Troy 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Troy 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 29, 2026

Maybe you've heard of this little movie called The Odyssey that's been getting a few mentions here and there as this review is being written. Probably not exactly by coincidence, Arrow Video is revisiting that "other" epic by Homer, namely The Iliad, or at least Wolfgang Petersen's cinematic version of it courtesy of this 2004 outing. If the Christopher Nolan opus is being hailed as a masterpiece, it may have been granted a bit more "adaptation slack" than the David Benioff scripted Troy was at the time of its release, though Benioff was perhaps able to salve any perceived slights that his ego suffered from the critical browbeating Troy endured with the acclaim he received for yet another "epic" adaptation, Game of Thrones. Nolan's films have often pretty artfully balanced style and substance, but one of the perceived deficits of Troy was that it sure looked and sounded "pretty" (despite all the violence, especially in the Director's Cut), but it was arguably curiously empty at its center. In revisiting the film now after several years for purposes of writing this review, I'm frankly not sure that was ever a fair assessment, but one way or the other, there is now an ability for anyone to decide for themselves with this three disc edition, and the fact that the film made close to a half billion dollars at the box office is certainly proof that there was (and probably continues to be) an audience for this effort. This features the previously released on 1080 Blu-ray Director's Cut, but also one of the true curios of the now little remembered (except by us old timers) "format wars", as the Theatrical Cut of Troy only made a brief appearance in 1080 on HD-DVD before HD-DVD met its demise (if you want a little laugh from a bygone age of another "obsolete technology", as if HD-DVD isn't funny enough, check out the image of the back cover of that release on the link provided and marvel at the marketing genius of AOL Keyword: Troy).

As mentioned above, the Director's Cut of Troy had an early 1080 release by Warner Brothers (so early it's number 87 in our database), and Martin Liebman's Troy Blu-ray review provides plot information (hey, read the original!), a list of supplements and Marty's assessment of the technical presentation.

Troy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: While this is a standalone 4K release without a 1080 disc, I am offering screenshots from Arrow's standalone 1080 release of Troy as I think it actually provides a better representation of the look of the palette in particular, rather than offering screenshots from the 4K disc which are by necessity downscaled to 1080 and in SDR. Because this release does not include 1080 presentations of the two cuts (the 1080 disc is for special features only), the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

Troy is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information about the presentations:

Troy has been restored by Arrow Films. Both the Theatrical and Director's Cuts are presented in their original 2.39:1 aspect ratio with 5.1 audio, and are presented in 4K resolution, with the UHD presentation in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

For the Theatrical Cut, the original 35mm camera negatives were scanned at 4K / 16 bit resolution at Warner Brothers Motion Picture Imaging. For those sections unique to the Director's Cut, a 2K DI was used. Both version of the film were restored in 4K resolution and color graded at Duplitech.

All materials sourced for this restoration were made available by Warner Brothers. QC review was completed by Pixelogic.

Marty gave top notch marks to the old Warner 1080 presentation, but a 5.0 score in 2008 without anything to compare it with might not have received the same "love" today, and a cursory comparison of screenshots in Marty's review with the ones here and in my Troy Blu-ray review of the 1080 release should show quite easily what substantial improvements have been made with this release. For just one example (there are several more for those interested), compare the second screenshot in Marty's review with the second screenshot in my review of Arrow's 1080 version to see that in both 1080 and 4K this is a less artificially brightened and more fulsomely suffused looking presentation. The 4K release's HDR / Dolby Vision grades add even more luster to an already impressive SDR palette in the 1080 release, and throughout the film in both cuts, the outdoor material in particular (which is plentiful) pops with incredible finesse, especially toward cooler tones like blues. That said, there are an abundance of warm yellows and oranges throughout (along with more than a bit of blood red) that also benefit from the HDR gradings. Detail levels are typically excellent, especially on practical sets and costumes, though the increased resolution of this format may actually point out a few uses of CGI which are probably more subliminal in 1080. There are some very slight variations in image quality in the Director's Cut stemming from the 2K DI utilized for interstitial material, but differentiations are almost negligible. Grain resolves naturally in both versions.

Troy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Troy features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. The Warner Brothers 1080 release was so early that Marty's review actually encourages people to spring for a receiver that will decode lossless audio, even if Marty didn't give top marks to that disc's LPCM 5.1 track. While Arrow's verbiage doesn't explicitly mention a remaster as other releases have frequently cited, the surround track here is incredibly forceful and immersive (and it's notable to comment how Wolfgang Petersen explicitly mentions completely redesigning the audio for the Director's Cut). In both versions of the film offered here, surround activity in the action scenes can almost pummel the listener with effects, both emanating from discrete channels but also whizzing around the soundstage when, for example, spears are launched launched against the enemy. Another gorgeously burnished score from James Horner also gets a beautifully spacious rendition in the surround track. Unsurprisingly, the 5.1 track's low end is decidedly more energetic than the stereo version. Dialogue and occasional voiceover are delivered without any issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

Troy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: While the aforementioned 1080 release by Warner Brothers came early enough in this site's history that supplements aren't broken out in discrete listings, Marty's above linked review does offer a descriptive paragraph or two about all of the archival supplements mentioned below.

Disc One - Theatrical Cut (2:42:49)

No supplements are offered on this disc.

Disc Two - Director's Cut (3:16:04)

• Introduction by Wolfgang Petersen (HD; 2:21) is accessible under the Play Menu and is authored to lead directly to the feature.

Disc Three (1080) - Special Features

• In Movie Experience (HD; 2:42:49) is a "reconstructed" PiP commentary (speaking of obsolete technologies).


• Troy In Focus (HD; 23:08) is an archival multi-part featurette with Wolfgang Petersen.


• In the Thick of Battle (HD; 17:14) is an archival behind the scenes piece.


• From Ruins to Reality (HD; 14:02) is an archival featurette lookin at production design.


• Troy: An Effects Odyssey (HD; 10:54) is an archival look at VFX.


• Attacking Troy (HD; 15:12) is an archival review of adapting The Iliad.


• Gallery of the Gods (HD; 10:49) is another archival multi-part piece, this one helping to offer information about various Greek Deities.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:08)


• Image Galleries

Stills (HD)




Behind the Scenes (HD)




Promotional Material (HD)

Arrow's insert booklet features some interesting 2004 archival material (from Wolfgang Petersen and Brad Pitt), along with some new writing by Priscilla Page and Laurie Maguire. There's also an excerpt from the original production notes on casting.

The keepcase sleeve is reversible and packaging also features a slipcover.

Troy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm probably a contrarian of sorts (what else is new?) in that I rather enjoyed Troy when it was originally released, and actually liked it even more when the longer Director's Cut came out. Is it perfect? No, of course not, as even stalwarts like Peter O'Toole and Brad Pitt himself have gone on record about, but it's arguably more thoughtful than was originally perceived, and both visually and aurally it's a complete stunner. Arrow has done the film's fans a real service by offering both cuts with almost all of the previously available supplements. Technical merits are first rate, and Troy comes Recommended.