Legends of the Fall appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD disc. Expect a strong Dolby Vision presentation.
Sharpness usually looked crisp and well defined throughout the film. A little fuzziness crept into some wide shots, but most of them seemed clear and distinctive.
Jagged edges and moiré effects presented no problems, and I detected no edge haloes. Grain felt natural and the image lacked print flaws.
Fall offered a natural palette that leaned a bit brown to suit its Western setting, and these hues seemed solid. The colors felt vivid and dynamic, and HDR gave them extra punch.
Black levels appeared deep and detailed, and shadow detail came across well, as low-light scenes seemed appropriately dark. HDR added power to whites and contrast. Outside of some softness – which I suspect reflected the source – this turned into a fine presentation.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos track provided a soundfield that seemed well-defined and encompassing. Throughout much of the film, the audio provided a broad and engaging presence that created a wonderful sense of interactivity.
This occurred during both quiet and loud scenes. In the latter category we find many shots of the idyllic panoramas. These presented audio that gently but clearly reinforced the images, and the ambiance brought the visuals to life.
For demonstration material, however, you'll have to consult some of the louder scenes. The first time I started to think the audio for Fall might be something special occurred during the first "bear attack". Not only was the sound bold and convincing, but the spatial placement appeared very precise, so the way the grizzly entered and moved across the speakers worked well.
When I got to the World War I battle scenes, I thought the Kaiser was about to enter through my window! The activity level ratcheted up a notch and the frantic energy of the film came across broadly at that time. The shells and bullets flew fast and furious and really offered a solid image of the warfare.
But active soundfields on their own aren't enough, so it's important that the quality of the audio seem strong, and Fall proved itself a winner in this category as well. Dialogue always appeared natural and distinct, without any signs of edginess or problems related to intelligibility.
I found the speech to sound quite warm and clear. Music seemed bright and crisp, and the score offered positive dynamic range as well. Instrumentation appeared well defined and the music was clean and bold.
Effects really added life to the mix. At all times, these various sounds seemed clean and realistic and they were believable and accurate.
Low-end worked well, as those frequencies appeared taut and deep. All in all, I found the soundtrack of Legends of the Fall to provide a terrific experience.
Because I never reviewed the Blu-ray, I can’t compare the 4K to it. Suffice it to say that the UHD blew away the prior DVD versions that I did watch, particularly in terms of the Dolby Vision image.
The Atmos soundtrack added a remixed twist, and the disc came with a lossless rendition of the original 5.1 as well. Because I didn’t see the Blu-ray, I can’t definitively state that the UHD worked better, but I suspect it did.
When we shift to extras, we get two audio commentaries, the first of which comes from director Ed Zwick and actor Brad Pitt. Both sit together for their running, screen-specific chat that provides a generally engaging and interesting affair.
The two seem to like each other and they display a solid sense of camaraderie throughout the track. Zwick and Pitt offer a nice look at the general making of the picture as they relate a series of anecdotes.
We learn a lot about sets and locations, the work of the actors, story issues and changes, production design, and other concerns during the shoot. We even get information about the times that Pitt and Zwick fought on the set.
Pitt has appeared on a few different commentaries, and I always appreciate his sense of frankness. I hoped he'd rag on Fall more than he does, however, which is almost not at all.
Although their discussion couldn't make me like the movie, it did help me understand what they tried to do better, and their comments gave me a little more respect for the film. Granted, that doesn't say much, but when one considers how much I disliked Fall, I suppose it means something.
The track suffers from too many empty spots. For the most part, however, it provides a pretty engaging and interesting discussion of the film.
The second track offers remarks from production designer Lily Kilvert and cinematographer John Toll. They also offer a running, screen-specific piece during which they chat together.
Unsurprisingly, these two mainly stick to some of the technical details about the film, especially as they relate to the visual appearance of Fall. Since the movie’s strengths lie in its lush photography and wonderful costumes and sets, Kilvert and Toll give us a lot of useful information.
For the most part, they relate the nuts and bolts of their work on the film, plus they also discuss what they attempted to do through their efforts. For example, we hear a fair amount about the moods and attitudes they wanted to convey.
I don't find this to become a fascinating commentary, but it provides a pretty good look at some more technical aspects of making Fall, particularly through the way they discuss some concerns they experienced that would never occur to most of us. For example, they perseverate about a too-clean car. All of this adds up to an informative piece.
Two brief video programs appear. The Production Design Featurette lasts for four minutes, 43 seconds as it shows shots of film sets, some movie clips and a few historical photos.
Alongside the images, we get remarks from Kilvert and Zwick as they talk about the sets and locations. Much of the material already shows up in Kilvert’s commentary with Toll, but this piece offers a useful summary of her work on the film.
Next comes an Original Making Of Featurette that spans five minutes, 59 seconds. It offers statements from Zwick, Pitt, and Anthony Hopkins, Henry Thomas, Julia Ormand and Aidan Quinn.
We get nothing more than a glorified trailer. It's worth a look if you really like the movie, but for the most part it's a dull featurette.
Three deleted scenes run a total of five minutes and 29 seconds. These offer some minor character beats but they don’t add much to the proceedings.
The scenes can be viewed with or without optional commentary from Zwick. Since we hear about these snippets during the audio commentaries, it becomes good to see the scenes, and Zwick adds more info about them.
The disc ends with the movie’s trailer. Note that the 4K loses some text features as well as an isolated score from the prior DVDs.
Legends of the Fall delivers a silly and artificially grand Western. It tries very hard to offer a romantic and epic tale but fails miserably. The 4K UHD offers solid picture and audio as well as a useful complement of bonus materials. While this delivers a high-quality release, the movie itself remains a clunker.
To rate this film visit the DVD review of LEGENDS OF THE FALL
