Blade Runner 4K UHD (1982)

[Schu]

ttt

[Flatnate]

This has been kind of my "go to" disc for dialing in black level and shadow detail. The Deckard apartment scene is great for this, as its possible to really crush the shadow detail if your brightness, contrast settings, and even gamma curve aren't perfect. So, I'm super stoked to finally see this catalog title on UHD, as I'm intimately familiar with the film in that regard. Also, really eager to do some good comarisons with newer HDR compatable projectors to see how the HDR grading helps with better shadow detail in the dark scenes. It should improve it, despite any light limitation of the projector. I even own a 16mm print of the film, and my 16mm print has a slightly higher black floor but more shadow detail than one would imagine compared to my Blu-Ray running on my JVC projector. So as long as the HDR grading doesn't take us too far from the directors original intent then I'm pretty excited to see how it is implemented on older catalog titles. I might actually get excited about the format then!

[MisterKorman]

I'm not sure if I can justify purchasing this film again (I bought the Director's Cut and the Collectors Edition on DVD and the Final Cut on Blu-Ray (and just added all the DVD bonus discs into a new case for it)), but if I make the jump to 4K, this if the first film I'm watching. I always find something new to admire in Blade Runner.

[Lensman]

Whilst I'm very much looking forward to the UHD release and willing to upgrade my player from a UB-900 to a dolby-vision capable machine if required nonetheless I can guarantee that the model work (buildings in particular) does NOT benefit from a higher resolution. We'll start to see TOO much in that area unfortunately ...

[Sky_Captain]

You do realize that film has a higher resolution than 4K, and Blade Runner didn't exactly look shit on a large theater screen, did it?

[Geoff D]

Heh. The large format VFX is going to look incredible in 4K.

[jh901]

Originally Posted by Lensman

Whilst I'm very much looking forward to the UHD release and willing to upgrade my player from a UB-900 to a dolby-vision capable machine if required nonetheless I can guarantee that the model work (buildings in particular) does NOT benefit from a higher resolution. We'll start to see TOO much in that area unfortunately ...

Akin to suggesting that we now see "too much" of the restored Criterion release of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp or the remastered Patton. I mean, that make-up isn't up to today's standards and wouldn't have been as obvious when viewing a worn out print in a typical theater.

Additionally, not all of us are sitting 10ft from a 65".

[Geoff D]

I saw the Final Cut digitally projected on one of the biggest screens in the whole of the UK and it didn't just hold up, it smashed it. This WAS from a double 2K overlapped projection but make no mistake: the miniatures were designed, fabricated, lit and shot by some of the best in the business and they will be fine in 4K. Incidentally, the producer of the Final Cut restoration had this to say about the high-res VFX:

Originally Posted by Charlie de Lauzirika

[The VFX] were scanned at 6K and 8K resolution from pristine 65mm elements. There were lots of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" in the room when we first projected those scans in true 4K at MPI on the Warner lot during the restoration process. The detail was pretty staggering.

[Viking61]

Now listed on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073C1ZYW9/

Special Features

Disc 1 – Blade Runner: The Final Cut – 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Disc 2 – Blade Runner: The Final Cut Blu-ray
· Introduction and Commentary by Director Ridley Scott
· Commentary by Executive Producer/Screenwriter Hampton Fancher, Screenwriter David Peoples, Producer Michael Deeley and Production Executive Katherine Haber
· Commentary by Visual Futurist Syd Mead, Production Designer Lawrence G. Paull, Art DirectorDavid Snyder and Special Photographic Effects Supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer

Disc 3 – Blade Runner Bonus Disc 1
· Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner – The Ultimate Documentary on the Making of the Film, Culled from Over 80 Interviews with Cast, Crew and Colleagues and Hours of Outtakes and On-Set Footage.

Disc 4 – Blade Runner Bonus Disc 2
· The Electric Dreamer: Remembering Philip K. Dick
· Sacrificial Sheep: The Novel vs. the Film
· Philip K. Dick: The Blade Runner Interviews
· Signs of the Times: Graphic Design
· Fashion Forward: Wardrobe & Styling
· Screen Tests: Rachael and Pris
· The Light That Burns: Remembering Jordan Cronenweth
· Deleted & Alternate Scenes
· 1982 Promotional Featurettes
· Trailers and TV Spots
· Promoting Dystopia: Rendering the Poster Art
· Deck-a-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard
· Nexus Generation: Fans and Filmmakers

Includes UltraViolet so you can enjoy the film on many different compatible devices. MUST ENTER REDEMPTION CODE BY 2018-09-30 TO REDEEM ULTRAVIOLET OFFER. DOES NOT INCLUDE iTUNES FILE.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

You do realize that film has a higher resolution than 4K, and Blade Runner didn't exactly look shit on a large theater screen, did it?

Photochemically finished commercial 35mm theatrical prints most certainly do not have a higher-than-4K resolution. Depending on post-production techniques and the printing process/quality, you're looking at the equivalent of maybe 700-1200 lines- definitely sub-2K.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Viking61

Now listed on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073C1ZYW9/

4 discs? Shirley that means we'll be getting Dias Peligrosos in HD at last?? (unless these are the two DVDs from the old 5-disc collector's edition, heh)

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Shirley that means we'll be getting Dias Peligrosos in HD at last??

That's already been confirmed, but everything I've seen has shown just one disc (conventional BD) of extras alongside the movie UHD.

Edit: Oh, wow- I guess it is 4 discs.

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Photochemically finished commercial 35mm theatrical prints most certainly do not have a higher-than-4K resolution. Depending on post-production techniques and the printing process/quality, you're looking at the equivalent of maybe 700-1200 lines- definitely sub-2K.

My point remains...

[jh901]

It is sad and laughable if any member of this forum of high definition film enthusiasts believes that consumer digital audio or video quality has peaked. A transfer of any kind from an analog source to digital and the related processing (PCM D/A conversion of audio, for example) necessary for us to see and hear the stored digital data has another 10+ years of development. We are in a golden era. Enjoy it.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

My point remains...

I don't see how it does. Your point was that the original theatrical release had a higher resolution than this 4K release, so there's nothing to fear from the added detail. However, the original theatrical release had much lower resolution than this 4K release.

I agree with you that we have nothing to fear, by the way. I just wanted to respond to your claim because your numbers were wildly inaccurate.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I saw the Final Cut digitally projected on one of the biggest screens in the whole of the UK and it didn't just hold up, it smashed it. This WAS from a double 2K overlapped projection but make no mistake: the miniatures were designed, fabricated, lit and shot by some of the best in the business and they will be fine in 4K. Incidentally, the producer of the Final Cut restoration had this to say about the high-res VFX:

Several of the building shots *always* looked like the miniatures they are to me. Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of VFX in the film are still impressive. As for true 4K I don't think they'll look "more" like miniatures...

[Geoff D]

Incidentally, here's a photo from the American Cinematographer July '82 issue showing the sheer size of some of the miniatures:

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Several of the building shots *always* looked like the miniatures they are to me. Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of VFX in the film are still impressive. As for true 4K I don't think they'll look "more" like miniatures...

I think some have that miniature 'look', yes, and it's something that's inherent to the photography, e.g. depth of field is a tricker proposition when shooting in miniature, rather than the actual quality of the models themselves. As you can see from the above, some will have plenty of detail that will hold up just fine in 4K.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

I am excited for this release but I have a few concerns that perhaps if fans respectfully engage with WBHV we might have enough time to improve this release or a future version.

CDL has commented on his twitter account that he has not been approached to work on this release at all. There are some things he would correct and improve if extended the opportunity. He did not state any specifics on which material has the rough edges but those may be exclusive his stellar Dangerous Days documentary.

https://twitter.com/Lauzirika/status/879529300814376960

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by jh901

It is sad and laughable if any member of this forum of high definition film enthusiasts believes that consumer digital audio or video quality has peaked. A transfer of any kind from an analog source to digital and the related processing (PCM D/A conversion of audio, for example) necessary for us to see and hear the stored digital data has another 10+ years of development. We are in a golden era. Enjoy it.

I don't think consumer video has peaked by any means, but I do think there's only so much you can do with 35mm before the return ain't worth any kind of investment. 4k, maybe downsampled from a 6 or 8k scan, is probably that tipping point.