Blade Runner 2049 [4K UHD + Blu-ray] [2017]

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If you're new to the film on Blu-ray and are hankering for a terrific overview of the 5-Disc Blu-ray set that's readily available, please give that a read Here. You could argue, too, that the relatively dark feel of the film is entirely appropriate to its themes and ‘feel’.

Key kit used for this test: Samsung UE65Ks9500, Oppo 203 4K Blu-ray player, Panasonic UB900 4K Blu-ray player. Though 2049 can be cool in its emotions, it wears them better than the original. Blade Runner arguably still has the measure of its progeny, but that speaks volumes as to how good 2049 often is. Bigger in scope, with more to grapple with and discern, it's a long watch but it's hard to take your eyes off it. Overall, though, the HDR effect is much more subtle than I’m used to seeing with 4K Blu-rays. In fact, I’d say it’s arguably the least aggressive HDR image I’ve seen (though there is some nice refinement going on in the picture’s dark areas). The overall Atmos is an excellent one, with consistent activity in the height channels. Whether it's K's spinner, voices or Los Angeles' environment (it rains a lot), the height channels have weight and presence. The positioning and steering of effects are seamless as gunshots zip past, Spinners throttle across the screen and waves crash along the Sepulveda Wall in the film's climax.

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If you want some specific wallpapers (only in 1080 right now) I did some for Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. For me, Blade Runner 2049 is a titanic achievement. It's the sequel I never wanted but am overjoyed to have. Villeneuve and his creative partners nailed it. Coming out of Sicario I was excited to see what Villeneuve could do with Arrival as the original short story was so short but heady. Coming out of Arrival I knew he was going to do something interesting with Blade Runner 2049. After this film, I know Dune is in capable hands. That said, I don't need another Blade Runner. Sure there is a lot left to explore, but it doesn't need to be. Two films are enough for this little franchise of science fiction masterpieces. Director Albert Cho, Alejandro Mora, Attila Veres, Brandon Lambdin, Brian Niemczyk, Charlie Watson, Denis Villeneuve, Donald Sparks, Dora Simko, Gábor Hegedüs Hege, Gergely Apjok, Hajós Péter, Jessica Clothier, Joel Kramer, Karen Davis, Levente Kölcsey-Gyurkó, Susan M. Elmore, Tamás Péter Chipie, Vera Janisch Public Domain street photography of vehicles traveling on road between large buildings during nighttime

Extra Features: Making of featurette, casting featurette, Blade Runner 101 glossary featurettes, three prologue mini movies The film’s a bit labored at times (highlighting the remarkable economy of the original), and the HDR is about as dialed down as HDR can get without just turning into SDR. But the good far outweighs the bad, making Blade Runner 2049 an essential addition to your 4K collection. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout. Person to person exchanges solid a rich in-the-room quality to them. These exchanges can be particularly jarring and unsettling when K undergoes his baseline tests as words are thrown fast and furious with an increasing intensity. As clean as dialogue is, there are long stretches of silence where no one is talking and all you're left with is atmosphere. Sometimes it's rain, sometimes wind, sometimes it's nothing at all. This Atmos mix handles these variations beautifully with plenty of constant surround activity from every angle. Even in the quietest of moments, there's always something to hear. vibrantly alive. (The green forest she's editing when K first arrives is so gorgeous that it belongsencounter with the errant replicant are layered and deep, you can still see each adversary's face in As confirmed by Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 was shot digitally in the ARRIRAW codec at 3.4K (Open Gate) resolution using ARRI Alexa XT and Mini cameras, with Zeiss Master Prime lenses. Also per Deakins, the post-production workflow was done at 3.4K. Visual effects were rendered in 3.4K (some at 4K). The film’s Digital Intermediate and color timing were finished at 4K. [Editor’s Note: Our friend Petr “Harmy” Harmáček, who some of you may know for his fine Star Wars Despecialized efforts, worked on the visual effects for Blade Runner 2049 at UPP in Europe and confirmed to us that they were done in full native 4K resolution. Chris McLaughlin, CG supervisor at the project’s VFX lead Double Negative, says they delivered their VFX at 3.4K.] The result is presented here in the 2.40:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Image clarity is excellent overall, with remarkable texturing and fine detail, both notable given the film’s dense atmospherics (which include almost the persistent use of smoke, fog, rain, snow, and/or smog). The presentation’s HDR10 high dynamic range adds a gorgeous luminosity to the brightest areas of the picture – think neon signage, holo-projections, and display screens – and lends a richly-nuanced quality to the color palette. That palette is often quite bleak, which makes Deakins’ artful use of coloring all the more striking when it appears, such as in the film’s Las Vegas sequences. Simply put, this is a stunning 4K image – perhaps not quite reference quality as compared to the very best 4K imagery (captured at even higher 6K or 8K resolution), but certainly it’s reference quality for this film. There are those who will bemoan the film’s sub-4K image capture, but given the aforementioned use of atmospherics, capture at higher resolutions would not have resulted in an appreciable difference in image resolution, thus Deakins and Villeneuve’s choice of 3.4K. In the end, the image you’re seeing here, particularly with HDR, is essentially a better-than-theatrical experience. It does not disappoint. Roger Deakins has stated that he's not a huge fan of HDR and we can't tell if the 4K is hugely brighter or darker than the Full HD Blu-ray as it would seem it's subtly implemented. Image consistency across the resolutions appears to be the key.