Underworld appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The picture held up very well.
Sharpness seemed positive. A few wider shots betrayed a little softness, but those instances were minor, so most of the film appeared accurate and concise.
Jagged edges and moiré effects created no concerns, and I saw no edge haloes. I noticed almost signs of print flaws, as the image looked clean outside of a couple tiny specks, and with ample grain, noise reduction didn’t seem to become an issue here.
Underworld presented such a flat palette that it virtually came across as a black and white film – or blue and white, as the scheme leaned that way. Even shots of blood appeared muted, as the vast majority of the film came across in varying levels of blue and dark tones. A little green showed up at times – ala Matrix - but that stayed modest as well.
Some mild reds appeared as well, but they didn’t show up with much frequency. Blues and blacks ruled the day, and all the tones looked accurately reproduced within their limitations. The disc’s HDR gave the hues nice clarity.
As for the dark elements, they were deep and dense. I thought blacks seemed nicely replicated and presented clear, taut textures. Low-light shots came across well.
HDR contributed extra impact and punch to whites and contrast, important factors in such a dark image. Despite its stylistic limitations, Underworld presented a fine transfer.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Underworld scored points for ambition, as the soundfield seemed terrific. The movie presented a wide and broad spectrum that presented a strong feeling of environment.
The mix utilized all five channels in an active and involving way. Vampires and Lycans moved all around the soundscape cleanly and in a lively manner, and other violent elements popped up in various appropriate places. These meshed together well and created a vivid and enveloping sense of place.
Audio quality seemed good, as dialogue was natural and well-defined, and I noticed no issues connected to intelligibility or edginess. Music seemed smooth and vibrant, with clean highs and manageable low-end.
Effects were solid, as the mix offered clear elements that boasted nice low-end as well. The whole package fit together well to create a very good soundtrack.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2007? The Atmos audio showed a bit more ambition than the BD’s PCM 5.1 track, though quality remained similar. Still, those with Atmos setups will appreciate the boost.
Visuals showed the usual improvements, as the 4K UHD looked tighter and smoother than the Blu-ray. Across the board, this became a nice upgrade, especially since so much of the movie took place in dark settings. The added depth of blacks and highlights from HDR made the 4K more satisfying.
The 4K release provides both the film’s “R”-rated Theatrical Version (2:01:12) and an Extended Cut (2:13:36). The longer Underworld offers some fresh footage but also loses some material from the original version. According to the press release, the extended cut adds 12 minutes overall and also uses 11 minutes of “different angles and takes”.
Does any of this make any difference for the story? Not to my eyes. I only saw Underworld once, and this occurred just four months before I first watched the Extended Cut.
I didn’t remember that initial experience well enough to notice any significant changes. A few scenes seemed vaguely unfamiliar, but there was nothing that stood out to me as a massive alteration.
The story and progression remain virtually the same, as do the ultimate impact of the film. I continue to want to like Underworld and feel like I should like Underworld, but I still don’t think much of it.
“Version Weirdness”: the Theatrical Underworld never appeared on Blu-ray, and the Extended Underworld makes its 4K UHD debut with this 2021 edition. Underworld got a 4K UHD release in 2016 but that one didn’t include the Extended cut.
In terms of extras on the 4K disc, five Alternate Flashbacks fill a total of two minutes, 37 seconds. The first three prove very short – under 15 seconds each – but “Sunlight” goes for one minute, 23 seconds and “The Pendant” fills 43 seconds.
Whatever length they span, none of these seem especially compelling. I suspect they stayed in the can for 15 years despite multiple reissues of Underworld because they’re forgettable.
The 4K disc also includes both teaser and theatrical trailers for Underworld.
This package provides the same Blu-ray Disc from 2007, and its extras start with an audio commentary from director Len Wiseman plus actors Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, all of whom sit together for their running, screen-specific chat. Actually, Speedman leaves for an audition about 60 percent of the way through the piece, which then continues with just Beckinsale and Wiseman.
Don’t expect a great deal of concrete information from this track, but do anticipate it to offer a lot of fun. As for the facts, we hear about changes made from the theatrical flick and this extended version, and we also discover lots of notes from the set and various experiences. Mostly the trio joke around and insult each other, which makes this one of the less fluffy and backslapping commentaries I’ve heard.
It also makes the track very entertaining. Speedman suffers as the brunt of many insults, especially since it occasionally comes across as though he never actually saw Underworld.
When Speedman splits, the commentary loses energy. It remains fairly interesting and actually starts to focus more on movie-related data, especially since most of the changes made for the extended cut occur during the third act - it’s just not as much fun. In any case, the overall result offers a pretty enjoyable commentary.
One interesting twist: Wiseman often goes out of his way to remind us the Extended version isn’t a director’s cut, and he expresses that he doesn’t much like a lot of the new material. Some of the added footage seems to please him, but not all.
Next we locate a collection of outtakes that runs three minutes, 43 seconds. Expect the usual amalgamation of goofs and silliness, as nothing terribly interesting shows up here.
After this we find a featurette entitled Fang vs. Fiction. It fills 47 minutes, 18 seconds as it presents a look at the history of vampires and werewolves.
We hear from authors J. Gordon Melton, Daniel Cohen, Brad Steiger, Katherine Ramsland, Linda Godfrey, and Kalila Smith, Transylvanian Society of Dracula head Nicolae Paduraru, “lycanthrope” Gypsy Zanval, British Psychic and Occult Society chief David Farrant, werewolf witness Freddie Salazar, and “vampires” Crudelia and Morditha Kalavera.
They discuss various cultural myths of vampires and werewolves as well as more recent concepts, specifics about the histories, modern incidents with vampires and werewolves, and the current subcultures. The program treats the subject too literally and seems to present most of the concepts as probable.
This makes it informative about the myths but fairly silly, especially when we see the absurd “real” werewolves and vampires. Still, “Fang” includes a fair amount of useful notes, and it provides a decent look at different ideas.
The Making of Underworld runs 13 minutes, two seconds as we hear from Wiseman, Beckinsale, Speedman, screenwriters Kevin Grevioux and Danny McBride, producers Richard Wright and Gary Lucchesi, assistant stunt coordinator Scott McElroy, stunt coordinator Brad Martin, creature effects supervisor Guy Himber, and actors Bill Nighy, Shane Brolly, Erwin Leder, Sophia Myles, and Michael Sheen.
Mostly they cover the story of the film, but we also get a little information about the devices used to create the on-set creatures and some stunts.
Those moments are fine, but they don’t fill enough of the piece, as it mainly just shows movie clips and touts the film. It’s a mediocre program, and since all of the decent info appears in subsequent featurettes, it becomes pretty useless.
After this we find the nine-minute, 56-second program called The Visual Effects of Underworld. It presents comments from executive producer/visual effects supervisor James McQuaide, visual effects supervisor Payam Shohadai, and editor Martin Hunter.
We hear about the general duties of the visual effects supervisor and the use of 3D elements plus specifics for things like lycan transformations, Selene’s jump at the start of the movie and other CG bits that don’t seem obvious, and Lucian’s car accident.
The program tosses out enough hard data to make it useful, but it doesn’t give us a ton of depth. It needs to be a little longer and a little richer.
Next we get a look at Creature Effects. This 12-minute, 30-second featurette includes notes from Tatopoulos, Wiseman, McBride, Himber, Nighy, creature effects art director Steve Wang, and lab technician supervisor Gabe Bartalos. They discuss the design and creation of the Lycans plus a little about Viktor’s visual elements. It’s a concise and informative program.
In the 11-minute, 43-second Stunts, we find comments from Wiseman, Martin, Beckinsale, McElroy, Wright, McBride, Sheen, Nighy and Speedman.
They cover training for the actors, design of wire work, and various other stunt-related issues. “Stunts” seems clear and interesting, and it stands out as particularly good due to the fun shots of rehearsals and training.
Designing Underworld fills 10 minutes, 46 seconds with remarks from production designer/conceptual artist Bruton Jones and director Wiseman.
We learn about creating an atmosphere with visual design, specifics about sets and various designs, costumes, and props. The participants prove informative and useful as they elaborate on the decisions and goals for the material in this pretty tight little program.
With The Look of Underworld, we get a 19-minute, 12-second piece that presents statements from Wiseman, producer Richard Wright, cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts, and visual effects supervisor McQuaide.
They chat about preparatory drawings, choosing a cinematographer, color schemes and digital color correction, general visual design, shooting constantly at night, and location scouts and working in Europe.
“Look” becomes another solid program. It includes a concise examination of the subjects and moves briskly, which makes it a fine show that gives us a lot of good notes.
Finally, Sights and Sounds runs nine minutes, seven seconds and presents a montage of material from the set. We see video footage of random behind the scenes shots.
These don’t seem terrific, and it occasionally resembles a long gag reel. Still, it gives us a moderately interesting and enjoyable glimpse at the production.
After this we find a music video for “Worms of the Earth” by Finch. They offer a lip-synch performance of the tune and we see many movie clips in this dull video.
The storyboard comparison presents a split-screen examination of the movie’s opening sequence and four other scenes. It runs six minutes, 42 seconds and offers a decent look at the material.
Though Underworld enjoys a terrific concept behind it, it largely squanders its potential. The movie looks good but presents very little excitement or real intrigue. The 4K UHD boasts strong picture and audio as well as an informative collection of bonus materials. While I like this release, the movie itself continues to leave me cold.
Note that as of fall 2021, this particular version of Underworld comes only as part of a 4K “5-Movie Collection”. This also includes 2006’s Underworld: Evolution, 2009’s Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, 2012’s Underworld: Awakening and 2016’s Underworld: Blood Wars.
The original Underworld and Blood Wars exist as separate, individual 4K UHD release, but these discs differ from those. The second, third and fourth movies make their 4K UHD debuts with this package.
To rate this film visit the DVD Review of UNDERWORLD
