Tag: Dolby Atmos

Better than Streaming: Classic film Citizen Kane leads Criterion Collection’s first 4K Blu-ray titles!

Better than Streaming: Classic film Citizen Kane leads Criterion Collection’s first 4K Blu-ray titles!

carlocarrasco

Welcome back to this latest edition of the Better than Streaming series! If you are a very avid movie buff or if you are a collector of films released in physical media, notably on 4K Blu-ray, then you should be very delighted to hear the latest news that The Criterion Collection officially announced that it will soon release its first six films in 4K Blu-ray format! The most famous film among them is none than Citizen Kane (starring and directed by the late Orson Welles).

For the newcomers reading this, The Criterion Collection is well-known for publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.

To put things in perspective about the company’s jump into 4K, posted below is the official announcement of The Criterion Collection and I encourage you 4K Blu-ray collectors to pay close attention. Some parts in boldface…

We’re thrilled to announce Criterion’s first 4K Ultra HD releases, a six-film slate that includes Citizen Kane, Menace II Society, The Piano, Mulholland Dr., The Red Shoes and A Hard Day’s Night. The first of these editions and their special features will be detailed in our November 2021 announcement next week, with others to follow in subsequent months.

The most dazzling debut in cinema history, Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane was Criterion’s first laserdisc release 37 years ago. It now rejoins the library after a long absence, making its first appearance in 4K Ultra HD along with Allen and Albert Hughes’s riveting breakthrough Menace II Society; Jane Campion’s Academy Award–winning The Piano, starring Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin in her breakout role; David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., a tale of love and jealousy in the city of dreams; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s singular Technicolor fantasia The Red Shoes; and Richard Lester’s timeless movie musical A Hard Day’s Night, which brought the Beatles’ revolutionary talent and irreverent humor to the big screen.

Each title will be available in a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack including a 4K UHD disc of the feature film as well as the film and its special features on Blu-ray. Select films will be presented in Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. Stay tuned for more details in our November announcement!

Wow! That’s really exciting news for Criterion collectors and film buffs! I personally have Citizen Kane on Blu-ray and have wondered when will it be released in 4K Blu-ray format. I never saw Menace II Society, Mulholland Dr., The Red Shoes and A Hard Day’s Night. The Piano is familiar to me given the fact that it became controversial here in the Philippines when the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) banned it only to be allowed to be screened as a result of then President Fidel V. Ramos overruling the regulators.

Going back to The Criterion Collection’s 4K Blu-ray lineup, unsurprisingly each title will come in 4K Blu-ray combos (4K Blu-ray disc, Blu-ray disc and additional stuff). The big question is this…will each of those titles’ have native 4K visuals for the 4K Blu-ray discs? As of this writing, the 4K Blu-ray page of Citizen Kane at Blu-ray.com does not indicate if the movie will be in native 4K or upscaled 4K. For me, upscaled 4K is unacceptable!

Let me ask you readers: Are you very excited or at least interested in the initial batch of 4K Blu-ray titles announced by The Criterion Collection? Are you excited to see Citizen Kane in 4K resolution?

For Citizen Kane trivia, here is a video by Minty Comedic Arts. Be warned of potential spoilers…

In ending this piece, here are some short clips and trailers for your enjoyment.

For more entries of my Better than Streaming series of articles, check out my pieces on The Beastmaster 4K Blu-ray, The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray, Mortal Kombat 2021 4K Blu-ray, Space Jam 4K Blu-ray, V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray (read my retro review), V: The Final Battle Blu-ray, Highlander 4K Blu-ray and The Suicide Squad.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576

Wonder Woman 1984 4K Blu-ray listing spotted online

Wonder Woman 1984 4K Blu-ray listing spotted online

carlocarrasco

Welcome back, fellow geeks and Wonder Woman fans!

Have you seen Wonder Woman 1984 yet? I have not and I am waiting for local cinemas to reopen to screen it. The pandemic really brought down movie theaters which is really bad not only for their industry but also because a lot of employees of cinemas lost their jobs. I’m not just talking about the people handling the tickets but also those who work to cook food, prepare drinks and serve them to moviegoers.

More on Wonder Woman 1984, the film is available for viewing via HBO Max (mainly in the United States) without a premium fee required. This, in my opinion, is a terrible move by AT&T-controlled Warner Bros. because customers’ payments for HBO Max do NOT really go to the producers and financiers who made the Patty Jenkins-directed sequel.

As I mentioned before, I prefer to watch Wonder Woman 1984 in the movie theater instead of streaming it. Back in June 2017, I went to the local IMAX cinema to watch Wonder Woman by buying a premium movie ticket, buying popcorn and a drink, sat comfortably and watched the movie in its full greatness. Truly, VOD streaming will NEVER match the experience of the cinema. Right now, I’m waiting for the opportunity to watch Wonder Woman 1984 in the local movie theater.

As for home viewing, I personally prefer watching movies via optic disc media over streaming. Blu-ray is notable for advantages over streaming. That being said, there is a much better option to view Wonder Woman 1984 in the comfort of home – the upcoming 4K Blu-ray combo release of Wonder Woman 1984!

When it comes to watching Wonder Woman 1984 in the comfort of home, this is the BETTER option than streaming! (source – Blu-ray.com)

Recently Wonder Woman 1984 has been listed at Blu-ray.com to be released in 4K Blu-ray disc format along with a Blu-ray disc (1080p) and a digital copy. While this is not in any way an official announcement (note: as of this writing, the listing does not have a release date yet), it is inevitable that Wonder Woman fans and consumers will have the option to buy the new movie in 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray discs.

According to the listing at Blu-ray.com, Wonder Woman 1984 4K Blu-ray will have a native 4K (3840x2160p) resolution. This alone is a major improvement over the upscaled 4K resolution (read: fake 4K) that the Wonder Woman 4K Blu-ray had. Upscaled 4K means digitally stretching a lower resolution video until it reached 3840x2160p resolution. Native 4K means the footage truly got rendered in 3840x2160p resolution, and this means more detailed visuals! Take note that the new movie that starred Gal Gadot had scenes filmed with IMAX cameras and their high visual details should translate nicely in 4K Blu-ray.

More on Wonder Woman 1984 4K Blu-ray, its original aspect ratio is 2.39:1, its audio has Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 confirmed, its subtitles are in English, French and Spanish. For playback, the 4K Blu-ray will be region-free while the Blu-ray (1080p) will be coded for Region A.

How much will Wonder Woman 4K Blu-ray combo package cost and when will be released? We will find out soon enough. Personally, as soon as it becomes available for ordering at Amazon, I will order it. It should be noted that what you pay for Wonder Woman 4K Blu-ray (or the standalone Blu-ray 1080p release), part of your money will go to the movie producers and investors who are struggling to recover their investment. This is another solid reason why I will not stream this movie. Dump HBO Max!

If you are looking for more Wonder Woman-related content, just search here in my website’s search engine. For those who have not seen Wonder Woman 1984, I recommend reading my retro review of the 1987 comic book Wonder Woman #9 which itself is required reading to get yourselves oriented about the first full appearance of Cheetah (Barbara Minervia). Also check out my most recent Wonder Woman retro review as well as my 2017 Wonder Woman movie review and my No Man’s Land scene special feature.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com