King Kong 4K UHD (2005) (Ultimate Edition)

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

As long as the disc itself has been bonded properly then I wouldn't worry, if it was that toxic to solid plastic then the cases themselves would surely have rotted over time, no?

I guess having spent some time working with photographs in the past, I'm used to worrying about exposure to chemicals that can cause deterioration over time. Like old albums that would damage the photos due to acid in the plastic, causing them to yellow. Of course that was direct contact.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Brian81

Outgassing? I saw that all the time with HD DVD cases. Also with BD cases, but not nearly as often.

Is that what this is? What exactly is outgassing? Is it literally the plastic case "sweating"? So what is the residue exactly?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by mar3o

I guess having spent some time working with photographs in the past, I'm used to worrying about exposure to chemicals that can cause deterioration over time. Like old albums that would damage the photos due to acid in the plastic, causing them to yellow. Of course that was direct contact.

Photos are what they are though, a sensitive chemical process so it's no wonder they can be affected by unforeseen chemical reactions, but these discs are pretty damned robust when it comes to repelling outside influences like that. If any do rot it's from the inside out due to imperfect replication, or the fixative holding the layers together starts to break down.

[GasmaskAvenger]

My nearest Walmart had about three in stock, so they're now left with two thanks to me.

[WVbkelley]

Has Universal done it again with some weird 4K mastering.

It seems the film grain has been reduce overall, and the contrast level seems to be too high in a number of scenes on the 4K disc causing the highlights to be blown out in spots. While the color toning has been adjusted to wonderful results, reducing the yellow-orange cast found on the Blu-ray.

To control the highlights i was forced to reduce the contrast and slightly reduce the brightness, which produced a more normal contrast level from shadows to highlights.

This makes at least the second 4K disc from a Super 35 film source where the mastering house has reduced film grain. The first example was Lionsgate's "3:10 to Yuma." Also, the overall sharpness was reduced on Universal's 4K disc for Oblivion.

The images below provide some examples, which I composed with a tighter framing than the original aspect ratio. This was done to provide a closer look at the film grain structure and sharpness.

Images were captured via a Canon Mark D5 and 85mm 1.8f lens. The exposure was adjusted to provide the same basic light level between the 4K and Blu-ray images.

You be the judge:


4K


Blu-ray


4K


Blu-ray


4K


Blu-ray


4K


Blu-ray


4K


Blu-ray

[GasmaskAvenger]

The 4K looks better to my eyes.

The regular blu-ray looks too flat and piss yellow for my liking. I actually kinda like the quasi-sepia look to the 4K transfer judging by those screencaps.

[ray0414]

Even on my cell phone, the difference in sharpness is huge. Night and day. The 1080p looks very blurry.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Exactly. I don't mind a significantly sharper, more detailed look if there's a slightly decrease in grain (unless the grain on the old blu-ray was actually digital noise).

I mean...look at the guy's arm hair on the last cap. You could barely make it out on the blu-ray screencap, but its totally visible on the 4K screencap.

[WVbkelley]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

The 4K looks better to my eyes.

The regular blu-ray looks too flat and piss yellow for my liking. I actually kinda like the quasi-sepia look to the 4K transfer judging by those screencaps.

Agreed the Blu-ray has a weird yellow-orange cast especially with interiors and the contrast is flatter.

I wish the mastering folks would just leave the film grain intact and then make the adjustments for color and contrast.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Photos are what they are though, a sensitive chemical process so it's no wonder they can be affected by unforeseen chemical reactions, but these discs are pretty damned robust when it comes to repelling outside influences like that. If any do rot it's from the inside out due to imperfect replication, or the fixative holding the layers together starts to break down.

I almost bought a used DVD season of 24 a few years ago in a thrift store, since I was missing that season. But I opened it up first, and every single disc inside was coated with beads of some sticky residue underneath. Just covered completely. I've never seen anything like it before or since. The tops looked fine. I wish I knew what happened to that set to look like that. Maybe it's better I don't know.

[ray0414]

Have to wonder if this is a rescan of sorts. Great job by Kelly on the camera work.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by WVbkelley

Agreed the Blu-ray has a weird yellow-orange cast especially with interiors and the contrast is flatter.

I wish the mastering folks would just leave the film grain intact and then make the adjustments for color and contrast.

The grain might just be better resolved, rather than scrubbed. Man of Steel for example looks less grainy on UHD, because it's more tightly presented, rather than being killed by processing. I'll be watching this tomorrow so I'll be on the lookout for DNR.

[celboy]

I am just surprised the HDR color differs that much from the prior video release.
The dp passed away but the look established in 2005 is gone. white clouds in the finale are now reddish.Skull Island's jungle now has a new look. I confess that I have seen the blu many many times, so it can be distracting when the color balance seems to change that much.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by celboy

I am just surprised the HDR color differs that much from the prior video release.
The dp passed away but the look established in 2005 is gone. white clouds in the finale are now reddish.Skull Island's jungle now has a new look. I confess that I have seen the blu many many times, so it can be distracting when the color balance seems to change that much.

Hard to say if the BD was more accurate though. A lot of people have noticed less teal and orange/yellow in many UHDs, which might be because of the new grading, which might better match the original look? Hard to say. Just looking at the photos off a screen above I think the UHD looks nicer, less heavy-handed on the tinting.

[Staying Salty]

Originally Posted by WVbkelley

Agreed the Blu-ray has a weird yellow-orange cast especially with interiors and the contrast is flatter.

On the 4K his jacket looks brown, on the blu-ray it looks green. Can some comment on the color in an outdoor scene.

[joenostalgia23]

Gorgeous disc. I did think the film looked less grainy, but standing up close to the TV you can still make out a fine texture over the whole image. It still looks like film and it's certainly worth the upgrade for the slight increase in object detail and the amazing look of the HDR (all those glorious sunsets!!!).

King Kong was one of my first Blu-Ray purchases, and this was well worth the upgrade. Having the complete production diaries on one disc is awesome even coming from someone who owns the box set. But back to the PQ, it felt like seeing the movie again for the first time, it's such a rich and vibrant image through out. Scene 37 is some HDR demo material for sure, experiencing moments like that make me so happy I adopted 4K as early as I did. I don't have an object based system, but the core track of the DTS X mix sounds awesome on my system. Even without Atmos, I can really hear that plane hovering away from Kong when he's on the skyscraper.

This is the definitive King Kong release. Props on Universal for the packaging too, while the cover isn't lenticular, I actually prefer the metallic gloss, and it is so nice to see actual art on the discs nowadays. Overall a solid release, King Kong was the HD demo disc in its time, now it's a must have UHD in my book as well.

[jala12]

Any screenshot comparisons of the SFX sequences?

[bga84]

The 4K shots look much nicer to me. Noticeable increase in details too.

I always liked the appearance of the BD but it looks overbaked compared to the 4K.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by celboy

I am just surprised the HDR color differs that much from the prior video release.
The dp passed away but the look established in 2005 is gone. white clouds in the finale are now reddish.Skull Island's jungle now has a new look. I confess that I have seen the blu many many times, so it can be distracting when the color balance seems to change that much.

Aw crap, I forgot that Andrew Lesnie is no longer with us.

Originally Posted by Staying Salty

On the 4K his jacket looks brown, on the blu-ray it looks green. Can some comment on the color in an outdoor scene.

Dude, everything in that Blu-ray shot is green.

[JJ]

Dang. The colors and sharpness look much better on the 4K. I never noticed how weird the colors on the bluray were, but now in comparison, they look much more natural on the 4K.

Gotdamnit. I was hoping to avoid a rebuy. But I want to watch this and Skull Island on the same day.