Boogie
Nights 4K (1997/New
Line/Warner)/Bugonia 4K
(2025/Universal w/Blu-ray)/PlayTime
4K
(1967/Criterion)/Rockers
4K (1978/MVD
w/Blu-ray)/Roofman 4K
(2025/Paramount
w/Blu-ray/all 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B/B+/A-/B*/B+ Picture: X/B-/X/B/B- Sound:
B/B+/B+/B-/B Extras: B/B-/B+/B-/C Films: B/B-/A-/B-/C
This
new group of 4K releases includes three upgrades and several
classics...
Paul
Thomas Anderson's Boogie
Nights 4K
(1997) finally gets a new upgrade after its older Blu-ray version was
the best that was out there from years ago, though it was not that
bad a disc at all as this review shows:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9581/Boogie+Nights+(1997/New+Line/Warner+Blu-ray
The
thinly-veiled retelling of the John Holmes story (with some
interesting omissions) holds up very well as Anderson films do,
though there is a moment later in the film I cannot get into without
revealing spoilers, that has a sort of narrative flaw in it (when
Dirk is in trouble) that has some ins and outs that may or may not
have been intended and always affected the film for me. Otherwise,
its a film worth seeing and re-seeing, as interesting as ever, even
as a parallel portrait of the XXX industry and the actual independent
film business (non-XXX) at the time.
Extras
include a
Digital Movie Code, while (per the press release) the disc adds
American Cinematheque Panel Night 1 (NEW): Paul Thomas Anderson and
John C. Reilly
American
Cinematheque Panel Night 2 (NEW): Paul Thomas Anderson
Commentary:
Director Paul Thomas Anderson
Commentary:
Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, Luis Guzman, William H. Macy, Julianne
Moore, John C. Reilly, Mark Wahlberg, and Melora Walters
Additional
Scenes (29:15)
Michael
Penn ''Try'' Music Video (3:16)
The
John C. Reilly Files: Outtakes and Extended Sequences (34:54)
Swim
Trunks
Waiting
for Todd
and
Mixing with Nick.
Yorgos
Lanthimos' Bugonia
4K
(2025) reunites the director once again with one of my favorite
actresses, Emma Stone, this time playing a corporate executive who
gets the strange attention of a conspiracy theorist (the underrated
Jesse Plemons) who is certain he is on to some kind of alien invasion
and thinks kidnapping her (with his brother's help) would help him
prove it and maybe even stop it!
So
how sick is he and how able-bodied is she if attacked? The director
uses some Kubrickian motifs (fonts and music, for instance) to up the
tension, but they could also be false flags and red herrings. Of
course, the longshot is that he is correct about the aliens, but that
would be another story.
SPOILER
ALERT! Stop reading here if you have not seen the film.
Well,
the screenplay is co-produced by Ari Aster (whose Eddington
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) is the year's best film, but this
one got all the attention instead) and is a remake of a little-seen
film called Save
The Green Planet,
which we reviewed on DVD at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2847/Save+The+Green+Planet
This
is the better film, though to get to where it gets, it has to cheat
and then some, but that too I will not get into because that would
lead to more spoilers and is more appropriate for a separate essay.
Needless to say this one is definitely worth a look, no matter your
reaction to it. Nice people and the press picked up on it.
Extras
include
Digital Code, while the disc adds The
Birth and the Bees: The Making of Bugonia.
Jacques
Tati's
PlayTime
4K
(1967) is a comedy masterpiece and so much more that bombed when it
was first released, then slowly regained popularity and is now
rightly recognized as the masterpiece it is. The peak of the
director playing his M. Hulot character, we've reviewed the film
twice before and you can read all about it at these links:
Criterion
regular Blu-ray
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8975/Play+Time+(aka+PlayTime/1967/Criterion+Collection+Bl
U.K.
BFI Blu-ray
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10567/Les+Vacances+de+Monsieur+Hulot+(aka+Mr.+Hulot%
More
relevant than ever, the impact of seeing this in 4K and more fully
restored than ever is eye-opening, amazing and at times, like having
never seen it before or not having seen it for a long time despite
the many times I have screened it myself over the years. Some parts
are funnier than ever, some more profound, some more stunning, some
more prescient and with none of it digital, more palpable than ever.
I cannot overpraise the film enough, but it is a must see film for
all serious film fans and also remains one of the funniest films I
have ever seen and that says something. Tati's
ideas and vision were way ahead of their time. Be sure to catch it,
especially in 4K!
Extras
repeat the Criterion extras including
a paper pullout with new graphics and technical details on the film
and Jonathan Rosenbaum essay on the film The
Dance Of Playtime
inside the Blu-ray case, while the Blu-ray itself adds a video
interview with script supervisor Sylvette Baudrot, rare audio
interview with Tati from the films 1972 premiere in the U.S. at the
San Francisco International Film Festival, the short Cours
du soir
(1967) that is tied to this film, a short biographic work called Tati
Story,
select scene commentary by film historian Philip Kemp, video
introduction by writer/director/performer Terry Jones, a 1976 BBC
Omnibus
installment on Tati called ''Jacques
Tati in Monsieur Hulot's Work''
and short vintage documentary about the making of the film called
Au-dela
de ''Playtime''.
And
the
previous selected-scene commentary by film historian Philip Kemp is
joined by new ones from theater director Jerome Deschamps, and
Jacques Tati expert Stephane Goudet.
Theodorus
Bafaloukos' Rockers
4K
(1978) gives the reggae film classic a new upgrade with more extras
than ever for a film that continues to age well as the genre has more
than stood to test of time and up to newer genres. This is the third
time we've looked at the film, a tale (like The
Harder They Come)
about the music, hard living and hopes of success.
We
previously reviewed it on DVD, then Blu-ray, the latter of which
links to the former and you can read all about it starting at this
link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8728/Rockers+(1978/Reggae/Music+Video+Distributors+Blu-r
In
all this, I still do not think this film has totally found its wider
audience, though those in the know know better, so we'll see if this
release gets people, music and film fans discussing the film. If you
have never seen it or not seen it in a good while, this is the set to
catch.
Extras
include a
Feature Length Audio Commentary track with Writer/Director Ted
Bafaloukos (4K & Blu-ray)
''Jah
No Dead: The Making of Rockers'' feature length
documentary about the making of the film featuring interviews with
Eugenie Bafaloukos, Todd Kasow, Kiddus I, Eddie Marritz, and many
more! (HD, 1:59:37) (Blu-ray)
Archival
interviews with Writer/Director Ted Bafaloukos and Producer Patrick
Hulsey (SD) (Blu-ray)
Music
Videos (SD) (Blu-ray)
Poster
Gallery (Blu-ray)
Theatrical
Trailer (Blu-ray)
Radio
Spots (Blu-ray)
Collectible
''4K LaserVision'' Mini-Poster of cover art
Reversible
Cover Art
and
a Limited Edition ''4K LaserVision'' Slipcover (First Pressing
Only).
Derek
Cianfrance's Roofman
4K (2025)
has Channing Tatum play the real life former Army man who gets into
trouble and decides to hide (instead of run) in the roof a a chain
store building until he can figure out how to undo his situation. A
drama that tries to do some comedy, the script cannot decide on its
tone, approach and even who its audience really is. The parts about
the daughter get too melodramatic, while the comedy is more miss than
hit.
As
a result, the cast can only do so much and the film never adds up,
even when it has some fair moments, like him running rampant alone at
the store. He could have been imagining he was the last man on earth
or the like, but any potential moment is interrupted by bad comedy
and/or bad decisions. Too bad, because with more work and
concentration, this could have been at least a decent film. Instead,
it will be a curio that disappointed.
Extras
include a Digital
Movie, while the discs (per the press release) add Based
On Actual Events And Terrible Decisions:
Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew as they uncover the
unbelievable story of Jeffrey Manchester.
Chasing
The Ghosts: The Director's Method:
Join director Derek Cianfrance for an in-depth exploration of his
documentarian approach to crafting Roofman,
offering a rare glimpse into his filmmaking process.
A
Good Place To Hide: Discover the playmakers who recreated an
actual Toys ''R'' Us and brought the set to life.
Driving
Lesson: See Kirsten Dunst give her on-screen teenage daughter,
Lily Collias, an actual driving lesson.
Choir
Practice: Watch Uzo Aduba lead a lively church choir rehearsal.
and
Deleted & Alternate Scenes.
Now
for playback performance.
The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced
Ultra High Definition image on Boogie
Nights 4K
does look better than the older Blu-ray we covered years ago and
better than all other previous video releases, but still has some
detail and depth issues that people have rightly complained about.
Color and warmth can be good, but not great and many wonder what
happened to the original camera negative. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is as good as the film will ever sound, but
the mix always has had restriction that have made more than a few
unhappy. That makes the combination a little disappointing.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.50 X 1, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra
High Definition image on Bugonia
4K was shot in
VistaVision and has some great shots throughout, though also expect
odd ones and some amazing color at times. The 1080p 1.50 X 1
digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray is a little softer than
expected and should be, but is passable at best and no match for the
4K version. The lossless Dolby
Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) sound on both
versions has its moments too, but also knows how to use silence for
tension, et al. Save no Dolby Vision, the 4K is the best way to see
this outside of a film print and delivers solid performance
throughout.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.78 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on PlayTime
4K comes from a 4K scan
of the original 65mm full color camera negative that was restored
years ago, saving the film. After an awful DVD release and decent
Blu-ray version, Criterion delivers a stunning new transfer as good
as anything covered here, with amazing color, depth, detail, warmth
and so many demo shots, you'll lose track. Even exceeding the import
Blu-ray transfer, only a mint film print can match or outdo this.
The sound is here in a great new DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1
lossless mix and not and DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mix that delivers the sound as
well as any version before, but the 5.1 gives us an idea of how the
traveling dialogue and sound effects were upon the film's original
release. That makes this one of the best releases of the year, back
catalog or otherwise.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.78 X 1, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra
High Definition image on Rockers
4K has some fine, rich
color, color range and warmth, but in darker scenes, detail and depth
suffer, oddly versus the 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High
Definition image transfer on the regular Blu-ray, which the 4K
otherwise outperforms. The material used includes print material
with small specks and dirt here and there. As for sound, we get a
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that upgrade the sound
(even versus the DTS DVD) as well as this film could ever hope for
and a lesser, lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix that's only here for
convenience. So this is the best version of the film yet, but could
still use some work on the original, surviving camera materials.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Roofman
4K
was also shot on film, but despite the higher visual fidelity
overall, the shoot is not too complex and often stops the film from
looking cheaper, especially with all the ad placements, so it does
not look as cheap. The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the Blu-ray
is much softer and more problematic, but the
lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix on both discs is well recorded and
mixed, if not having any standout moments.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
