Review: Twilight (4K)

Twilight 4K Review

Based on the beloved book series by Stephenie Meyer, and one of the most successful feature film franchises of all time with over $3.3 billion in box office, celebrate the tenth anniversary of Twilight’s theatrical debut with the release of Twilight on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital) and all five of The Twilight Saga films on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (2 Blu-rays, 1 DVD, plus Digital) and Digital 4K Ultra HD™ on October 23 from Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment.

The Twilight 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack includes hours of in-depth special features and includes a brand-new, never-before-seen featurette, “Twilight Tour…10 Years Later,” which follows director Catherine Hardwick and actor Jackson Rathbone through memorable sets from the film. Experience The Twilight Saga in four times the resolution of full HD with the Twilight 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and all five films on Digital 4K Ultra HD, which includes Dolby Vision™ HDR to bring the epic romance to life through ultra-vivid picture quality.

When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on the screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. The release also features Dolby Atmos® audio mixed specifically for the home to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. The Twilight 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.99.

Twilight 4K Review

Plot: High-school student Bella Swan, always a bit of a misfit, doesn’t expect life to change much when she moves from sunny Arizona to rainy Washington state. Then she meets Edward Cullen, a handsome but mysterious teen whose eyes seem to peer directly into her soul. Edward is a vampire whose family does not drink blood, and Bella, far from being frightened, enters into a dangerous romance with her immortal soulmate.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Runtime: 122 min

Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 49% & IMDB 5.2/10

Unboxing (see below)

Review:

This was shot with Arriflex & Panavision cameras + finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate, so it was upscaled for this release and given a HDR color grade in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

You will see low, moderate and high levels of grain throughout the entirety of the movie — it’s mixed and not consistent. Some scenes will be very heavy, while others will appear absent. There is also a fair amount of soft shots, but I excepted that — and as usual, it doesn’t take away from the movie.

The place where this movie really benefits from the UHD format is the black levels and touch of HDR — with a heavy emphasis on the black levels. I was really impressed with the inky black levels seen throughout the movie and I will echo that a lot. There is also a cool hue seen in the daytime scenes in the movie — something that will be more noticeable on the UHD because of HDR.

As a side note: something that was apparent to me was the skin tones of Bella and Edward. There were certain scenes where Bella & Edward looked as pale as a ghosts, while other times you would get “normal” skin tones. Is it over-highlighted? the way the movie was shot? I’m not sure.

In Chapter 6 + 7 when Bella and Edward are sitting down for dinner at the restaurant you get good detail from the textures down to the pores and beard stubble + consistent black levels. The light from the lamps gave a new warmth to the room as well. This continues when Bella and Edward are driving home in his car. Once again you will get really solid black levels + really clean facial shots with police lights bouncing off their faces.

In Chapter 10, 11 & 12 you get the scene where Edward is playing the piano with Bella — it’s crisp, sharp and clean with the all the right black levels in place. This continues when Edward is in the bedroom with Bella; you get very close and personal where the UHD shines the most… skin tones, pores, beard stubble, etc. The lighting in the room looks great with the added touch of HDR seen in the reds from the lights and yellows from the accents around the room.

Then, when the standoff in the baseball field ensues you get VERY up close and personal facial shots with highlights of everything you can imagine as it pans over everyone’s faces and eyes. Pores, beards, freckles, blemishes, etc. As seen in other 4K releases, the best shots you will get with use of the format are up close and personal — which is seen here.

Chapter 15 will continue to echo what I have said multiple times, black levels and more black levels. There are inky-deep-blacks across the board while Bella and Edward are dancing under the perfectly lit gazebo. I wish the close-ups would have been super sharp, but you can catch little things like the goosebumps on Bella’s neck being more apparent. It’s a great showcase scene in comparison to the colors on the Blu-Ray disc.

Conclusion:

At the end of the day this movie is in a massive franchise and there is a boat load of money to be made from it still. When you do something like put it in the UHD format with the added use of HDR, you already have all the fans with money in their pockets ready to dive in.

Take me for example, when the Harry Potter Collection was announced in the UHD format, I didn’t care if it was only a slight jump — I was all in and ready to spend my money again. These franchises aren’t similar, but in regards to the hardcore fanbase, it is. Reading comments on the forums about this franchise getting new use of the best format, people were saying that they would buy an entire setup for it. Yes, an entire setup — this franchise is what ultimately would make them jump into the format. Crazy.

That’s a vague response… so, to the point — is Twilight enough to buy a whole 4K setup? No, but if you have a setup and you’re a huge fan of the series, you will definitely benefit from the positives seen on this disc. I highly doubt anyone reading this has no interest in buying anything Twilight, so I went to an expert.

For those fans wanting an excuse to buy again, I went to my own Twilight fanatic, someone who has read all the books multiples times and has seen the all the movies several times as well. I showed her a few of the scenes I mentioned above and she said (those scenes) looked like a whole new movie.

Take that how you may, but from my perspective it’s only a slight jump — the value of that is up to you. Are you a super fan looking to get it the best way possible? Go for it.

Outside of this 4K release, all five of the Blu-ray Combo Packs will feature new unique box art designs from renowned illustrator Justin Erikson, who brings to life the epic saga with his distinct illustrations. Whether you are Team Edward or Team Jacob, you can take home all five of the Blu-ray Combo Packs and own the entire collection plus hours of special features including deleted scenes, character featurettes, cast interviews, music videos and more.

For additional value, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn – Part 1 also include both the Theatrical and the Extended versions of the film for the ultimate fan-viewing experience. Each of The Twilight Saga Blu-ray Combo Packs will be available for the suggested retail price of $14.99. You can own it all on October 23!

Cheers,

Matt.

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