The Last of Us appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on these 4K UHD Discs. A native 4K production, the Dolby Vision episodes provided excellent picture quality.
Sharpness consistently looked tight and well-defined. Any softness seemed intentional, and the end product maintained a solid level of delineation.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.
Colors leaned toward a modern mix of amber/orange and teal, with a push toward green in forest settings and few other hues tossed out occasionally. The 4K reproduced the tones as intended, and HDR gave them a nice boost in intensity.
Blacks looked deep and dark, while shadows demonstrated appealing clarity. HDR added range and impact to whites and contrast. This wound up as a great-looking package of shows.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the series’ Dolby Atmos audio also satisfied. Unsurprisingly, the occasional Big Action Moments fared the best.
These climaxed early in the series, as the first episode offered the most evocative soundscape. In that one, the world quickly deteriorated, and with plane crashes and other expansive moments, it used the speakers to become vivid and engaging.
After that, soundfields tended toward a more environmental side of the street, though occasional Big Action Moments nonetheless arose. These used the spectrum in a positive way, with music that also spread across the spectrum in an appealing manner.
Audio quality worked nicely, with speech that consistently appeared concise and natural. Music seemed warm and full.
Effects displayed excellent reproduction, with accurate, dynamic tones that brought deep bass as necessary. I felt pleased with the series’ audio.
Across all four discs, we find Inside the Episode featurettes. With one per program, these span a total of 49 minutes, 35 seconds.
Across these, we find notes from series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, prosthetics designer Barrie Gower, directors Jeremy Webb and Peter Hoar, director of photography Eben Bolter, dialect coach/director of ASL CJ Jones, movement coach Terry Notary, VFX supervisor Alex Wang, production designer John Paino, location manager Jason Nolan, set decorator Paul Healey, and actors Pedro Pascal, Nico Parker, Merle Dandridge, Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Jeffrey Pierce, Melanie Lynskey, Keivonn Woodard, Lamar Johnson, Melanie Lynskey, Jeffrey Pierce, Rutina Wesley, Gabriel Luna, Storm Reid, Scott Shepherd, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson.
The “Inside” segments discuss the source and its adaptation, story/character domains, cast and performances, sets and locations, various effects, creature design, stunts/action, and similar topics. Though they lean a bit promotional at times, the clips nonetheless come with enough worthwhile material to make them useful.
The remaining programs appear on Disc Three, and Controllers Down runs 11 minutes, 44 seconds. It brings notes from Druckmann, Baker, Mazin, Pascal, Ramsey, Ashley Johnson, Parker, Luna, Torv, Dandridge, Offerman, Bartlett, Woodard, and Lamar Johnson.
“Down” examines the adaptation of the videogame to the TV screen. Some happy talk emerges but we still find worthwhile info about the subject matter.
From Levels to Live Action spans 11 minutes, 51 seconds and offers info from Mazin, Druckmann, Gower, Reid, Ramsey, Ashley Johnson, Pascal, and VFX producer Sean Nowlan.
With “Levels”, we learn more about the adaptation of the game, though it focuses more on creature design/execution and effects. It becomes a solid complement to “Down”.
Next comes Stranger Than Fiction, a 23-minute, 44-second piece that involves Druckmann, Mazin, Ramsey, Pascal, Offerman, Keck School of Medicine Professor of Molecular Microbiology, Immunology Dr. Paula Cannon and Utrecht University Asst. Professor of Biology Dr. Charissa de Bekker, and survival expert Mykel Hawke.
“Fiction” examines the reality behind the series’ infection and related domains. We find a nice look at the facts that influenced the events.
Ashley Johnson Spotlight fills two minutes, 23 seconds and concentrates on the actor. She talks about her work as Ellie in the videograme and her character in the TV show via this fairly superficial reel.
After this we get four Get to Know Me featurettes. These cover “Gabriel Luna” (3:46), “Merle Dandridge” (2:25), “Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett” (4:41) and “Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey” (4:45).
The various actors offer some thoughts about their roles and experiences on the series. These mix useful observations and cutesy comments.
Is This a Last of Us Line? splits into two featurettes: “Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey” (5:12) and “Merle Dandridge and Gabriel Luna” (2:40).
They read dialogue to each other and ask if these lines come from the show. It becomes a fun exploration.
Finally, The Last Debrief breaks into five segments. These span a total of 31 minutes, 57 seconds.
Across these, actor and Last of Us podcast host Troy Baker answers various fan questions about the series. He delivers a good array of observations and insights.
Though the post-apocalyptic wasteland genre has been beaten to death, The Last of Us offers an engaging effort. While it never becomes especially original, it succeeds via rich characters and good action. The 4K UHD discs demonstrate excellent visuals, positive audio and a largely informative set of supplements. I look forward to Season Two.