7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set in contemporary Chicago, amidst a time of turmoil, four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities take fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin FarrellThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Though they have very little else in common, it’s interesting to compare two recent 20th Century Fox releases, The Old Man & the Gun and Widows, for how they attempt to “reinvent” the heist or caper genre. The Old Man & the Gun foregoes any elaborate planning for and even execution of various robberies, simply positing its affable “bad guy” as someone who “politely” relieves various banking institutions of their vaulted funds. Widows on the other hand does get into some of the “nuts and bolts” of planning an elaborate heist, but it’s the fact that it’s a bunch of women doing the planning (and, ultimately, thieving) that probably gives this film its most distinctive element. But Widows has quite a bit more on its mind that a “mere” heist or caper aspect. This is a film virtually teeming with all sorts of interrelated subplots, subplots which deal with things like female empowerment (perhaps understandably, given the underlying conceit of the film), but which also include the roiling world of Chicago politics, dysfunctional relationships between both spouses and parents and children, racial inequities and religious fervor. There's even a passing if ultimately devastating sidebar involving what has become almost a staple in relatively recent films like The Hate U Give and Blindspotting, the shooting of an unarmed black kid by a white policeman. That’s a lot to stuff into a film which is ostensibly concerned with removing a cache of cash from a challenging location, but co-screenwriters Steve McQueen (who also directed) and Gone Girl and Sharp Objects scribe Gillian Flynn manage to wend their way through the labyrinth with surprising ease, delivering a film which manages to provide the requisite adrenaline rushes while also offering perhaps surprisingly nuanced accounts of several characters.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080p Blu-ray.
Widows is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.39:1. Shot on film and finished
at a 4K DI (according to the IMDb), this is a consistently impressive looking upgrade in both detail levels and especially palette saturation courtesy of
HDR, though the same minor and fleeting anomalies I detailed in our
Widows Blu-ray review (specifically with regard to screenshot 19
in that review) are still apparent in this 4K UHD version. The grain field is arguably a bit more evident in this version and to my eyes looked just a bit
gritty a couple of times, kind of weirdly toward the top of the frame but not elsewhere. Otherwise, though, things resolve naturally and look nicely
filmic throughout the presentation. Shadow detail is at least marginally improved, especially in the extremely dark third act, and the black levels
throughout this presentation consistently impress. The palette isn't necessarily changed all that much in this version, but it's noticeably more
saturated and vivid. Fine detail in the many close-ups enjoys a definite if subtle uptick in elements like skin pores and hair.
From the opening contrast of gentle breathing sounds with the boisterous sonics of Harry and his crew attempting a getaway, this 4K UHD's Dolby
Atmos track is even more immersive and propulsive than the completely excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track included on the 1080p Blu-ray.
There's clear engagement of the Atmos tracks in moments like the huge explosion that caps the opening sequence, but there's consistent surround
activity generated in this film even in quieter dialogue moments, courtesy of both score and placement of ambient environmental effects. Despite a
relative lack of big, showy set pieces, the Atmos track continues to provide nicely enveloping activity throughout the presentation. Dialogue is always
rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. The entire track exhibits superior fidelity and wide dynamic range.
Note: As tends to be the case with Fox releases of titles in 1080p and 4K UHD, the audio and subtitle specs are different on the two discs.
The specs on this page reflect the specs on the 4K UHD disc. Please see our Widows Blu-ray review for specs on that disc.
Fox has not chosen to port over any of the supplements from the 1080p Blu-ray to the 4K UHD disc. The bonus features detailed in our Widows Blu-ray review are of course available on the 1080p Blu- ray included with this release.
My wife was a news reporter for a couple of big stations in Chicago for several years, and one of her "beats" was City Hall, a place rife with subterfuge and even Machiavellian machinations. Her news director told her she had to get a lot tougher to deal with the people there, never accepting anything at face value and not being afraid to confront folks who were sometimes (often?) scheming and venal. All of those elements are certainly more than evident in Widows, though the rough and tumble world of Chicago politics is just one of several rather interesting elements to this supposed "heist" or "caper" film. It's probably the focus on women doing the plotting and thieving that sets this entry apart from some of its genre siblings. Technical merits are first rate despite a couple of odd moments in the video presentation, and the 4K UHD version offers clear improvement in both video and audio from the already excellent technical merits of the 1080p Blu-ray version. Widows in 4K UHD comes Recommended.
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