What We Are Watching: Winter 2023

Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film left theater audiences almost speechless. Most did not know the history of the atomic bomb and the film is a serious biography, a scientific exploration, and a political film that raises questions about the United States’ development of the bomb for warfare.

Cillian Murphy should win the Oscar for this role as J. Robert Oppenheimer. He commands the screen and while far from an unknown (he’s had smaller roles in several other Nolan films) he has given the performance of a lifetime.

About the technical aspects of the disc(s):

Oppenheimer looked just great on my Sony projector. My Sony does display HDR, but not Dolby Vision. Still, it looked superb, with deep blacks, striking colors, and a unique color grade that Nolan applied to this film.

Nolan is not a fan of Dolby ATMOS, and all his films are in DTS 5.1. No matter, my processor ‘upscaled’ the audio to take in my overhead channels and it was a splendid presentation. The bass was deeper than what I heard in the theater (it wasn’t a great theater) and I was glad to get such a compelling presentation at home.

The film, shot by Hoyte van Hoytema, was produced on a mix of 65 mm and IMAX 65 mm film, using both color and black-and-white stock. It’s as good a 4K movie as I’ve seen. The variable aspect ratios used in the film are preserved on the disc. Nolan is on record as favoring his films to be seen at home on disc. He’s criticized the streaming of films as being second class and it’s hard to disagree. There’s no way a compressed version of the film could preserve the impact of the visuals and the high-quality uncompressed audio. There are reports that most of the distributors of the Blu-ray and the UHD versions of the movie are out of stock and that Universal Studios was caught off guard by the demand for this movie on disc.

Maybe the industry will re-think their desire to eliminate the disc business in favor of streaming, but that’s probably too much to hope for. At any rate, do your best to get on a list and buy Oppenheimer in 4K. As a story, it’s chilling and unforgettable. As an A/V experience, it’s the best of the breed. The 4K disc comes with a Blu-ray version of the movie and a 3rd disc with extensive background on the film which is far better than the usual Hollywood PR that we see on many discs. Oppenheimer is not to be missed in 4K.

It is hard to believe that it has been 25 years since this film was in the theaters, but alas, time marches on. Paramount has pulled out all the stops to showcase this “motion picture event”. I’ll get into the sound and picture quality later, but if you are a fanatic of this flick, you will be ecstatic with the results of this boxed set.

It features no less than 15 hours of extra bonus content, a brand-new documentary called, “Titanic: Stories From the Heart”, new interviews not previously seen in other editions with James Cameron, Jon Landau, and Kate Winslet, a new Fan Art Gallery, 3 audio commentaries, and more.

Want more? How about exclusive collectibles? Besides the included hardcover table book with lush pictures of the film (and many behind-the-scenes pictures as well), you also get a replica of an actual 3rd Class boarding pass, a replica White Star Lines dinner menu (one for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class), a ticket for admittance to see the ship off for its maiden voyage (standing only), a couple of notes from Rose and Jack, the entire 3-page score of “My Heart Will Go On”. All that is left are the blueprints of the Titanic…oh wait, those are also included too!

Of course, you get a BD of Special Features and the 4K UHD disc as well. What good are all of these distractions if you don’t get the actual film? Now this movie had been out on VHS and DVD and the film looked, well, lousy. A big improvement came with the advent of BD and 1080p resolution. This edition has been newly minted from the original film elements into 4K with Dolby Vision and the sound has been redone in Dolby Atmos. The picture and sound are a big leap in quality with every small detail coming through in every frame. The HDR brings out amazing colors and highlights. This film was meant for the loving treatment Paramount put into this box set. The sound too, is quite exemplary with sounds coming from every speaker by the time the boat starts to list. If this film is one of your favorites, I recommend you spring for this set before they are all gone. It retails for about $130, but you get a lot of bang for your buck. Until then, my heart will go on singing…but first, I am turning off my ice maker.