The Great Gatsby – 4K Blu-ray Review

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Warner Bros. 2016

PG-13 | 2hrs 22 min | Period | Romance | Melodrama

HD | 1080P | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Upscaled 4K | 2160P | HDR10 | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Aspect Ratio 2.40:1

Staring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann

Ratings & Reviews

Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.

My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.

So what did the 5.1 soundtrack sound like? Good in most respects, and the upscaled 4K HDR10 video? Very good.

Entertainment: 4+

Video: 5-

Audio: 4+

Yes, I know, this movie has been out for a long time but everything comes to he (or she) who waits!

Technical Review – Upscaled 4K UHD HDR10

The Great Gatsby is presented here by Warner Brothers as an upscaled 4K transfer. It was originally shot using 3ality Technica TS-5 3D and Red Epic cameras with Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses.  It appears to be based upon the original 2K digital intermediate and was finished with color grading in HDR10.

The picture is generally very sharp and well defined, showing no obvious source noise or any compression artifacts except maybe a little shimmering during the films opening ‘3D’ graphics. Film grain is never an issue. Close-ups provide very good detail, clarity and definition with great natural skin tones. From costumes to pores, eyelashes and skin, all show good clarity and detail. The image is often very lavish especially during some of the party and architectural shots and is full of plenty of textural complexities especially the costumes and architectural designs.

The films HDR-enhnaced color palette provides wonderfully saturated colors and a good range of hues with lush and vibrant; reds, blues, yellows and greens. Many of these colors really standing out when placed against drab or lesser saturated background colors like, Teal attire against a largely red room, Gatsby’s yellow car cruising through the streets, the green grasses and neon signage. Despite these highly colorful elaborate scenes there are plenty of more “gritty” moments that provided a contrast from more grainy vintage shots.

Black levels are deep and virtually noise free, supported by good low level detail. Peak whites provided clean detail with no obvious clipping, providing a solid dynamic range.

There is little room for complaint with this upscaled video, having a very good and somewhat stylized look, just scrapping into the bottom end of reference.

Audio – DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

The Great Gatsby does not feature a new soundtrack simply using the original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that is a carry over from the earlier released 1080P Blu-ray. I have to say I did expect a little more “oomph” from the music sound track especially after Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. The score is an unusual blend of from eclectic hip hop to the music of the twenties. For me it generally worked having plenty of presence. However, despite their being a full musical canvas I felt it lacked just a little in punch and LFE action, providing as it does some respectable bottom end, be it from a driving beat at one of his parties or the roar of an engine.

The mix provides a moderately wide front soundstage with good use of the rear and side surrounds to support both the action sequences and general environmental atmospherics, like the underground jazz club, the New York streets hustle and bustle, Gatsby’s parties and more subtle room acoustics. Sound effect positioning and movement were good with action sequences making use of the surrounds to track movement, with objects smoothly panning side to side and front to rear, bringing you just a little further into the mix, but with no real surprises.

Dialogue was always clear and detailed with a fixed, solid, up front, and mostly center imaging, being generally well balanced within the entire mix.

Not the worlds best soundtrack, but there is little to criticize regarding this energetic mix.

Story Overview

The Great Gatsby is an adaption of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s highly acclaimed 1925 novel set during the Roaring Twenties on Long Island in 1922. It is a film made of opulence, be it narrative, character or moviemaking.

In pursuit of the American Dream, midwesterner, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) a would-be writer, has just moved to New York City in the Spring of 1922. Nick lands up in a small home on Long Island unknowingly next door to the wealthy Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). As time passes Nick becomes increasingly fascinated with all the goings on and elaborate parties on his neighbors estate. While just across the bay, Nick’s cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) finds her marriage to aristocrat and philanderer Tom Buchanan (Joel Egerton) falling apart. Nicks’s growing interest in Gatsby’s captivating world of the rich and famous draws him into his opulent and excessive lifestyle where Gatsby eventually shares the truth of his rise to meteoric fame and fortune. Nick eventually becomes disgusted with all the excess and debauchery, eventually forcing him to put pen to paper as he unravels Gatsby’s romantic entanglement with his cousin and final tragic ending.

My 2 cents

If you enjoyed Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge I would think that you should enjoy this movie too, being in a similar vein. I just wish that the music track had been a little more potent. Never the less I enjoyed the movie with all of its excesses.

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See my other Blu-ray reviews here.