I just bought a new 4K OLED TV and, of course, I want to get the most out of it, so I’m looking for some recommendations for movies with great and visually stunning 4K HDR (ideally DolbyVision) releases. Bonus points if it’s not just pretty but also generally a good movie.
Oh man you’re going to have a blast.
Dune 1 & 2 are of course superb in 4K HDR+OLED. It was like watching the movie completely differently.
Top Gun Maverick also just absolutely stunning. The camerawork was amazing, and truly shows off how great OLED is.
LoTR in 4K is amazing. They remastered all of it. The Blurays were horrible, they didn’t rerender any of the CGI so it looked like cardboard cutouts of monsters and backgrounds instead of high def. 4Ks they completely rectified it and it looks amazing.
John Wick of course.
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan works really well with OLED, hard to go wrong there.
Blade Runner 2049 then too. Really sets the ambiance
If you can, make sure you have surround sound. Really enhances all of the above. Have fun!
Just being a nerd but LotR’s 4K release is technically a 2K upscale with a lot of DNR applied to smooth out the grain and make the overall package look more “digital.” Some of the VFX are lower resolution because that’s just what they had to work with, but they blend in better now and it totally makes sense why they did it this way for 4K. I still think it looks really great and I think it’s the best way to watch these movies outside of the theater, but I definitely understand why a lot of people don’t like it, given that the DNR actually removes detail and makes faces look pretty soft. Generally I’m opposed to messing with film grain, but LotR is already a hybrid of visual mediums so it makes sense here, but it also is understandable why it was a bit of a controversial release.
The first Blu-ray release definitely looked like washed-out crap, but there was a later version that rectified it, so I still think there’s some merit to that one. I haven’t seen it myself though.
Nerding aside, I agree with all your suggestions - I own all of these in 4K UHD and all look fantastic. And totally agree with surround sound - even a cheap home theater in a box is a massive upgrade to TV speakers and often better than a pricier soundbar.
I actually knew about lotr being a 2K upscale. But at least it’s a decent one unlike many others.
But generally, all those upscaled 4K releases just make me sad.
Luckily there are some Studios that care enough to create new film scans, new intermediates and proper 4K releases.For lotr I still love watching the DVDs. Their colours are just beautiful although the resolution will probably not do too well on my new 65“ TV.
Three of your recommendations are Denis Villeneuve joints. Just sayin’. 👀
Honestly I think OP would do well with a lot of movies that were specifically filmed for IMAX, which means Villeneuve and Chris Nolan are going to be on that list. Not just released in IMAX, but filmed for it. A nice benefit there is that IMAX is a taller aspect ratio, so you don’t get 2.35:1 with letterboxing at top and bottom, but the entirety of your 16:9 screen gets used when it’s an IMAX transfer. For example, put on The Dark Knight and that opening bank robbery scene will pop out to the whole screen and feel like a revelation.
Thank you! Wanted to (re-)watch a lot of those anyways. Sounds like a great selection.
And of course I have surround sound. I find that more important than a 4K image. Upgraded to 5.1 years ago and never looked back. The LG C5 is just the next step in my home cinema.
After my own heart :) I’m big on sound too, I think too many people leave it for an after thought. You want both though, great visuals and sound. Have fun watching the movies! They’re all great! (Hint, ebay is a treasure for used 4ks, highly recommend searching there before buying new)
All the BBC Earth 4k blu rays are incredible (Planet Earth 2-3, Blue Planet 2, Frozen Planet 2, etc.) They are HDR10, not Dolby Vision, but trust me the photography and colors are stunning.
And if you want to specifically appreciate infinity:1 contrast ratio, look for space scenes. For example, the first couple seasons of the show For All Mankind had lots of super high contrast scenes in space and on the moon.
Thanks, I do love me some documentaries and space-stuff, so I’ll definitely check those out!
yeah at least try one of the BBC series and go from there. can’t recommend them enough.
Dune. Especially if you have a nice sound system to go along with it.
Was one of the first movies we watched on my flatmates new sound system back in university. Had to shut off his subwoofer when our downstairs neighbour came knocking, screaming at us…
I was impressed with the 4k transfer of Poltergeist. I’d only watched it on cable as a kid, was not prepared for how visually ON the movie and it’s effects were on a big screen. Strobe warning, big time, but it that doesn’t bother you, go for it, it’s a classic.
Alien, Aliens, Batman, Batman Returns, The Terminator, NOT Terminator 2; what a tragedy, Prey, Interstellar, Heat, The Thing, Predator, Predator 2. The Amazon series fallout looks fantastic even on streaming and has a fabulous audio mix.
Oh yea, I‘ve heard about the terminator 2 uhd bluray disaster. Just makes me sad…
Thanks for the recommendations!
Moana
The first one, not the second - it’s not a great movie.
But even about ten years on, I still think Moana is the best looking film Disney’s done, and it looks nuts on a 4K OLED.
The whole thing looks great, but there are about three scenes I remember as standing out:
Tap for spoiler
- When she crashes onto the island and ends up with a bunch of sand in her hair, you can really see lots of detail there
- Of course when they go down and get the hook from the crab
- And then the final confrontation that has tons of bright contrast with the lava over the nighttime water
But, really, the whole film looks awesome.
Uh, unironically my fav 3D animated Disney movie. Will definitely give it a try, thanks!
For sure!
It’s also my favorite. Just a great film.
Surprised I haven’t seen it yet, but Mad Max: Fury Road is a fantastic 4k HDR watch.
Also I know people have mixed feelings about the sequels, but the glow of the blasters and sabers in Star Wars: The Force Awakens are eyecandy to the max.
Isn‘t the UHD release of Mad Max: Fury Road just an upscale of the 2K intermediate?
Yeah and the disc is only HDR10, but still everything just POPS in HDR (in my humble opinion)
Noted. Thanks.
The first ones I bought were Alita Battle Angel and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets just to enjoy the display :)
Alita has a very Bad story (the movie). Valerian is the perfekt movie because the visuals are wonderful, the music is perfekt, the screenwriting is highly thought out and funny and the story is a classic. I enjoyed it especially on acid. Its worth a try.
2001: A Space Odyssey looks quite a bit different from the theatrical version, but damn if it doesn’t look incredible in 4K HDR on an OLED. Real showcase for those deep blacks and incredibly immersive.
Oh yea. That one’s already on my list. Wanted to rewatch it regardless and after reading they made a pristine 4K rerelease based on an all new 8K scan of the original negatives, that plan was sealed.
Man, some of those old movies just look absolutely incredible in their 4K remasters. Lawrence of Arabia is another “holy shit” kind of movie that always looked good but I’ve never seen it look this good.
There’s a lot of newer movies that definitely just are lazy Blu-ray upscale transfers or just have an HDR layer applied with no thought at all (the worst example I’ve seen is The Bourne Identity), but thankfully there’s still an audience and publishers out there that understand that people still buying disc players are doing so because they want the best picture possible at home, so they do put some effort into it.
Another odd example I have is The Witch - the original 4K release had a basic HDR layer slapped onto it that blasted up the brightness and contrast and totally killed the mood (and was blasted by the director who actually told people not to buy it), but a later release had director oversight which had thoughtful HDR applied that preserves the tone. It really shows how important it is to actually adapt movies to the format to really get the intended effect.
Yea, 4K BluRays are a minefield. I’m not getting anything before checking some picture quality reviews.
Is The Fifth Element still the standard? I know it was in the DVD and Bluray HD eras.
Unsure, but after a quick web search, the Studiocanal 4K BluRay release supposedly is really good.
I’ll add it to my List. Wanted to watch Fifth Element anyways. Thanks.
Star Trek the motion picture looks great.
