A Few Words About A few words about...™ In the Heart of the Sea -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

I've viewed Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea three times, in three different home video formats.

Initially, it was a DVD screener, followed by a 3D Blu-ray, and now in 4kUHD.

My reactions to the film have changed with each format.

On DVD, I found some of the performances flat, and had problems with Chris Hemsworth's accent, having nothing to do with his performance. Ben Whishaw's Melville, and Brendan Gleeson's Nickerson worked beautifully for me.

I like the way that the film links the background of literature.

In Blu-ray 3D, some things became more interesting, and potentially far more wet, as huge whale tails would bounce into view, and the huge creatures would spout in disgust of their human counterparts. And the audio suddenly became another important element of the production.

In 4k, also with Dolby Atmos, the slight uptick in resolution, took hold, along with HDR, that didn't hit one over the head with an overly forced color spectrum. Everything just seemed to work just a little bit better, probably along with getting used to Mr. Hemsworth's accent.

The point being that I've come to like the film far more than via my first outing on DVD, and even as an up-rez, this one seems to work a bit better in UHD, which may be helpful in the overall to the effects.

Image - 5

Audio - 5 (Dolby Atmos)

4k - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended

RAH

 

[benbess]

I'm currently watching this one again for the first time after seeing it in the theater with my wife a few years ago (we both liked it a lot). The regular blu-ray of In the Heart of the Sea (which is what I have) is currently only $5 from Amazon, and it also looks very good. The movie tells the story of the real event that inspired Herman Melville, and it's a good companion to the 1956 version of Moby Dick. I recommended In The Heart of the Sea for those who like old fashioned epics of the kind that are rarely made these days. Nice work on all levels of this movie, including....

Music by
Roque Baños
Cinematography by
Anthony Dod Mantle
Film Editing by
Daniel P. Hanley
Mike Hill
Casting By
Nina Gold
Production Design by
Mark Tildesley

PS I think the fact that RAH would watch this movie three times, and that he liked it better each time, says something....

 

[Alan Tully]

I was a bit disappointed with the film after really loving the book. It didn't help that it looked so dim in the cinema, but now I'm thinking that maybe the cinema had the 3D filters in place for the 2D showing (I read that it's a common mistake that some cinemas make). I may give it another go sometime.

 

[benbess]

I was a bit disappointed with the film after really loving the book. It didn't help that it looked so dim in the cinema, but now I'm thinking that maybe the cinema had the 3D filters in place for the 2D showing (I read that it's a common mistake that some cinemas make). I may give it another go sometime.

There's beautiful cinematography in this film, and although it's muted at times (or has color filters), I don't think it's too dark. And so I think you're right that your theater might have been the issue....