A few words about…™ Christine — in 4k UHD Blu-ray

4 Stars A decent little film, although I'm not certain that it's 4k fodder.

John Carpenter’s 1983, boy and his car tale, has arrived on 4k UHD Blu-ray mit HDR via Sony (Columbia).

I’ve always loved the opening sequence, as a dozen or so guys build ’58 Plymouth Furys, somewhere on a Chrysler assembly line.

How they so perfectly reproduced that production facility has always been a mystery.

As films based upon Stephen King tomes goes, I consider it mid-level.

Certain not great, but also definitely not bad.

The new 4k Blu-ray is interesting, as while it’s totally film-like, it appears to have a bit of a heavy-handed application of HDR. Shadow detail, at least on my set-up, is lacking in any nuance. Mid-range blacks are plugged.

But this seems to be an endemic problem with HDR in projection. We’re just not ready for it.

A decent little film, although I’m not certain that it’s 4k fodder.

Audio, re-mixed to Atmos level, is lovely.

Image – 5

Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from Blu-ray – Absolutely!

Highly Recommended

RAH

Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

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Bryan^H

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This is a no brainer for me. I really like the movie, the book is much better. One of Steven King's best novels. A very well written, page turning horror masterpiece.
 

Malcolm R

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I'm just amazed that Sony originally passed this off to Twilight Time, who had a fast sellout with the title, then Sony yanked it back and re-released it in blu-ray and now we're getting a 4K release, too. I have the Sony blu-ray, so I'm not sure I need to upgrade.

How about a 4K of the orignal Fright Night (1985) Sony? Twilight Time had two instant sellouts with that title, first for 3000 copies, then the encore edition of 5000. It's obviously an in-demand title.

Also still missing a quality release is the original sequel, Fright Night Part 2 (1988) whose only disc release ever was the dismal Artisan DVD that appeared to have been mastered from an EP speed VHS. HD masters do exist for this title, so someone somewhere obviously cares about the film, it just needs to be released.
 
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Mark Booth

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We saw this last year at the San Diego Automotive Museum during its Summer of Car Films event. They sold a limited number of tickets for each film over 2 months of Saturdays. Seating was whatever folding chair you brought with you and the film was projected on a 100" screen in 3.1 sound. Their projector was kind of old (meaning, somewhat dim) but it was a fun time. Frankly, it was somewhat similar to our Booth Bijou Garage Theater only we have much better sound and projection! :)

This is a good film and I do plan to buy it when the 4K Blu-ray is the right price.

Mark
 

Robert Crawford

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I"ve never understood the point of this either, for reviews and the Weekly Round-Up, now A Few Words. It just makes it more difficult to read things.
Unfortunately, I think its because of this platform in which the forum resides that doesn't have a built in content management system (CMS) so they are using World Press in a similar manner. I agree it's a PITA.
 

sleroi

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I'm torn on this one. A large part of the charm of this film for me is how dark and gritty it is. It seemes like 4k would detract from that. I know I'm in the minority, but Shout Factory's blu of the Thing was too pristine for me.

But then the thought of Christine, after Arnie restores her, in 4k, HDR, and WCG. I'm sure it is stunning. That red, that chrome.

Its under $20, so ill probably pick it up.
 

Michael Osadciw

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I think anything shot on film is 4K fodder. For those of us with 10ft + screens, the additional detail and colour is appreciated.
 

Tino

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Anyone know if the included digital copy is in the correct AR?
 

Robert Crawford

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Anyone know if the included digital copy is in the correct AR?
Well there's one way to find out.:) My copy arrived today so I'll try to redeem the code later on today. I think it was Vudu that had the wrong aspect ratio. I don't remember hearing anything about iTunes having it wrong. By the way, I'm pretty sure it's not 4K on either Vudu or iTunes while MoviesAnywhere has it in 4K.
 

JQuintana

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This is one of those movies I have fun memories of seeing at the theater but I'm sure it would not hold up as well now so I think I rather just keep the memory of it intact and not invest in seeing it again but it's nice that they cleaned it up for 4K, should look pretty nice compared to the VHS days.
 

Vincent_P

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I think this is perhaps John Carpenter's most underrated film. I absolutely love it and find more to love each time I watch it. I think some sequences in it should be used to teach filmmaking in film school.

Vincent
 
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