It’s been an interesting time in the world of 4K Blu-ray. There has been recent news that several critically acclaimed, award nominated movies will not be getting a 4K Blu-ray release, or even any type of physical release in some cases. But, there are also instances where movies being decimated by critics and audiences alike are somehow getting the 4K Blu-ray treatment.
Take, for instance, All of Us Strangers and Madame Web.
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All of Us Strangers received universal critical acclaim for its powerful story and incredible acting, particularly from Scott. It has been nominated for a slew of awards, including several BAFTAs. Madame Web, on the other hand, is being savaged by critics and audience members alike. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 15% and 59% from critics and audiences respectively, with many citing the poor writing, bad effects and overall dull feel.
Yet, only one of these movies is getting a 4K Blu-ray release: Madame Web. All of Us Strangers, on the other hand, isn’t getting a physical release at all (as reported by World of Reel). I admittedly have not seen either of these movies, but from what I’ve read and what I’ve been told by people who’ve seen it, All of Us Strangers belongs on 4K Blu-ray and it’s a crime that it’s not.
I don’t want to speak for anyone, but from what I read in several comment sections and forums such as Reddit, home theater fans and cinephiles are not okay with the fact that this is the state of 4K Blu-ray and physical media releases at the moment. So just what is going on?
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This isn’t the first time this has happened in recent memory. It was announced that Best Picture Oscar-nominated movies Poor Things, starring Emma Stone, and The Holdovers, starring Paul Giamatti, will only be getting standard Blu-ray releases, not 4K. These movies are both generating a lot of buzz in the awards scene, with both Stone and Giamatti already having won best actor Golden Globes, and yet movie fans won’t get to enjoy them at home in their best possible quality.
Barbarian, starring Bill Skarsgård, is another movie that has been seemingly denied a physical release (as a press release mentioned a streaming date only). And Barbarian is a cult horror movie – a genre that particularly suits 4K Blu-ray and physical media – that has enjoyed great success. Understandably, fans in forums far and wide have cried out for a physical copy.
These are the kind of movies the best 4K Blu-ray players were made for. Home theater fans, in general, are movie-goers, and they will be wanting to add these movies to their collections, but can’t as it stands. What connects three of these four movies? You guessed it, they’re all owned by Disney. (The Holdovers is from Focus Features).
This is interesting and a lot of commentary says that the reason smaller films aren't released physically is that there is too much work involved to do so at is mastering the movie for bluray would be impossible for a group of talented editors, color correctionists and sound engineers.
Personally, if anyone has any insight into the bluray mastering process I would love to learn more about it.
I mean if an outfit like Vinegar Syndrome can do multiple 4k restorations of crappy B movies every year, what's stopping other production companies?
I don't have any great insight into the process but the higher bar for releasing a 4k isn't just getting a good enough master (which, if you made the film recently enough should be easy) its adding on all the bells and whistles, like fancy audio and premium HDR. That takes time and money. The boutique Blu-ray releasers presumably have all this pretty much streamlined, film studios, especially small ones, may not.
Also, the releasers often put out a fancy limited editions with all sorts of extras and I assume it's these that help push them into profit, often in the preorder stage. Again, they'll know all the right people to produce new art or bang out a booklet on the film or genre. So it's easier for them to do.
Someone like Focus Features may be looking at The Holdovers and they've figured that any improvement in image or audio quality will only add marginally to viewing experience and that it isn't worth the investment. I really liked the film and it was well worth seeing in the cinema but you are watching it for the quality of the performances and the skill of the writer and director, not for any visual spectacle.
Well if the quality doesn't matter maybe we could at least get a VHS release. Or maybe laserdisc.
But seriously I do understand that angle. And I assume that there's a certain threshold of sales that make it worth doing especially when a lot of stores are reducing or eliminating physical media sections (except records of course).
Speaking of records I think that that is where you could pivot the bluray industry. Make a bigger package with specially tinted discs and lots of behind the scenes photos or interviews on a fold out cover. Maybe even make people get up in the middle of the movie to flip the disc over? (Ok maybe not that last one.)
That's what these boutique Blu-Ray houses do - you can get boxes, slipcovers, steelbooks, posters, lobby cards, pins, fabric badges, stickers, movie replicas and all sorts of other junk you wouldn't give house-room to if bought separately. I have a zombie movie that includes a novelty condom - I suppose it might come in handy in an emergency but a novelty zombie condom may be a passion-killer.
The John Wick 4 Limited Collector's Edition 4k includes:
Reviews suggest it's a bit cheap looking and everything is low quality compared to the JW3 fancy release which is a thing of beauty.