Nimitz, back to hell (The Final Countdown)

WORK – Pearl Harbor on the eve of the Japanese attack

1980. During a routine mission to the Pacific, the USS Nimitz nuclear carrier was caught in an electromagnetic storm. Shortly thereafter, the building received radio broadcasts dating back to 1941, including information on the progress of the German army in the USSR and photos taken by reconnaissance aircraft show the port of Pearl Harbor intact.

Sci-fi film (not war) emblematic of the 80s, Nimitz, back to hell intelligently tackles the theme of time travel (cf. reflection on temporal paradoxes) and plunges us into the daily life of an aircraft carrier like a documentary. The performance is high flying and the few action scenes well conducted. A real entertainment show!

IMAGE – Nimitz is doing a beauty again!

Digitalized in 16-bit 4K from the original 35 mm negative before being restored by the editor, this Dolby Vision UHD transfer is absolutely incredible despite small fluctuations (due to optically printed source) that can appear when special effects are in the frame.

The image which is of exemplary stability has been perfectly cleaned, the silver grain is of a beautiful organic correctness, the density of the piqué is strictly exceptional (the increase of the details is noticeable from one plane to another), the calibration of the colors is richer and nuanced than in the past (the primary ones are brighter and the other shades better revealed), the contrasts have been beautifully improved with deeper blacks and brighter whites, and the sources of light « Piloted » By HDR technology much better illuminate the places today.

SON – A big pouf?

While it must be remembered that the original mix is more oriented to before the recent big productions, the Dolby Atmos track remains no less fantastic.

No sound anomaly comes to betray the age of the film, dynamic intensity does not relax its efforts, dialogues are as clear as stable, bass show great power and spatialization is surprising as soon as events shake the warship. Because it is in those moments that the rears and the height scene (the electromagnetic storm, the overflights of the « Gatsby »air combat F-14/A6M « Zero ») act generously.

Equally clean but much less ardent, the VF DTS-HD MA 2.0 cannot fight against the magnitude of the VO.

CONCLUSION – Watch out for the storm!

As unlikely as time travel, the A/V quality of the present Ultra HD Blu-ray will only satisfy beyond expectations the fans of the work. So prepare yourself for a whole new adventure!