King Kong (4K Ultra-HD) (+ Blu-ray) [2005]

Product Information

Additional praise is given in the form of Andy Serkis as he does a great job doing double duty as a crewman and as Kong.

The film only received a 2K digital intermediate for its cinema release, and Universal’s 4K form book would suggest that an upscale of this has been used for the 4K Blu-ray rather than a new 4K scan being done from a 35mm print.Denham has a map of the mysterious Skull Island, and he pays the steamer captain, Englehorn (Thomas Kretschmann), to sail to the island before going to Singapore. While the HDR and WCG work is mostly masterful in the way it opens up the color intensity and light range without the image looking forced, just occasionally skin tones can start to look a touch orangey during the Skull Island section. When the ape falls asleep, Driscoll finds them and, after a battle with huge bats, they escape back to the ruins where the rest of the party have gathered to try to capture Kong. There is bit more visibility in the clothing, the buildings of the city and in the foliage of the island, but sometimes, this also looks artificial because it's being upconverted from a lower resolution source.

The intensity with which the sunlight bounces off all those T-Rex scales and teeth shows how deeply integrated into the picture the HDR is and how rigorously some of the special effects have been integrated into the image. We also have interview shows which feature people from an eclectic mix of the entertainment industries. With a genuine heart between beauty and the beast, there is plenty to admire and enjoy in this modern epic. With dialogue remaining firm and well prioritized, this is nothing short of an outstanding track from Universal.

It’s a constant visual feast, and Jackson puts on a few outstanding set pieces (along with a couple of shonky ones). On the island they actually find a number of prehistoric animals and also their greatest enemy, Kong, who falls in love with the beautiful actress Ann. The jungle is a dangerous place and several of the rescue party die when they are attacked by dinosaurs, then by giant insects. Characters like Jimmy (Jamie Bell) and Captain Englehorn (Thomas Kretschmann) are conspicuously absent from the final reel anyway.

With recent films including visual effects, there are some side effects left on the look of the picture but not this one.La versione Ultimate Edition, con scene inedite e una qualità video e audio eccezionale, offre una nuova esperienza di visione che farà apprezzare ancora di più questo grande classico. It’s been several years since we last saw our large, furry friend and in that time Universal has given the film a new 2K scan that translates pretty well to Ultra HD. Neither of these main additions affect the film in any emotional or thematic way, and their inclusion almost starts to make the action feel a bit fatiguing. When the air force attacks, Darrow screams to them to stop but finally the big ape -- having put Darrow safely down -- falls to his death.

Updated daily and in real-time, we track all high-def disc news and release dates, and review the latest disc titles. Although the new color grade is suspect on this new 4K Blu-ray release from StudioCanal, the 2160p presentation is really pleasing and the inclusion of the Extended TV Cut in 4K is a nice touch. The film crew uses chloroform (supplied by the captain) to subdue him and, after a lengthy struggle, Kong is captured and taken back to New York.

In second place on the Blu-ray chart is another new release, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment's The Marksman, which topped . To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. The rest of the features are spread across the Blu-ray version of the film and a separate Bonus Feature disc - and there are dozens of them, amounting to more than 13 hours of extra stuff when all’s said and done.