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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Created By:
Sam Shaw, Dustin Thomason
Cast:
André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgård
Writing Credits:
Various

Synopsis:
Based on the stories of Stephen King, the series will intertwine characters and themes from the fictional town of Castle

MPAA:
Rated TV-MA

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles:
English
French
Dutch
Danish
Finnish
Norwegian
Swedish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Portuguese
French
Castillian Spanish
Dutch

Runtime: 500 min.
Price: $44.98
Release Date: 1/8/2019

Bonus:
• “Inside the Episode” Featurettes
• “Blood on the Page” Featurette
• “Clockwork of Horror” Featurette
• Blu-ray Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
-LG OLED65C6P 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart OLED TV
-Marantz SR7010 9.2 Channel Full 4K Ultra HD AV Surround Receiver
-Sony UBP-X800 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
-Chane A2.4 Speakers
-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Castle Rock: Season One [4K UHD] (2018)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (January 3, 2019)

Steven King fans know “Castle Rock” as the fictional Maine town in which a number of his stories take place – as well as the name of Rob Reiner’s production company. In 2018, Castle Rock became a Hulu series that uses King’s themes and characters.

This two-disc set provides all 10 episodes from the series’ first season. The plot synopses come from the package’s insert.

Severance: “Death row attorney Henry Deaver (André Holland) returns home to Castle Rock.”

Like virtually every other pilot episode, “Severance” works to set up the series’ characters and situations. “Severance” does so in an efficient and effective manner that leads us to want to see where the show will go from here.

Habeas Corpus: “Henry gets a new client at Shawshank Prison.”

Arguably the episode’s most interesting elements come during its introduction, as these highlight various spooky elements of the Castle Rock setting. The rest of the show moves at a more gradual pace, but it still manages to thicken various plot and character elements.

Local Color: “The past catches up with Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey).”

Molly played a minor role in the first two episodes, but “Color” definitely increases her prominence, and it also develops her backstory with Henry. Throw in more information connected to “The Kid” (Bill Skarsgård) and this turns into another effective show.

The Box: “As Henry prepares for court, a coffin arrives in town.”

Throughout the season to date, the question of what happened to young Henry (Caleel Harris) when he went missing remains a major thread, and it gets a bit of goosing here. Other parts of the episode feel less interesting, but it’s still a pretty engaging show overall.

Harvest: “As Castle Rock honors Pangborn (Scott Glenn), a stranger pays a visit.”

A mysterious figure during the first few episodes, “The Kid” receives more exploration here – and it’s not fun stuff, as we get hints of his dark background. In addition to other developments, these areas add intrigue.

Filter: “A funeral stirs up unsettling memories. Henry’s son (Chosen Jacobs) arrives.”

After five episodes of hints and clues, “Filter” offers actual exposition – well, in its own spooky, vague way. Some of this feels contrived but I’ll take the more concrete orientation, as it helps advance the narrative in a more comprehensible manner.

The Queen: “Memories haunt Ruth Deaver (Sissy Spacek).”

Prior synopses left out characters with prominent roles in those shows, but this overview wraps up “Queen” well, as it focuses heavily on Ruth. This gives the show an unusual flavor, especially due to the way it portrays Ruth’s erratic mental state. These factors turn “Queen” into an especially impactful show.

Past Perfect: “Henry follows a clue as newcomers land in Castle Rock.”

The best parts of “Past” come from those “newcomers”, a married couple from the Pacific Northwest (Mark Harelik and Lauren Bowles). We briefly met them in an earlier show, but they become more interesting as we get to know them better. Other aspects of the episode feel less interesting, but the program still comes with more good than bad.

Henry Deaver: “There’s a world beyond these walls.”

There’s a vague plot synopsis for you, but it makes sense, as a more formal description of the episode’s events would automatically enter “spoiler” territory. “Deaver” includes major revelations and sets up the season finale well.

Romans: “Some birds can be caged.”

Another loose synopsis, all for the same reasons “Deaver” came with such a broad overview – spoilers! Suffice it to say that “Romans” manages to tie together a lot of the season’s plot threads, and it brings the year home in a positive manner.


The Disc Grades: Picture A-/ Audio B-/ Bonus C-

Castle Rock appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on these 4K UHD Discs. This became a satisfactory presentation.

Overall sharpness seemed solid. Next to no softness appeared here, so the shows looked tight and concise.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I noticed no edge haloes. Source flaws were absent, as the episodes looked consistently clean.

Like most series of this sort, Rock gave us a palette that focused on amber and teal. Other hues appeared, but those dominated. Within those parameters, the hues were positive. The 4K UHD’s HDR added some brightness and oomph to the colors as well.

Blacks seemed deep and dark, while shadows showed good smoothness and clarity. Contrast worked well thanks to the aforementioned HDR. I felt happy with the image.

As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Rock, it lacked a ton of ambition. The soundfield focused on music and ambience, though it opened up on occasion.

For instance, spooky scenes became a little more involving. Nothing especially memorable occurred, though.

Audio quality was fine. Speech seemed natural and concise, without edginess or other issues.

Music offered good clarity and range, and effects worked well enough. They didn’t have much to do, but they appeared reasonably accurate. All of this ended up as a perfectly satisfactory soundtrack for this sort of series.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, so expect no changes in that department.

However, the 4K UHD’s visuals showed the usual improvements. The 4K UHD boasted superior delineation as well as stronger colors, contrast and blacks. The 4K UHD didn’t blow away the Blu-ray but it became the more satisfying presentation.

The set’s extras appear on the included Blu-ray copy. For each show, we get a corresponding Inside the Episode segment. These fill a total of 30 minutes, 21 seconds with info from co-creators Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw.

Thomason and Shaw look at story/character areas as well as connections to other Steven King projects and various choices and challenges. Though none of the clips run long, they still give us a nice overview as a whole.

Blood on the Page runs 19 minutes, 40 seconds and includes info from Thomason, Shaw, executive producers JJ Abrams and Mark Lafferty, staff writer Marc Bernardin, and actors Bill Skarsgård and André Holland.

“Page” views connections to King’s novels as well as story, characters and themes. “Page” feels less specific than I’d like, but it still offers some decent information.

Finally, Clockwork of Horror goes for four minutes, 51 seconds and features Bernardin, Shaw, and Thomason. It gives us a look at story areas and becomes another acceptable reel.

An offshoot of Steven King’s literary universe, Castle Rock brings us a pretty solid limited-run series. It creates an intriguing plot that develops in an immersive manner across its 10 shows. The 4K UHDs bring solid picture and acceptable audio along with a smattering of supplements. This turns into an enjoyable long-form tale that the 4K UHD reproduces well.

To rate this show visit the prior review of CASTLE ROCK: SEASON ONE

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