Black Hawk Down 4K UHD (2001)

[LordoftheRings]

From blu-ray.com own review (Martin Liebman):

"Supplements are included on the bundled Blu-ray discs. Disc one is identical to the 2006 disc while the second Blu-ray includes a slew of new (albeit vintage) bonus materials. See below for a breakdown of what's included. Please click here for a brief review of the carryover material. The UHD disc includes the film's Extended Version (2:31:50) and Theatrical Version (2:24:18) cuts. There are no supplements on the UHD disc. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. No DVD is included. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover."

* Excellent review by the way.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

To clarify, the three discs are:

Disc 1 - 4k disc, including both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film, no extras

Disc 2 - the original 2006 BD, including only the theatrical cut of the film, extras are the audio commentaries and some featurettes

Disc 3 - brand new 2019 BD containing all the bonus features from the 2003 3-disc DVD set that were not already on the 2006 BD

The new set has both cuts in 4K, but only the theatrical in 1080p.

Heh. Who knew?

[Tristold]

Originally Posted by Pieter V

At least it doesn't have Dolby Atmos.

Now we just wait for Hellboy II: The Golden Army to be upgraded. I wish some reviews were out.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

It is not poor ill informed decision; it is personal sound preference.
DTS is awesome. Atmos is awesome too. We pick the one we like the most.
There is no law in preference.
We marry the one we love, not the one others tell us to marry.

That's the problem.

[maverick22]

Originally Posted by Bourne1886

The site review is up and it sweeps the board in all categories. A 5 * release.

Wow, when’s the last time a movie got 5 stars in every category?!

[erixon20]

Originally Posted by buckeye1

I just checked my local Target and there is no copies in my city. Only way is to order online. Do I trust that or take my chance and go and see for myself? There is a Target on my way to work I can stop by and check just to make sure.

I pre-ordered this in feb-then they cancelled this on me this past weekend.

[Brahmzy]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

The DTS tracks are usually 4-6dB louder. You need to level match.

Is this true of most all DTS-HD MA vs Atmos tracks?
Guess I never paid attention, and I’ve got a $10K audio setup alone, lol.
I’ve always just defaulted to Atmos if given the choice.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by lgans316

Its good to know that the UHD got a red carpet treatment but its sad to see Sony giving up including remastered BDs.

And another lost sale from me. If studios want UHD marketshare to improve, the least you can do is put a new bluray with the UHD to attract 1080p owners too.

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

BDs are things of the past. It's UHD now, all TVs selling in video stores and Amazon and eBay are the majority in 4K. ...Front projectors too.

Heck, we can even buy 8K TVs.

Standard Blu-rays look more and more like DVD by the minute.
All that money invested in 1080p is looking more and more retro...like a polluted waste land.

You're a cool poster LOTR, but this is beyond hyperbole.

I'm sure it's easy for you to make that comparison when blurays like BHD are using ancient MPEG2 video.

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

Say Blu-rays from years ago...like Black Hawk Down, Alien, Aliens, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Unforgiven, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Robocop, ...and a whole lot more.

New BD releases look good, but they come with a 4K disc, and Dolby Atmos, for only $5 more (average).

Well this should have been your first post. Haha. That's not the formats fault or any limitation. It's studios choosing not to make updated blurays.

It's funny you say this because blurays like Robocop are getting new releases but people complain that the current bluray already looks good. Then when you have movies like BHD getting a UHD release, people complain there's no new bluray.

[Vertizontal]

I have a BHD digital code to give away (first PM received).

EDIT: GONE

[spawningblue]

So has anyone done a comparison with their 3 Disc Deluxe DVD? Does this include every single extra, or where there some minor omissions?

[Tristold]

Originally Posted by spawningblue

So has anyone done a comparison with their 3 Disc Deluxe DVD? Does this include every single extra, or where there some minor omissions?

From DVDTalk, maybe some small Easter eggs that they didn’t find at the time of this review. Although you can compare what was on the 3 disc to this one.
EXTRAS:

Commentaries: The first DVD includes three commentary tracks: one from director Ridley Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, one from writer Mark Bowden and screenwriter Ken Nolan and the third track is from members of the Task Force Ranger team, who offer their memories of the events in the film.

The first commentary from Scott and Bruckheimer is excellent, as Scott offers an organized discussion of almost every element of "Black Hawk Down", from the casting to the locations to more of the real history behind the events, extending our understanding of what's going on around or before what's occuring on-screen. Bruckheimer doesn't talk quite as much, but does add to the background of the events, chats about casting and provides some interesting tidbits about trying to get government cooperation with the film.

The commentary from Nolan and Bowden is equally interesting and enjoyable. Nolan provides an interesting and occasionally humorous perspective on being an obvserver on the set, amazed by how the filmmakers were making the "biggest documentary ever". Both discuss how they made great efforts to make sure that the story was told accurately, pointing out only the occasional small changes or touches that were added.

The third commentary track is really the most fascinating. The Task Force Rangers who are portrayed in the picture comment on the events in the film and talk about the reality of the events, discussing their perspective on what happened. They also point out elements that were changed or differ from the actual events, but also point out aspects of the film that they think are an accurate, strong depiction of what happened. A subtitle track tells which of the Rangers are speaking. There are indexes for all three commentary tracks.

Also: Rounding out the first disc are filmographies.

The Essence of Combat: Making "Black Hawk Down": In what has to be a first for a major feature film, this "making of" documentary is actually longer than the film itself. Featuring interviews with director Ridley Scott, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, screenwriter Ken Nolan, writer Mark Bowden, Task Force Rangers and many of the main and supporting actors in the picture. The documentary is split into several sections, each available in an index ("Play all" is also an option). The first section, "Getting It Right", is a 23-minute piece that explores the lack of coverage of the events, the development of the book and how devoted the filmmakers and actors were to doing justice to the men that the film portrays.

"Crash Course" is the second piece of the documentary. The actors were sent to actual (although modified, and week-long) military training before shooting started, mainly to give them an understanding of the skills involved in combat, so that they could accurately portray soldiers. Learning combat strategy before production also meant that advisor Harry Humphries did not have to do any direction on-set. The documentary features interviews from the actors as well as training footage of the actors learning about military techniques. This piece runs about 30 minutes.

"Battlefield: Morocco" is an on-set documentary that focuses on the choice of Morocco as the location for the movie. We learn more about how the production worked together, costume design for the enormous cast of main characters and extras, the work of the real Rangers in the movie and more.

"Hymn To The Fallen" is an 18-minute look at the scoring sessions with composer Hans Zimmer. "Digital Warriors" is a fascinating 25-minute look at how visual effects were used in the film. Finally, "After Action Report" is a 25-minute final piece in which the actors and Rangers discuss the horrifying events of the conflict portrayed in the film.

Image and Design: This section includes a featurette on production design (15 minutes), production design image gallery, storyboards (7 minutes w/optional commentary from Sylvain Despretz, the film's storyboard artist), "Ridleygrams" (7 minutes of Scott's own storyboards w/optional commentary from Sylvain Despretz, the film's storyboard artist), Jerry Bruckheimer's photo album (6 minutes, with commentary from Bruckheimer), additional photo galleries and title design explorations (3 minutes, with optional commentary.

Deleted Scenes: Rounding out the second disc are a series of deleted scenes. 20 minutes of scenes are offered, with optional commentary from director Ridley Scott on why the scenes were deleted.

Historical Archive: This section starts the third disc in the set. It includes a History Channel documentary, "The True Story of Black Hawk Down" (100 minutes) and a PBS documentary, "Ambush: Mogadshu" (60 minutes). It also includes a timeline of the mission events. Both of the documentaries have moments of very disturbing imagery and frightening situations, but also provide information on how the horrifying and tragic events of the battle unfolded, as well as the general situation and conditions in Somalia.

Q & A Sessions: The features continue, as this section offers three Q & A sessions - one at BAFTA (Ridley Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer, Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Jason Issacs, Mark Bowden and Tom Matthews), one at the Editor's Guild (featuring editor Pietro Scalia) and one at the American Cinematheque (featuring Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer). All three of the Q & A sessions add up to a total of about 33 minutes.

Target Building Insertion: This is a multi-angle (6) feature that shows the different camera angles involved in capturing this sequence. Viewers can switch to one of 6 cameras or view all 6 at once. Production audio or commentary from the assistant director are the sound options.

Also: The film's theatrical trailer; 10 TV spots; music video; poster concept galleries and bonus trailers for "Basic" and "Tears of the Sun". Also in the box was a $5 mail-in rebate for those who purchase both the "Black Hawk Down: Special Edition" and the upcoming (6/10/03) DVD of the Bruce Willis film "Tears of the Sun".

Pretty sure you aren’t going to get that $5 back.

Originally Posted by maverick22

Wow, when’s the last time a movie got 5 stars in every category?!

Criterion’s Blue Velvet

[Juan127]

Originally Posted by maverick22

Wow, when’s the last time a movie got 5 stars in every category?!

And it deserves it. I saw this last night and it was stunning. I am super happy Sony gave us a gem with this movie...one of my all time favs.

[gates70]

Originally Posted by Brahmzy

Is this true of most all DTS-HD MA vs Atmos tracks?
Guess I never paid attention, and I’ve got a $10K audio setup alone, lol.
I’ve always just defaulted to Atmos if given the choice.

Higher DB's don't mean better quality though.

[gates70]

Originally Posted by ROSS.T.G.

I think this is the first Sony catalogue title to come without a slip and is bilingual. Wonder if next weeks Godzilla will be the same.

Mine didn't have one either.

[TheFingering]

I dunno about you guys, but I remember back in the day when this Blu was considered reference quality. I remember my first setup, popping this in and being blown away. I also remember how a lot of people complained at the time about the GRaIN!! Good times.

Now look how far we've come. Life is beautiful and worth living.

[Agent Kay]

It still holds up

[TheFingering]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

It still holds up

Absolutely.

[Tristold]

Originally Posted by gates70

Mine didn't have one either.

I can’t find Ross’s comment. But i can speak for myself, and you, it’s weird how Canada’s copies didn’t come with a slipcase or digital copy, or the + Bonus disc text (as shown in pictures of Best Buy and Amazon) (haven’t opened mine yet.)

[buckeye1]

How come my local Target does not carry this in stores? Its only available for online ordering??

[gates70]

Originally Posted by Tristold

I can’t find Ross’s comment. But i can speak for myself, and you, it’s weird how Canada’s copies didn’t come with a slipcase or digital copy (haven’t opened mine yet.)

It's a few pages back. Canada is weird for releases, period. Sometimes we get them, sometimes we don't.