The Fifth Element 4K/2D Steelbook (US)

[laidbacklarkin]

Originally Posted by DOULG1VEN

Ordered the 4K steelbook yesterday for in store pickup - they reserved the Blu Ray copy instead. I got trolled.

They didn't have it in stock yesterday online. The only steelbook option that shows is the bluray which is what you may have reserved

[maverick22]

Well, go figure, the steelbook that came in the mail (flimsy bubble mailer) was in better shape than the one that I reserved for in-store pick up!

Thanks for the heads up on this deal! First time I've ever paid less for a 4k steelbook than the standard 4k version (I think it was $12.99 on Amz).

[laidbacklarkin]

Not before long that the Sony Savestation at Bestbuy will feature 4K BOGO titles

[Kemoteo]

I got a copy at my local Best Buy. Cerritos, CA. Funny thing though, you can’t find the movie in the app listing anymore. It was the last copy and sitting in the back.

[cynatnite]

Got an email that it's shipping today. Thought this was going to get cancelled.

[ConDers]

Originally Posted by cynatnite

Got an email that it's shipping today. Thought this was going to get cancelled.

Same here, what a nice surprise.

[mstele]

Everyone seems to be focused only on the pop art, and no one is talking about the quality of the picture on the disc. I just picked up this 4K steelbook edition at BestBuy, and decided that this would be the first 4K movie I would use to break in my new Xbox One X and Samsung Q6F television (I’ve never watched a 4K movie before). I was expecting to be blown away by a beautiful 4K picture, but I was very disappointed! When I started watching the movie, it was dark, the colors were desaturated, and in some scenes it was far too grainy! I put in my old standard Blu-ray copy to compare, and it looks so much cleaner than the 4K! I spent probably 2 hours thoroughly comparing the picture quality of the 4K disc, the standard Blu-ray that was packaged with it (which looked TERRIBLE), and my older Blu-ray, even putting the two Blu-rays into both my Xbox and PS4, just to see if that was a factor. I compared many scenes throughout the movie, often pausing at the same moment on both consoles, so that I could toggle back and forth. Occasionally I thought the 4K might have looked slightly sharper, but I couldn’t say definitively. Quite often, it was decidedly LESS sharp than my old Blu-ray.

Ultimately, I had to conclude that this steelbook edition—both the Blu-ray and the 4K discs—are BAD transfers (though, to be fair, the 4K disc in this 2-disc edition looks much better than the Blu-ray, which has terrible color). My older, standard Blu-ray (which is not the first release), looks much better than both!

If there is a better transfer available in 4K—one which looks as it should—, please, someone, let me know. Also, can anyone verify whether or not the 4K steelbook is a different transfer than the 4K 20th Anniversary edition? The review I read of that release said it was really good, so I hope it’s different than this one. This is one of my favorite movies, and I would like to experience it in beautiful 4K, but this release is just sad.

[oubukibun]

I think you need to have your eyes and/or your setup checked, because the remastering of this movie is a top-tenner.

Of course, I could be the blind man.

[1234567?]

Originally Posted by mstele

Everyone seems to be focused only on the pop art, and no one is talking about the quality of the picture on the disc. I just picked up this 4K steelbook edition at BestBuy, and decided that this would be the first 4K movie I would use to break in my new Xbox One X and Samsung Q6F television (I’ve never watched a 4K movie before). I was expecting to be blown away by a beautiful 4K picture, but I was very disappointed! When I started watching the movie, it was dark, the colors were desaturated, and in some scenes it was far too grainy! I put in my old standard Blu-ray copy to compare, and it looks so much cleaner than the 4K! I spent probably 2 hours thoroughly comparing the picture quality of the 4K disc, the standard Blu-ray that was packaged with it (which looked TERRIBLE), and my older Blu-ray, even putting the two Blu-rays into both my Xbox and PS4, just to see if that was a factor. I compared many scenes throughout the movie, often pausing at the same moment on both consoles, so that I could toggle back and forth. Occasionally I thought the 4K might have looked slightly sharper, but I couldn’t say definitively. Quite often, it was decidedly LESS sharp than my old Blu-ray.

Ultimately, I had to conclude that this steelbook edition—both the Blu-ray and the 4K discs—are BAD transfers (though, to be fair, the 4K disc in this 2-disc edition looks much better than the Blu-ray, which has terrible color). My older, standard Blu-ray (which is not the first release), looks much better than both!

If there is a better transfer available in 4K—one which looks as it should—, please, someone, let me know. Also, can anyone verify whether or not the 4K steelbook is a different transfer than the 4K 20th Anniversary edition? The review I read of that release said it was really good, so I hope it’s different than this one. This is one of my favorite movies, and I would like to experience it in beautiful 4K, but this release is just sad.

https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=2746

I don't have 4k but from judging the caps your getting a darker image and more grain. Don't see much uptick in detail, maybe ever so slight in some screens mostly with close ups . Maybe on a 4k setup there might be a difference. But I'm not seeing much difference except the biggest being a darker image and more grain.

[mstele]

Wow, that’s a handy tool! Thanks for the link.

OK, so I picked up the 20th Anniversary edition, and I took another look at it, made some more comparisons, and here it is:

First, I can confirm that the 4K disc in the steelbook is identical to the one in the 20th Anniversary case. My Xbox recognized it as the same disc and asked me if I wanted to continue where I left off, so it’s the same.

As to the picture quality, I compared some more scenes, and now I can see that, yes, the 4K version looks bettter than my older Blu-ray. But not always—it really depends which scene, or which shot. I think what it comes down to is the quality of the original picture on the film from which it was scanned. Some shots were never perfectly in focus to begin with, or didn’t have the best color. In those instances, a 1080p scan may be able to capture all the quality that was there, in which case a 4K scan cannot possibly improve upon it. And for those shots, I think I often prefer the brighter, less grainy version on my older Blu-ray. But for those shots which were in focus on the film, and had great color, the 4K HDR scan captures that quality better than the standard 1080p can. In those shots, the 4K version really does shine.

Apologies for my earlier post. I’m glad I took another look, and compared more scenes, because now I’m much happier with my 4K disc(s).

[1234567?]

I totally agree. ^^ Vary good analysis, thank you.

[oubukibun]

I'm glad this has found a happy ending, hehe.

[xellos2099alpha]

Question, is the code included 4k or SD?

[Duotronic93]

I grabbed the regular blu-ray version at my local Best Buy for $9.99 and I regret not getting the 4K one. It's just a repackage of the 2007 disc with no digital code or anything.

[laz305]

Does the reprint say it on the jcard like it does in the mockups? Cuz mine don’t. But it does have the signature BestBuy spine slash