the most cynical, unoriginal, and amateurish way possible while pretending to be a thought-provoking piece of satire. It is pretty ironic that so many elite critics have praised the brilliance of Triangle of Sadness because their views on quality and kitsch appear to be as skewed as those of the overpampered guests on the luxury yacht. Criterion's upcoming 4K Blu-ray release offers a very solid technical presentation of the film.