Samuel LoveIt’s a hell of a time to be a 4K collector. Physical media continues to go from strength-to-strength in a home entertainment landscape long thought to be dominated by digital and streaming releases. If recent releases from boutique labels like Second Sight and 101 Films are anything to go by, streaming simply cannot compete. Two new 4K UHD releases from Disney exemplify the point further, giving us the absolute gold standard home presentations of a pair of undisputed classics.
The first animated Disney feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and beloved holiday classic The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) have made their long-awaited debuts on the format, and the results are nothing short of breathtaking.
I overheard a discussion in my local hmv only this week, when a customer observed the newly released 4K copy of Snow White and muttered to their friend that it was a film that really didn’t warrant a 4K upgrade. To the layman, I suppose this is a rational thought – what can really be brought to a 1937 animated film now to make it look any better than a Blu-ray? First of all, there’s the addition of HRD10 that lends the transfer a wonderfully realised colour palette with truly lush vibrancy. The contrast between the film’s bright whites and deep black shadows is also spectacularly handled. But it is the magnificent clarity and detail that allows you to get lost in every single cel. With no digital smoothing applied, not a single piece of linework is lost – and every single line is impeccably sharp here. The finest lines of subtle detail, probably never seen before, are visible and result in an even greater admiration for the film’s animators and artists. This is a really beautiful transfer that gives one of the finest animated films of all time a new lease of life. Bright and colourful, and packed with clarity – it’s a staggering restoration.
The same can be said for The Nightmare Before Christmas – which although initially released by Disney through Touchstone Pictures as the studio deemed the film “too dark and scary for kids” has long since been a Walt Disney Studios property. The mindblowing clarity here allows for the intricately designed miniature sets to be enjoyed like never before; the attention to detail in the film’s production design was always easy to appreciate but now you’ll see details and textures you’ve never experienced in your (presumably) many, many rewatches of this timeless film. And again, HDR10 allows a wonderful new dimension to the film’s visuals, particularly in how it handles the darkness and shadows – obviously, a big part of Halloween Town.
Both of these beloved classics look better than ever before, thanks to the enormous love and passion that has gone into their restorations and the level of quality that the 4K UHD format allows. While these new masters will ultimately be available on Disney+ too, with that comes compression which is detrimental to the sense of dimension, depth, and clarity afforded by the disc format. There’s never been a better time to be on the 4K UHD bandwagon and if you’ve been holding off, don’t hesitate another minute. There have been some historic releases this year alone, and with the format getting stronger and stronger, next year will surely be even better.
Physical media is the only way forward. If you’re reliant on streaming, you may be watching films, but you’re not experiencing them.
“I think the home video versions of my films are the definitive versions (…), there’s much less compression, there’s very specific authoring, we control the colour and the picture, the brightness, you know, all these things. When you stream a film, it’s like broadcasting a film – we don’t have much control over how it goes out.” – Christopher Nolan
Long live physical media.
