A few words about…™ The Evil Dead — in 4k UHD Blu-ray

4 Stars So what does a 4k presentation actually accomplish, except a new skew?

Back in 1981, Sam Raimi created a now iconic series, with his original Evil Dead. Shot on a tiny budget, on 16mm, it spawned a brace of kinsmen.

It’s been seen on every possible home video platform, going back to the wax Edison cylinders, and has now, apparently as a part of Lionsgate’s continually “get everything out on 4k” concept, has arrived in that format.

My question is “why?”

Presented open-matte, 1.33, it’s doubtful that there’s more than 2k information in the original negative. So what does a 4k presentation actually accomplish, except a new skew?

The film opens with a logo that initially had me concerned, and then went on to look like, precisely what it is.

16mm.

Nice presentation, but the “why” remains.

Image – 5 (HDR10 / Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (5.1 Dolby TrueHD)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from Blu-ray – No

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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bujaki

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How did you rate the audio on the Edison wax cylinders? I have a couple of cylinders but have yet to buy a machine to play them on, alas.
 

Malcolm R

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My cylinder player crapped out a couple years ago, so I guess I'll have to stick with the blu-ray. Sounds like there's no compelling reason to buy this yet again.
 

Tony Bensley

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Does Lionsgate also have the two sequels? If so, it might make sense to have all 3 available on 4K Ultra Blu-ray, if only for pure esthetics regarding the 16mm original entry.

CHEERS! :)
 
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JoshZ

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Does Lionsgate also have the two sequels? If so, it might make sense to have all 3 available on 4K Ultra Blu-ray, if only for pure esthetics regarding the 16mm original entry.

The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show are owned by Studio Canal, which licenses to Lionsgate in North America. However, Army of Darkness is with Universal, which last licensed it out to Shout Factory.

The 2013 Ash-less reboot is with Sony.
 

Tony Bensley

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The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show are owned by Studio Canal, which licenses to Lionsgate in North America. However, Army of Darkness is with Universal, which last licensed it out to Shout Factory.

The 2013 Ash-less reboot is with Sony.
That does make it somewhat murkier. Is Lionsgate extending their get everything out on 4K to TV series, as well?

CHEERS! :)
 

Lord Dalek

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Not surprising. It seems the window for 4k as a notable improvement over regular Blu-ray keeps shrinking with each passing archival release.
 
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