Why So Blu?

The Fugitive (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

When July of this past year went by and we had no 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray to celebrate one of the finest blockbusters ever made, I lost hope on getting a pristine copy of The Fugitive. To my relief, we had to wait for it to be a holiday season item. Coming on November 21st, the Harrison Ford/Tommy Lee Jones update of the classic television show that made big bucks and garnered much Oscar attention can be yours on the best format in the land. Carrying over all the extras and adding an Atmos track, this one is under good care. You can order a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the review.

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Film

Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by Deputy Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), a determined detective who will not rest until Richard is captured. As Richard leads the team through a series of intricate chases, he discovers the secrets behind his wife’s death and struggles to expose the killer before it is too late.

I recently focused on The Fugitive on my podcast’s “The Summer of 93 at 30” series. Here is a the discussion about the film with Scott Mendelson and Aaron Neuwirth joining me.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are from promotional images supplied by the studio, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: Wow! The Fugitive looks beautiful on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. This new transfer is one of those that make you feel like you’ve never seen a movie you have seen many many times before. This fresh, like new look of the film features a great improvement on depth, color and detail that skyrockets it beyond the previous Blu-ray transfer of the film. This movie feels very big now and also carries its proper 1.85:1 aspect ration to boot.

Depth: Depth of field is very strong and features a very 3 dimensional feeling pushback that adds space and distance to the sewers, hospital hallways and more. Scale as mentioned feels very big and open. Movements are smooth and cinematic and no issues occur with any sort of blur or jitter caused by rapid action.

Black Levels: Blacks are natural and deep and really accent the nighttime scenes as well as provide good shadow and darkness for interiors. Information holds strong with textures and patterns against darker surfaces. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are more natural here in this movie but they feel well rounded an bold on the grays, darker blues and browns. There’s a bit of a cold feeling and strong blue theme to the movie that is felt. HDR adds a glow in the event of car lights or display lighting and buttons.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. The finest details of stubble, dried blood, wrinkles, make-up lines and more show through in any given distance in the frame.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 (Canadian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1 Dolby Digital,

Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish (Castilian), Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Spanish (Latin American), Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Dynamics: The Fugitive carries a nice whalloping Atmos track that really heightens the experience and builds a very full and engaging room with this mix. It is well balance with good, effective uses of contrasting volumes. There is also a good amount of layering and depth showcased through usage of it in every channel.

Height: Ceiling channels prove very effective here in crafting natural environments. The sewers are a highlight, with water running and dripping from above. You also get vocals, like echoes as well as gun shots, motors running and debris coming from above. Its an active and accurate ceiling channel.

Low Frequency Extension: From the subwoofer, you get terrific power in engines running, crashing, slamming, gunshots and plenty more with good pressure.

Surround Sound Presentation: As mentioned many times above, you have a very active mix that carries good ambiance through the rear and side channels as well as unique contributions and tracking offscreen activity. We also have sound that rolls around the room with impressive power.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

Extras

The Fugitive comes with a redeemable digital code.

Audio Commentary

• with Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones

Introduction By Director Andrew Davies, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones (HD, 1:47)

The Fugitive: Thrill of the Chase (HD, 28:19)

On the Run with The Fugitive (HD, 23:04)

Derailed: Anatomy of a Train Wreck (HD, 8:52)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:58)

Summary

I’m pleased to report that the 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray make over on 1993’s The Fugitive is quite stunning in both its appearance and sound. The new transfer is gorgeous and the Atmos track is another level of impressive. New extras would be nice, but the ones we already have that are here are pretty terrific. This is a must have for anyone, though I imagine when its the right price for you, it will be yours.

This is a paid Amazon Associates link