Twilight 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Twilight 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 24, 2018

Portland, Oregon often comes in for some disparaging comments, and not just because I live there (that’s a joke — kind of). At least one of the birthplaces of the “keep ___ weird” meme (yeah, I know about Austin and the others) and of course a favorite hangout for hipsters and the other kinds of folks that Portlandia continually skewered, Portland and its surrounding areas hold another claim to perhaps dubious fame: Twilight used a lot of Oregon locations for its shoot, as is evidenced not just by thanks in the film’s closing credits crawl but by a retrospective featurette included on this disc that actually documents many of the locations in and around The Rose City. There are actually tours available for ardent Twilight fans that will take them to various Oregon locales, including the sweet little town of Vernonia, which doubled as Forks. That tourist interest may flow once again, after a few years of arguable ebbing after the main frenzy over Twilight and its sequels faded a bit, now that Lionsgate has brought out the first Twilight film in 4K UHD.

If there are any folks who have been living under a (mossy?) rock for the past several years and who need a refresher course in the star-crossed romance of Edward and Bella, my colleague Martin Liebman provided an apt plot summary in his Twilight Blu-ray review.

Twilight 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.

Twilight is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. Shot on film and finished at a 2K DI, this is rather interesting viewing experience, though how much of an "upgrade" it is may be subject to some debate. I've had some problems with Lionsgate 4K UHD releases that were culled from film sources (as opposed to digital capture), and the good news is the grain field resolves naturally almost all of the time. There are a few isolated spikes, typically very brief as in the short shot of Bella taking off in the plane early in the film, or in some of the later black and white and/or sepia toned flashbacks, but there's very little of the "swarming" look that has occasionally afflicted other Lionsgate releases. Perhaps because of the aggressive grading (more about that in a moment) and the overall darkness and dreariness of so much of the film, detail levels may not enjoy the uptick that some fans may have hoped for, but there are notable new elements visible in this version, including everything from some of the fine detail on the forest foliage to more mundane items like patterns on fabrics. The biggest difference to my eyes on this version was with regard to the palette, which looks even cooler and less vivid than on the already at times fairly drab looking 1080p Blu-ray. The grading has been granted some interesting new highlights courtesy of Dolby Vision, and this film's prevalence toward greens and teals is frequently very memorable, though it's balanced by a really kind of interesting if odd desaturation in things like flesh tones. There are occasional interstitial moments of increased warmth, as in the scene shortly after the 40 minute mark where Edward and Bella go out on a date, or the final scene of them dancing, but this is often a rather gray looking presentation. A few interesting hue changes accrue here that may attract notice by some fans, including Bella's dad's pickup, which looks a bit more orange than red now.

Twilight 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Twilight's audio gets an Atmos makeover on this 4K UHD disc, but as with the video, I'm not really sure some fans are going to be completely blown away by the differences between the audio on this version and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix on the 1080p Blu-ray. There are certainly at least a few new moments of activity that engage the Atmos channels, as in the baseball game at around 1:20:00, where ominous wind and thunder sounds clearly waft midair, but I frankly was a bit surprised at how relatively tame this mix seemed at times. Bella's voiceover and dialogue in general is always presented cleanly and clearly, and the film's almost nonstop use of underscore and/or source cues also provides consistent immersion, as do the well done ambient environmental effects, but for me personally this was not the consistent Atmos showcase I kind of expected it to be.

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

Lionsgate has really gone the extra mile with this 4K UHD release and provided a nice array of supplements, including some new to this release. It is a bit funny to see many of the older archival supplements tied to something I think was called a bookstore (joking again), the late and lamented Borders chain.

• Twilight Tour. . .Ten Years Later (HD; 10:02; SDR) features Jackson Rathbone and Catherine Hardwicke touring Portland and environs.


• A Conversation with Stephenie Meyer (HD; 23:34; SDR) is a far ranging interview with the author, who gives some biographical background as well as insights into her creation of the Twilight franchise.


• Music: The Heartbeat of Twilight (HD; 5:36; SDR) seems almost to be focusing more on source cues rather than underscore, but has a few snippets of recordings sessions for the film. Catherine Hardwicke's comment that big orchestral swells will include "violins and everything" may strike some as comical.


• Becoming Edward (HD; 7:29; SDR) focuses on Robert Pattinson and the character he plays.


• Becoming Bella (HD; 5:24; SDR) focuses on Kristen Stewart and the character she plays.


• Catherine Hardwicke's Vampire Kiss Montage (HD; 2:36; SDR) is a grouping of scenes of characters getting their necks attacked.


• Catherine Hardwicke's "Bella's Lullaby Remix" Music Video (HD; 3:58; SDR)


• Edward's Piano Concert (HD; 2:34; SDR) is just another example of an aspect I've pointed out in previous reviews, namely that someone needs to teach actors to more convincingly "finger sync" piano performances. I'm available for a modest consultant's fee.


• Twilight Cast Interview: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (HD; 7:03; SDR) is the first of several Borders related archival supplements included on this release.


• Twilight Cast Interview: Cam Gigandet (HD; 5:56; SDR)


• Twilight Cast Interview: Edi Gathegi and Rachelle Lefevre (HD; 6:21; SDR)


• Twilight Premiere on the Red Carpet (HD; 7:55; SDR)


• Cast Interviews on the Red Carpet (HD; 5:09; SDR)


• Stephenie Meyer Talks About the Twilight Saga (HD; 36:13; SDR) is a backyard book group evidently arranged by Borders.

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

Twilight was a major phenomenon ten years ago and it will be interesting to see if that fan based extends to the 4K UHD format. While this certainly provides upticks in both video and audio quality, I'm not sure those increases are drastic enough to make this a "must have", right away at least. That said, Lionsgate has made this more of a contender by providing a nice slate of supplements for those considering a purchase.