You are proudly equipped with a brand new diffuser and an ultra HD 4K player ready to roar... but your shelf, it, looks a little grey. Don't worry, we've all been there. The equipment is ready, the cables are stored (at last, about), but it lacks the essential: the discs that will give it something to put under the tooth. Then let yourself be guided. I spent the year scrutinizing, testing, comparing, sometimes scolding, often ecstasy, and the result is just below. A home-made selection, thought to feed your installation and your cinephilia as it should, and, between us, spare you those questionable choices that you make when you are tired and too close to the weekend. Come on, let's go.
2025 was a dense, rich, sometimes exhausting but always exciting year for me, which continues to scrutinize the 4K Ultra HD market as others read in the coffee marc. And to establish this ranking, I did not pretend: I spent 218 editions this year scrutinizing, without favouritism, without mercy, but with a lot of love for support. Suffice to say that if a record is in this top, it is that it survived an examination worthy of fiscal control... but more sympathetic.
I continue to believe, and I know that many of you share this conviction, that physical support still has an essential role to play. Not by nostalgia, nor by fetishism of the case (even if the opening of a steelbook remains a small guilty pleasure), but because it remains the most reliable and respectful way to access a work. No compression that collapses, no smearing flows, no film that disappears from the catalogue overnight because a contract has expired. The record stays. He doesn't renegotiate his rights at night. And above all, he does not wake up one morning amputated from a scene deemed "sensitive" by an overly chilly platform.
Because yes, we have to talk about it: this soft, almost invisible censorship, which goes hidden behind "updates", "versions conforming to current standards" or "editorial adjustments" that nobody really asked for. On physical support, none of this, or in any case much more rarely, and especially never in catimini. Once at home, the film can no longer be retouched, redacted, sweetened or rewritten overnight. No scene cut to avoid a bad buzz, no dialogue rewritten to stick to the air of time, no digital filter come to "smooth" an artistic intention deemed too rough.
The record is the guarantee that the work remains the work. Not a revised version, not a corrected version, not a "optimized version for a modern audience". And even if, yes, it happens that some physical editions also undergo questionable choices, it remains the exception, visible, documented, debated, and not a silent change imposed on all. It may be old school, but it is also a form of freedom. And I know you care about it as much as I do.
And then there is this crucial question: respect for artistic choices. For me, it is even the heart of the debate. A good 4K edition is the one that restores the work as it was thought: its colours, its grain, its texture, its light. Not a revisionist recalibration that turns a 70s polar into a pop fluo clip, not a degreasing that erases the film's history, not a digital "lifting" that would make the chief operator scream. The physical support remains one of the last bulwarks against these drifts, except when directors or stallors mix themselves, for reasons that sometimes remain a mystery worthy of a hidden bonus, and I make myself a duty, almost a crusade, to remember it.
Little methodological precision, because I know you are attentive to it: it is the original versions (VO) that have been assessed as a priority to establish this top. Not by snobism, but because this is where are the authentic sound intentions, the most neat mixes, the finest shades of play. VFs obviously count, but the hierarchy is first built on fidelity to the work.
As I have always done, I chose to present this classification in three main categories: French outings, foreign outings and heritage works. A clear way to celebrate both current events, international diversity and these precious restorations that keep the memory of cinema... under the watchful care of 4K Ultra HD, discreet but essential guardian.
So sit down, adjust your screen (not too bright, I see you), and let yourself be guided. This ranking is not just a list: it is a tribute to a year of cinema, to a medium that stubbornly refuses to die, and to a community, you, who continue to defend the idea that a film deserves better than a compressed stream.
Welcome to The best 4K Blu-ray from 2025. And thank you for being here, again and again, to make live the flame of physics with me. #WeLovePhysicalMedia 📀✨
It is brought to the attention of our dear readers that, in addition to the specified and used viewing equipment, the rendering may differ from one installation to another, whether or not it is calibrated, as well as personal preferences and expectations may influence notation.
Video broadcaster (QD-OLED 4K) : Sony Bravia XR-65A95L
Universal reader : Oppo UDP-203 Audiocom Reference
Multimedia player : R_volution PlayerPro 8K Signature Edition
Pregnant (7.1.4): Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Plus, SB-4000
Image Modes : Professional (SDR or HDR) | Dolby Dark Vision | IMAX Enhanced
Listening modes : Dolby Atmos | Dolby Surround | DTS:X | DTS Neural:X
Contents
Top French releases
Wicked
Source France | Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date : 09 April 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Trapped by a Dolby Overlay Vision clearly magical, this witchcraft of all moments fully benefits from the support capabilities. The fineness of the details makes a leap forward, the shades with dazzling primaries are much more saturated, the darkness is much more graduated and the high luminances (with the sun as the main source of light) benefit from a much better crapping (cf. counter-days). Colour contrasts increase with time.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
In addition to an exemplary vertical location (the manifestations of Elphaba's powers, the flame of the hot-air balloon burner, flying monkeys and so much more), the VO Dolby Atmos with low gutturals and electrifying dynamics proclaims a grandiose mix (in controlled vacarm) in which the song strikes as much by its accuracy as by its power (the voice of sopranodari). Even if dominated, the VF remains refined in its translated songs.
✦✦ Power Score: 99 ✦✦
• Why does he impose himself as the reference? Dolby Vision bewitching and Atmos defying gravity: an A/V grimoire where each visual spell and each vocal flight propels the emerald kingdom into a 4K apotheosis worthy of a forbidden spell. To believe that all Oz has shunned to prove that here, green magic also reigns over home-cinema.
The Last of Us – Season 2
Source France | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 24 September 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.78 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Thanks to a striking visual mastery, where practical decors (the village of Jackson) mix perfectly with subtle digital backgrounds, this UHD transfer refines the precision of the frame (already remarkable in 1080p), even when poorly lit, with improved details on costumes, faces and environments. The Dolby Vision, which sublimates the shades, from the orange tones of the 3rd episode to the glacial and estival contrasts, reinforces the richness of the blacks. Robust encoding.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos? Clearly yes during scenes including real shots since scaling there is coarse with artifacts from everywhere... Not to mention a numerical reduction of noise (DNR) in the pack and a reinforcement of the contours (edge enhancement) extremely aggressive for an artificial rendering as possible. The detours are approximate (sometimes with double contours), the draft backgrounds, the smoothed and/or too accentuated details (at times in the same frame), the waxy or cracked faces and too many elements (including the actors) are abnormally detached from the others (in and outside the GDR premises). That's awful! Not really during full CGI scenes where the AI gives the impression of being in its element (the synthetic images lend themselves particularly well to clinical accuracy). The increased sharpness of the details (the faces of the Na'vis, accessories, clothing), the accuracy of the contours (the vegetal landscape) and the accentuation of the relief rarely betrays the use of an ascending conversion into automatic mode. It's bluffing! If this is « façade » too heterogeneous to convince, the luxuriant colorimetric palette by nature sees some of its shades enhanced (blue skin, the multiple shades of exotic flowers, green vegetation), the more assertive contrasts spread firmed blacks (the shadows are better designed) and brighter whites (the sacred seeds), and the light sources display less intensity than in the past (the mushrooms and
With remarkable immersive power, the VO Dolby Atmos makes a brilliant use of all channels to project shots, storms, and crowd atmospheres into a dynamic and accurate acoustic space. Even the quieter scenes vibrate delicate environmental effects, while the action unleashes a spectacular low-infra avalanche. The whole remains clear, with perfectly audible voices. In lossy format, VF lacks clarity and depth.
✦✦ Power Score: 97.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Dolby Vision soaked in the apocalypse and Atmos sharpened like a hunter's arrow: an A/V mastery that smells of pure survival... to the point that it could appear in Ellie's newspaper, as a technical memory torn from a world that collapses.
Mickey 17
Source France | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 16 July 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.85 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Dignified by a premium clone, this UHD Dolby Vision transfer arrives with unalterable compression. It displays fine details with even more striking clarity, (metallic) colours more accurately nuanced, much more precise shadows (omnipresent) and (very little flashing) lighting with increased realism. More homogeneous than in HD, the granular texture (added in post-prod) allows dystopic decors and CGIs to integrate with organic fluidity.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French DTS-HD MA 5.1
Enveloping and never overloaded, the VO Atmos is calibrated like a space shuttle. The dialogues are clear, the spatialization is neat (in the claustrophobic interiors as on the icy planet), and the rare scenes of action fully exploit the LFE channel. The music is subtly reproduced and the high channels reinforce immersion at the right times. More frontal, the VF DTS-HD MA 5.1 offers a clear and balanced mix, with a well integrated dubbing.
✦✦ Power Score: 97 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Dolby Clinical Vision and Dolby Atmos calibrated as a certified cryogenic module for duplication: a high-precision duo that resets competition. Even Mickey, all versions, would sign to be the one who benefits from this 4K edition first.
Arcane – Season 2
Source France | Publisher : All the Anime | Release date : 05 November 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.35 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
This upscale UHD DV impresses with its precision and fluidity. The high city shines in its Art Deco lines, while the lowlands plunge into a chaos of Art Nouveau. The panoramas gain in sharpness, the textures in relief, and the silver patina like Jinx's ‘scratch's are displayed with increased finesse. HDR and WCG reinforce colours, contrasts and lights, from neons to flames. A masterful restitution, supported by a strong HEVC compression.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos? Clearly yes during scenes including real shots since scaling there is coarse with artifacts from everywhere... Not to mention a numerical reduction of noise (DNR) in the pack and a reinforcement of the contours (edge enhancement) extremely aggressive for an artificial rendering as possible. The detours are approximate (sometimes with double contours), the draft backgrounds, the smoothed and/or too accentuated details (at times in the same frame), the waxy or cracked faces and too many elements (including the actors) are abnormally detached from the others (in and outside the GDR premises). That's awful! Not really during full CGI scenes where the AI gives the impression of being in its element (the synthetic images lend themselves particularly well to clinical accuracy). The increased sharpness of the details (the faces of the Na'vis, accessories, clothing), the accuracy of the contours (the vegetal landscape) and the accentuation of the relief rarely betrays the use of an ascending conversion into automatic mode. It's bluffing! If this is « façade » too heterogeneous to convince, the luxuriant colorimetric palette by nature sees some of its shades enhanced (blue skin, the multiple shades of exotic flowers, green vegetation), the more assertive contrasts spread firmed blacks (the shadows are better designed) and brighter whites (the sacred seeds), and the light sources display less intensity than in the past (the mushrooms and
At the rhythm of a rich playlist, the VO Dolby Atmos deploys spectacular energy, saturating the space of detail and pyrotechnic effects. Serious and infra-graves respond with authority, while VF lossy remains combative and assured. The dubbing, impeccable on both sides, reinforces the stage presence of the protagonists. Net dialogues, immersive spatialization: an incandescent rendering, enchanting hearing where power and finesse combine with brilliance.
✦✦ Power Score: 96.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Graphical Virtuosity Dolby Vision and Sound Pyrotechnic Dolby Atmos (VO Privilege) for an audiovisual sacre in telluric harmony with arcan magic. If Singed had been able to handle this 4K edition, he would have traded his vials for a HC.
Superman (2025)
Source France | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 19 November 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.90 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
From a capture to 8K, this UHD DV transfer that hovers well above the Blu-ray chose the 1.90 IMAX experience. The textures, from the man's costume to the decorations, display a wealth of more impressive details...to the deepest shadows. The palette, coloured even if unsaturated, is more nuanced and the heroic contrasts benefit from intensified blacks and exalted light sources (the crystals of the Fortress of Solitude).
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Atmos
In VO as in VF, the Dolby Atmos mix deploys all its power from the intro: maximum clarity, aggressive spatialization, powerful bass and wide dynamic. The height channels and circular effects engulf the confrontations (notably the one against the titaniumsque kaijū) and other aerial movements (the wind), while the dialogues remain clear (French tidings well integrated) and the music, between tribute to John Williams and modernity, retains a superb fidelity.
✦✦ Power Score: 96 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Dolby Solar vision and soundtrack Celestial Atmos: a Kryptonian combo that propels the Man ofAcier into full orbit A/V, especially as the magnitude 1.90 IMAX stretches heroism to the limits of the frame. At this level, even Jor‐El would have preferred a HC to his crystal chamber.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Source France | Publisher : Paramount Pictures | Release date : 15 October 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.90, 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Paramount Do not joke with goodbyes, this UHD DV transfer explodes the support standards with formidable sharpness and flawless encoding (on BD100). The 40 min at the ratio IMAX 1.90 (see diving and biplace) offer a total spectacle: abyssal blacks, textures of a crazy richness, chiselled lights, brilliant primary. No artifacts, no flexions, even in the most perilous scenes. Reds slam, blues vibrate, contrasts ensure.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Atmos
An elite Atmos mix, where each sequence of action triggers an acoustic earthquake via a rare ferocity LFE channel. The bass roar, the propellers scream, the submarines crack: immersion is total, from sky to abyss. Directional effects sculpt 3D environments with organic vivacity, and partition ignites all with kinetic intensity. VO and VF at elbow-to-neck, with always clear dialogues, even in full spin. Ultimate demo. Final point.
✦✦ Power Score: 95.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? A technical masterclass (A/V performances worthy of an IMF plan) for an honor baroud in high voltige. If Entité had had access to this 4K edition, it would probably have given up the apocalypse. Successful mission.
Ballerina (2025)
Source France | Publisher : Metropolitan Video | Release date : 16 October 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
A UHD Dolby Vision transfer as sharp as the dove tips: irreproachable definition, surgical textures and optimal contrast. The photograph preserves the visual leg of the saga (violet, blue and yellow neon) while daring more natural hues (especially in Hallstatt). The HDR calibration magnifies each shade (from the Director's lipstick to the brilliant snow) and the digital effects are seamlessly integrated. A visual demonstration that doesn't miss its target.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Atmos
In the first seconds, these two Dolby Atmos tracks (difficult to separate) hit hard: surgical spatialization, hyperactive surrounds and lows as nervous as a raging eve jet. The wide and playful mix consists of a whirlpool of shots, grenades and flames, without ever saturating. The atmospheres, immersive and directional, persist until the (rare) lulls. A real step between acoustic brutality and atmospheric finesse.
✦✦ Power Score: 95 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Dolby Vision sharpened as a mortal step and mix Atmos stretched like a breath before impact: a lethal A/V choreography capable of shaking the walls of Ruska Roma. The Director would see it as an execution worthy of her school.
Gladiator II
Source France | Publisher : Paramount Pictures | Release date : 13 March 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
From a digital capture in 4.5K under the wise gaze of John Mathieson (the Ops leader of Gladiator), this UHD Dolby Vision transfer differs significantly from its HD counterpart by details that are otherwise more precise (injury, leatherasses, embroidery, decorations), warm colors (in earthy tones) much brighter (primarily) and nuanced (sepia, gilding), deep blacks and naturally bolder light sources (torches, sun).
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Atmos
Filled with ambiences (waves, crowd shouting, wind blowing) and belligerent effects (iron cruising, water collisions) on the back, this 3D soundtrack with engaged dynamics and muscular bass is as immersive as it is balanced (clarity of dialogues, prodigy of noise and fidelity of score). But where the VO uses verticality only for music, the VF uses it generously (grinces of wood, whispers arrows, screams of baboons, etc.).
✦✦ Power Score: 94.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Dolby Vision forged in the arena and Dolby Atmos as striking as a shield shock: the fury of games resurrected with imperial precision. In the face of such a technical demonstration would the Emperor hesitate to raise his thumb?
The Substance
Source France | Publisher : Metropolitan Video | Release date : 13 March 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K, 4K (TV show)
Magnificent in its graphic outburst (pop colors, very disgusting close-ups, clinical interiors), this immaculate digital photograph that sticks to the skin provides an exceptional UHD Dolby Vision transfer. The details are more cruelly carved (cf. flesh rot), the more pimping colorimetric palette (an explosion of pastels and acidulated hues) and sharper contrasts (from the darkness of the hidden room to the vivid lighting of the TV tray).
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1
With an ever-increasing ferocity (from the frenzy of dynamics to the violence of effects), this DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack overflows with organic noises (the transformations of the bodies) and is full of activity at the back (where electro dissonant music screams with all its strength) spreads its rage towards the diktats of beauty in a particularly wide sound field addicted to the claimed bass. More powerful, the VF is equipped with a well-integrated careful dubbing.
✦✦ Power Score: 94.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? DV that sweats like a moulted skin and DTS‐HD MA 5.1 that beats like a panicked organ: an A/V symbiosis that exposes beauty as a sparkling disease. Would the Substance dare to replicate itself before such a visceral demonstration?
The 4 Fantastics: First Steps
Source France | Publisher : Disney | Release date 26 November 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
A UHD Dolby Vision transfer that fully exploits its native master: textures captured in 6.5K refined (costumes, lithic epidermis, decorations, metal surfaces), subtly reanimated chromatic palette (from the dominant blues to the flamboyant oranges) and sublimated contrasts (blacks dive into the depths when whites rise to bright heights). The Silver Surfer twinkles, the eyes of Galactus pierce the screen and the universe sembrase.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
The Dolby Atmos runway literally propels us to sound peaks, exploiting verticality to magnify thefts, take-offs and cosmic clashes. Mixing, rich in detail and dynamics, benefits from extensive spatialization. The bass hit with authority, Michael Giacchino's score envelopes and dialogues remain clear, even at the heart of the action. The VF lossy, despite its power and balance, remains far from the precision and richness of the VO.
✦✦ Power Score: 94 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Dolby Vision incandescent like a supernova and Atmos launched at full speed in the stratosphere: an A/V synergy that radiates the screen with cosmic energy. What to do to make the very balance of the universe sway.
The top foreign outings
When Evil Lurks
Source United Kingdom | Publisher : Second Sight | Release date 28 July 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
A UHD transfer as clear as an axe in the skull: surgical definition, striking depth and controlled compression. The DV (approved by Demián Rugna) transforms the landscapes into a rural, moist and suffocating furnace, as if evil roamed in heat. The blacks are abyssal, the high lights blinding, and the saturated palette sticks to the peaty atmosphere. No artifacts, just demonic clarity. The rare images jumps are convulsions desired.
• Soundtrack : Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1
An audio track that roams like a malicious entity: each speaker becomes a vector of tension, Pablo Fuu's crawling notes sinsinuate like a sound infection, and the subwoofer descends into the deepest abyss. A mix DTS-HD MA 5.1 worthy of Nolan (Tenet), where the least effect is intentional and each atmosphere, a sensory possession. Aggressive surround like a demon hunting and clear dialogues. Everything is under control, everything is threatening.
✦✦ Power Score: 98.5 ✦✦
• Why does he impose himself as the reference? Because it turns terror into a technical norm: Dolby Burning Vision and 5.1 infectious for a UHD ritual that cracks under the pressure of Evil. Nothing is illustrated: everything is infected. Excellence does not shine, it suppurates.
F1® The Film
Source Spain | Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 15 October 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
A real pole visual position: surgical pique, sharp textures and rendered WCG/DV that sublime incandescent brakes, sparkling bodies (red Ferrari) and specular reflections. The mythical circuits (Silverstone) reveal a profusion of details, while the interiors, from the clinical garage to the VIP suites, display exemplary sharpness. A constant technical rigor, backed by a robust encoding that swallows speed without shaking. Ratio 1.90 reserved for SVOD.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French (Parisian) Dolby Atmos
The Atmos soundtrack puts the gas from the start: screaming blocks, screaming tires, crowds of delirium and sports comments that hover over the mound make up a sound paddock of total immersion. The rear follows each turn with precision, the effects act as overtaking in a straight line, the music pushes into the veins and the serious give weight to the contacts. And because in F1 nothing is played solo, VO and VF drive side by side. Trajectory held!
✦✦ Power Score: 97 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Driven by a technical rigor that swallows the speed without deflecting a millimeter, this edition gets the podium. Dolby Vision heated to white, Atmos in full thrust, she never raises her foot and signs her perfect turn.
Substitution – Bring Her Back
Source United States | Publisher : A24 | Release date : 19 August 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.00 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Clinical and disturbing, the photograph of Aaron McLisky (often using a narrow focal point) ices the blood in UHD Dolby Vision. Close-ups, regularly disoriented, reveal almost invasive precision on faces and textile fibres. Cold hues, especially blues and greens, strongly accentuate mental drift. As for the contrasts, well dosed, they skillfully play the map of malaise, carried by anxiogenic blacks and parsimony light.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos
Very quickly, the sound opening of this Dolby Atmos mix hits with its spatial mastery: water effects (recurrent for reasons quickly obvious that I would be writing here) fall in cascade around the listener, projected by a meticulous sound design. The atmospheres, sometimes stealthy, sometimes more frontal, circulate between all the channels, creating all along an immersive tension. The music of Cornel Wilczek (Hand) has a good ventilation and dialogues remain clear.
✦✦ Power Score: 96 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Between an image that looks down to discomfort and an Atmos mix that drops, slides and surrounds, the tension A/V rises as a memory that one thought had drowned. Even off-site, a presence persists...
Vaiana 2
Source United States | Publisher : Disney | Release date : 18 March 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.00 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Taking advantage of much more extensive contrasts (from light sets to doubled intensity) and a much brighter colorimetric palette (even more fantastic primary), this UHD Dolby Sun vision transfer stands out strongly from its 1080p counterpart, lighter and less sharp in comparison. For beyond a very different radiance, it displays a horizon (most often blue) with improved precision (sand grains, currents, natural decorations, hair).
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French (Quebec) Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
If it is necessary to increase the volume (by 4 dB) to fully feel the storm, the VO Dolby Atmos sails in immersive waters. The dynamics hold the bar, the bass shake the ocean, the spatialization has the wind in stern, the environmental sounds splash everywhere (a flattering verticality) and the music follows the sea current. Well distributed in the sound space and quite powerful, however, the VF lacks scope and precision vis-à-vis its 3D consœur.
✦✦ Power Score: 95.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Because he puts sails where others stay at dock: a Dolby Vision calibration that sparkles like a midday in the open sea and a sound that blows the storm. Immersion takes off and capsizes competition.
The Surfer
Source United States | Publisher : Lionsgate Films | Release date : 15 July 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Captured with Arri Alexa 35 and mastered in 4K, The Surfer deploys a hypnotic cinematography, willingly granular (more than in HD), often sublime. The DV calibration transforms the sarcella and bruises into liquid hallucinations, while the pushed contrasts (even more) and solar filters (more overwhelming) give the film a postcard look from the 70s. From twisted squares to extreme close-ups, fine details gain significantly in sharpness.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos
From the first waves, this Dolby Atmos soundtrack literally splashes us. Between beach and beachside parking, the effects of ambience invite unabated (resac, intensive cymbalization of cicadas), all the more so when Cage leaves in a spin. The score of François Tétaz (Wolf Creek) envelopes the space with a psyched refinement, and the dialogues remain clear despite the surrounding disorientation. In short, a mix that makes us surf in our own head.
✦✦ Power Score: 94.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? When the retina burns and hearth spins, this A/V trip turns each wave into a mental drift. The inverted image, the Atmos submerged, until we surf inside. Under solar acid, the experiment is sensory.
Top works of heritage
Silverado
Source France | Publisher : Sony Pictures | Release date : 15 October 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
This UHD Dolby Vision transfer draws a breathtaking visual quality: sumptuous colours, delicate granularity, chiseled contrasts, textures to empty the saddle. Thanks to a meticulous 35 mm scan and calibration worthy of a duel to the sun, the image that easily surpasses the 2009 Blu-ray crackles like a campfire under the stars. The blue sky pierces the screen, the reds blaze, the blacks ink with elegance. A visual overlap towards the top of the format.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos? Clearly yes during scenes including real shots since scaling there is coarse with artifacts from everywhere... Not to mention a numerical reduction of noise (DNR) in the pack and a reinforcement of the contours (edge enhancement) extremely aggressive for an artificial rendering as possible. The detours are approximate (sometimes with double contours), the draft backgrounds, the smoothed and/or too accentuated details (at times in the same frame), the waxy or cracked faces and too many elements (including the actors) are abnormally detached from the others (in and outside the GDR premises). That's awful! Not really during full CGI scenes where the AI gives the impression of being in its element (the synthetic images lend themselves particularly well to clinical accuracy). The increased sharpness of the details (the faces of the Na'vis, accessories, clothing), the accuracy of the contours (the vegetal landscape) and the accentuation of the relief rarely betrays the use of an ascending conversion into automatic mode. It's bluffing! If this is « façade » too heterogeneous to convince, the luxuriant colorimetric palette by nature sees some of its shades enhanced (blue skin, the multiple shades of exotic flowers, green vegetation), the more assertive contrasts spread firmed blacks (the shadows are better designed) and brighter whites (the sacred seeds), and the light sources display less intensity than in the past (the mushrooms and
A rare scale for a catalogue remix, the VO Atmos resonates with an accuracy and grandeur worthy of a desert wind: clear voices, bluffing spatialization (effects ricocate from everywhere such as lost bullets), and hoofs that tumble like gun bursts (the LFE channel has nerve). The score of Bruce Broughton (Tombstone) raises with panache, wrapping each scene with an epic breath. More dull, the VF Dolby Digital 5.1 breathes much less.
✦✦ Power Score: 98.5 ✦✦
• Why does he impose himself as the reference? When the image wins the duel and the sound draws faster than its shadow, it sets the rules. Pack the colts: the law is now dictated by the Dolby brothers... Even the sheriff tidyed his star to lie down at their feet.
Eyes Wide Shut
Source United States | Publisher : Criterion | Release date : 25 November 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.85 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Presented in 1.85 format and supervised by Larry Smith, this master 4K restores the international assembly from the original negative 35 mm, with an adjusted colorimetry thanks to a reference copy provided by Warner. The texture immediately strikes: the dense organic grain returns, accompanied by a resolutely surgical bite. The feverish reds and the iced blues* , carried by a reinforced contrast that magnifies the lights (cf. Christmas garlands).
* Where the 2007 Blu-ray betrayed the work with its magenta drifts typical of the 2000s, the present edition UHD restores authenticity. The second comparison is unequivocal: the 35 mm copy, whose new 4K restoration reproduces the image with much more fidelity, reveals the colorimetric alteration of the previous HD disc. Indeed, this awakened dream finally regains its hypnotic brilliance.
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Released from the acoustic veil that tarnished the old LPCM 5.1 mix, this DTS-HD MA track deploys a wider and nuanced spatialization. Dialogues gain in sharpness, while piano attacks are otherwise more incisive. The Valse No 2 of Shostakovich enjoys a more balanced dynamic, and the city night atmospheres, subtly enveloping, blend with more elegance in the sound environment. The masquerade is naked!
✦✦ Power Score: 96.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? When the masquerade reveals desirable colours and sensual 5.1 track, Dr. Harford surprises himself to leave the door open. The masks fall, the piano shuts up, and the guests of the ball even whisper more. Between watch and fantasy, the dream is lived in full consciousness.
Dark City
Source United Kingdom | Publisher : Arrow Films | Release date : 23 June 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Thanks to a brand new 4K restoration supervised by the photo director Dariusz Wolski from the original 35 mm negatives (and a 2K master for the additions of the Directors Cut), each plan regains hypnotic sharpness. Blacks are of an abyssal density, contrasts sculpt faces like buried memories, and the silver grain remains intact, as a imprint of the subconscious. In the shadows, the Dolby Vision reveals a light with supernatural brightness.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
The new Atmos track envelops the listener in a deaf threat as immersive as it is hallucinated, where verticality (rain, reverberated voice, machinery) and the more explicit distribution of sound objects (the murmurs of the « Foreigners » and remodelling of the city) amplify the ambient paranoia. More classical but always efficient, track 5.1 retains the qualities of the original mix: fortuitous dynamics, sensory spatialization, evocative music and oppressive bass.
✦✦ Power Score: 93.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Because he resurrects the city-labyrinth, where every shadow becomes a territory and every noise explores the paranoid depths. Faced with such an edition, even the « Foreigners » would have given up remodeling at night.
Kingdom of Heaven – Directors Cut
Source United States | Publisher : 20th Century Studios | Release date : 27 May 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Resulting from an oversampling of the original DI 2K, this UHD DV transfer « massacre » the previous Blu-ray released in France Pathé. The improvement of the edges is no longer, as the fade of the blacks (they were grey) and the lack of compression. Instead, the encoding is unattainable, the management of contrasts significantly improved (see details in the shadows) and the pique well marked. The shades (blue and amber) increase in nuances and the silver grain in finesse.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos (STFR)
In turn refined and muscular, the VO Atmos with established clarity, enveloping environmental effects, extensive medieval partition and dynamic battles is an acoustic marvel. The (directional) voices are solidly exuded, the rear scene is constantly pressed (sandy winds), the basses are solidly formed and the verticality is a path (standards, wildlife, balasters) within an incredibly authentic sound design.
✦✦ Power Score: 89.5 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? It restores to the Holy Land a visual and audible majesty at the height of its legend, revealing every breath of sand and every banner with near liturgical precision. In front of such a technical coronation, Saladin allegedly dropped his arms out of courtesy.
Thelma and Louise
Source France | Publisher : BQHL Editions | Release date : 27 February 2025
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Scanned in 4K from the original 35 mm negative, this UHD restoration calibrated in Dolby Vision (under the supervision of Ridley Scott) is of all beauty. The silver texture is finely preserved, a veil of extra sharpness operates all along (the close-ups on the faces, the wild expanses), the dusty colors enjoy new nuances (the « T-Bird » blue, twilight) and the improved contrast range enhances light and darkness.
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1
Drawn from the 4-channel magnetic tapes of the time, the VO DTS-HD MA 5.1 releases a beautiful spatial precision in which road traffic is running in the lead. The dialogues are clear, the back scene (the atmosphere of the bars, the races and pursuits) and the iconic score of Hans Zimmer (including his mythical Thunderbird) as wide as enveloping. Even if its dubbing is a little too advanced, the very good VF does not have to blush comparison.
✦✦ Power Score: 87 ✦✦
• Why is he among the best? Because he gives back the journey of Thelma and Louise all his warmth, dust and vertigo. The image breathes, the carbide sound, and the work regains the momentum of its mythical fugue. With such a full technical octane, the T-Bird is not ready to stop its freedom.
Tops of support:
- The best 4K Blu-ray in support v.1, v.2
- The best 4K Blu-ray to test 3D sound v.1, v.2
- The best 4K Blu-ray 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Support flops:
Useful links:
Subscribe
Connection
0 Remarks
oldest
