Source United States | Publisher : Arrow Films | Release date : 30 January 2024
Video format
2160p24 – Ratio 2.35
Dolby Vision / BT.2020 – HEVC encoding
Master intermediate 4K
Soundtrack
English Dolby Atmos
English DTS-HD MA 1.0 (Conan le Barbare)
English LPCM 1.0 (Manufacturer)
Subtitles
English
Rated 4 out of 5
Artistic : 8 | Video : 8 | Audio : 8
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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. Moreover, the images in the article are not representative of the edition tested.
Test equipment and condition (Config. HP: 5.1.4)
Video broadcaster : Philips 65OLED908 (Dolby Vision Filmmaker)
Sources : Oppo UDP-203 Audiocom Reference | Zappiti Reference
Pregnant : Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar (Dolby Atmos | DTS Neural:X), SVS SB-4000
WORK - Muscle and steel
The adventures of Conan, a barbaric native of Cimmeria, in a mythical and violent past called the Hyborian age.
Dark fantasy taisy swept away by a fulcruming epic breath (the standard meter of John Milius) to the heroic fantasy kitsch flouted by a potache humor (the commercial suite of Richard Fleischer), the best known Cimmerian in the world (a mythical hero born in 1932 under the pen of Robert E. Howard) of which Arnold Schwarzenegger is the living incarnation (his first great role in cinema), traverses during his many journeys disproportionate scenery, crosses the road of strong women slightly dressed and confronts evil sorcerers armed with his sword Atlantean. Undoubtedly, these two iconic films of the 1980s opened the way to the trilogy of the ring Peter Jackson.
IMAGE - The Road of Kings
Made from a new 16-bit 4K scan developed since the original 35 mm negatives by NBC Universal, this tatter restoration administered by the Silver Salt Restoration laboratories arrives in an unshakeable UHD transfer (an average flow of 81 Mb/s for the first and 91 kbps for the second) respecting the 2.35 ratio with Dolby Vision technology. The three versions of Conan le Barbare (Theatrical Cut 127′, the International Cut 129′ and the Extended Cut 130′) are offered in seamless branching. It should be noted that a slight cropping (horizontal stretch of the image) was performed to correct the geometry.
In comparison to the French Blu-ray released in 2011 and 2012, the present 4K discs greatly improve the visual rendering of the two works... Even when drawing in a hazardous way (use of anamorphic lenses on filming) and in chained melts. The master is of notable cleanliness (parasite dust has been carefully removed), the definition has made a leap forward (a real rediscovery of the architecture of the places) and the gain in detail is very significant (faces, muscles, costumes). And while the density of the silver texture (fullly preserved) is regularly very (too) thick on the 1st opus, it is otherwise more refined and homogeneous in its sequel.
The colorimetric palette with much more saturated hues (the red cape of Thoth-Amon, the brown of the deserts, the greenery of the forests) has seen its heat drastically increased (the carnation, the flames) while annihilating the magenta drifts of SDR transfers (terriblement fades in comparison). As for the extended range of contrasts (an average brightness close to 220 cd/m2 with light peaks regularly measured above 1000 nits), marked by extremely deep blacks (photographing is darker than in the past) and heavily emhardized whites (high luminances are better bruised), it accentuates the dynamism of the various light sources (candles, daylight, torches) as well as the brightness of the reflections (the blades, the gallery of mirrors, the burning Heart of Ahriman) and other magical interventions (cf. spectral appearances in the witch's hut).
SON - Crom's Anvil
True to its monophonic origins and therefore essentially frontal (if not the discreet presence of the height channels), the Dolby Atmos remix nevertheless expands the sound field without any artificiality (spaceization around being almost non-existent) as soon as action and music come into play.
The dynamic range is solid, the dialogues (rather rare in the first part) are of great intelligibility, the verticality is subtle (the narrator's voice off, the climatic effects, wildlife, debris falls) and the score with heroic accents of Basil Poledouris, a mixture of wild percussion and epic flights, is restored with superb fidelity. As for low frequencies, they are rarely part of the game.
Excellent clarity, the newly restored monarchy track (presented in DTS-HD MA on Conan le Barbare and LPCM on Manufacturer) imposes as a robust audio option perfectly suited to the source that it completes.
CONCLUSION - What is best in life?
Let me tell you these days of great adventures where the saga Conan has emerged from the background of ages on 4K Ultra HD support, with high quality A/V restoration and unreleased bonuses (audio comments, a documentary, interviews, an illustrated booklet and isolated audio tracks in stereo losers) that have made it a must for fans (who had until then only the luxury nanar Kalidor as the only travel companion). By Crom, the blood will flow!
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