What Lies Beneath 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

What Lies Beneath 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

My colleague Marty Liebman covered Paramount's US Blu-ray of Robert Zemeckis's What Lies Beneath (2000) over three years ago. For Marty's critiques of the film and a/v transfers, please click here.

Claire sees more than her own reflection.

What Lies Beneath 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory has commemorated What Lies Beneath with a 25th Anniversary Edition that comes on two discs (a BD-100 and a BD-50). (My screener didn't include a slipcover.) The picture is sourced from a 4K scan created from the original 35mm camera negative. The transfer was approved by cinematographer Don Burgess. The UHD is presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible).

The image for WLB represents a film/CG hybrid. Burgess and his crew shot the picture with Panavision cameras in 2.39:1 anamorphic. According to the film's production notes, Burgess also incorporated the Panavision Kodak Digital Photography system. During the shoot, one of Burgess's camera assistants would capture digital stills of a scene and then transfer those stills to a computer with software that simulated the film stock Burgess chose for principal photography. The camera crew printed out a representation of how the shot may appear so it could be matched later. Jody Duncan wrote a feature about WLB for the October 2000 issue of CineFex where she reported that seventy-plus effects shots were created by Robert Legato and his Sony Pic­tures Imageworks crew. Shooting in 2.39:1 had several advantages for both the camera and v/f crews. For example, the wide rectangular spaces within the frame gave the Imageworks crew added room if Zemeckis felt that digitally composited images of props or inserts could add something that the story required or supply a better image of something than the native one Burgess captured. (The actors were sometimes shot with a green screen.) I was surprised while reading the CineFex article that Imageworks made CG cars for the film, which can be hard to differentiate from the real ones lensed on celluloid. I saw WLB in the theater and later on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K. The effects shots are integrated very well into the final images. The film stock for WLB was later developed by Eastman Kodak.

While I don't own the 2021 Paramount Blu-ray Marty reviewed, it sounds like it's based on the same master that appeared on the 2000 DreamWorks DVD with some noise reduction and sharpening applied. The SD transfer displays some dust as well as black and white specks that pop up periodically throughout. I have assembled a graphical comparison between the UHD disc and the DVD with frames that match as close as I could obtain. While several of the specks are quite small, they are present. There's a larger white speck below the collar of Dr. Norman Spencer's (Harrison Ford) dress shirt in Screenshot #38. Fortunately, these dust specks are absent on Scream's transfers. The DreamWorks DVD is interlaced because combing is evident alongside Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) in frame grab #20 where she rushes to the bathroom to prepare for a dinner date. The digital colorist has corrected skin tones on the recent transfers. For instance, Norman's face (particularly his forehead, nose, and cheeks) has a somewhat ruddy complexion (e.g., #16) on the SD image. This has been replaced with a more natural skin tone (e.g., see #17). In addition, Claire's face has a reddish/pink complexion on the DVD (#26) and Scream's Blu-ray (#27), but it receives a more subdued and neutral tone on the UHD (#28).

The D.V. and HDR deliver some fine highlights on day and night exteriors. For example, colors have a nice "pop" when the camera shows the Spencers' lawn (Screenshot #s 3, 6, & 11) and when it's hovering over Claire and her flower garden (capture #4). More, the HDR accents the distant lights seen inside the Spencer home as well as some small nightlights outside when Claire is on the pier talking on the phone to Beatrice (Victoria Bidewell), college roommate to her daughter Caitlin (Katharine Towne). (See frame grab #14).

Scream's 4K and Blu-ray are occasionally darker than the DVD, which you'll notice on some of the caps. When I compared some of the later interior scenes in the Spencer abode, I felt that the image on the UHD looks sharper and clearer than the appearance on the 1080p presentation. It was in these scenes where the higher resolution and enhanced HDR made a discernible difference. (Note: I upscaled the DreamWorks disc to 720p on my Sony player and it still looks pretty good in spite of the source-related flaws and the disc format's age. The ghosting on the interlaced transfer wasn't too bad.)

The UHD delivers a mean video bitrate of 84.4 Mbps for the video presentation while the whole disc averages about 93.3 Mbps. Scream's Blu-ray uses the MPEG-4 AVC encode and carries an average video bitrate of 27998 kbps.

Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, & 40 = Scream Factory 2025 4K Ultra HD BD-100 (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 32, 35, & 38 = DreamWorks Home Entertainment 2000 DVD
Screenshot #s 27, 30, 33, 36, & 39 = Scream Factory 2025 BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

The 130-minute feature receives the usual twelve scene selections on Scream's discs. (The R1 DVD has twenty-four chapters.)

What Lies Beneath 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (4130 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (1560 kbps, 24-bit). I listened to both tracks and will focus primarily on the 5.1 here. The sound design and delivery are essentially the same as what I heard on the DVD's DTS mix (754 kbps, 16-bit). (The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 that Marty reviewed is probably similar.) Spoken words are usually clear and audible but occasionally on the quieter spectrum. I increased the volume by 3-5 decibels than normal during some scenes and would encourage you to do the same on your receivers. Marty's description that this is a front-oriented track is accurate. There's some elevated bass when Warren Feur (James Remar) drives and parks his car in front of the new home he shares with wife Mary (Miranda Otto). The surrounds open up during scenes when thunder rumbles and rain descends, which the rears isolate nicely. There's additional surround activity when Alan Silvestri's score increases an octave and when it rises to a crescendo.

While the optional English SDH transcribe much of the onscreen dialogue, the track doesn't pick up several words from various characters' lines. Additionally, the subs misspell the name of the Spencer family dog in one instance.

What Lies Beneath 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream has ported over the archival commentary and featurette that are on WLB's DVD and Paramount Blu-ray. Not carried over from the former is a two-page leaflet containing quite detailed production notes. (The DVD also has fourteen screens of text featuring identical content from the insert.) The major addition appearing on the second disc is an 80-minute documentary that covers all facets of the film's production.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary by Director Robert Zemeckis and Producers Steve Starkey & Jack Rapke - in this vintage commentary track, Zemeckis and his two producers discuss various aspects of WLB's production, the cast, and crew. There are some gaps throughout. Zemeckis and his producers quit talking right before the end credits roll. A solid commentary track. All three speak in English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary by Director Robert Zemeckis and Producers Steve Starkey & Jack Rapke - in this vintage commentary track, Zemeckis and his two producers discuss various aspects of WLB's production, the cast, and crew. There are some gaps throughout. Zemeckis and his producers quit talking right before the end credits roll. A solid commentary track. All three speak in English, not subtitled.

• NEW You Know: Uncovering What Lies Beneath (1:22:30, 1080p; Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) - a feature-length legacy documentary about the making of the movie directed by Brian Ward and co-produced by Shout! Studios and Slushpile Entertainment. We hear from composer Alan Silvestri, producer Jack Rapke, visual effects supervisor Robert Legato, producer/second unit director Steve Starkey, director Robert Zemeckis, screenwriter Clark Gregg, story writer Sarah Kernochan, director of photography Don Burgess, costume designer Susie DeSanto, production designer Rick Carter, cast member Amber Valletta, special effects supervisor Shane Mahan, and puppeteer Jason Matthews. This program is a level or two above the standard retrospective doc. It thoroughly and comprehensively examines WLB's scripts, sets, costumes, performances, cinematography, visual effects, and music from all involved. The doc has eight chapter selections, which can only be accessed on the fly via remote control. All interviewees speak in English. The doc isn't subtitled.

• Constructing the Perfect Thriller (15:01, upconverted to 1080p) - this DreamWorks/Fox EPK featurette is half about WLB and half an overview of Zemeckis's filmmaking career through mid-2000 (and before Cast Away). The piece features interviews from 2000 with Zemeckis, Harrison Ford, producer Jack Rapke, production designer Rick Carter, visual effects supervisor Robert Legato, producer Steve Starkey, and Michelle Pfeiffer. When the program shifts to some of Zemeckis's other films, we get comments from Michael J. Fox, Tom Hanks, and Jodie Foster. If you've never seen WLB, I'd advise holding off watching the featurette till after. All participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:28, upconverted to 1080i) - DreamWorks/Fox's official trailer infamously gave away some important story elements and plot points so if you've never seen WLB, don't watch this until after the feature. The trailer appears in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. It has not been restored.

What Lies Beneath 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The craftsmanship of What Lies Beneath is admirable and commendable. The problem is that Zemeckis, who over-directs the picture, tries way too hard to make it look and sound like a Hitchcock movie for the new millennium. As a result, it struggles it forge a cinematic identity it can call its own. For example, while Silvestri is a great composer, he was constrained when he scored WLB because Zemeckis wanted the music to have a distinctive Bernard Herrmann sound. (The legacy documentary reveals that one of the scores Herrmann wrote for Hitch was used as a temp score for WLB.) Some of the notes written for WLB resemble Herrmann so much that an "Adapted from..." line could have justifiably been added to the music credits. I am referring to the frenetic strings and strong brass chords. They seem intended to jolt the audience along with the jump scares happening onscreen. The music here is more manipulative than it is suspenseful or scary. Silvestri's score is much better when it employs low strings, flutes, and harps to underscore the film's more mysterious material.

Scream Factory's 4K Ultra HD looks great, though keep in mind that the film frequently appears gray and dark. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track has been given a maxed-out bitrate. The retrospective doc is outstanding and informative in many ways. It could be a deal breaker if you've owned other editions and are a fan. While I have my criticisms of WLB, it's a well-made psychological thriller. A MODERATE RECOMMENDATION for the movie and a VERY SOLID RECOMMENDATION for the two-disc set.