The Untouchables appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Though it showed its age, the Dolby Vision presentation held up pretty well.
Sharpness appeared positive most of the time, though some exceptions could occur, and that resulted in the occasional soft shot. Still, most of the film appeared pretty accurate and concise.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects appeared, and I saw no edge haloes Grain felt natural and print flaws remained absent.
Colors looked fairly rich and natural. Untouchables favored a warm and glowing palette, and the disc reproduced these hues well, as HDR added range and impact to the tones.
Black levels were deep and dark, and contrast seemed strong. Shadows lacked any problems related to excessive heaviness or murkiness, and HDR brought oomph to whites. The nature of the source meant this never became a showcase, but the 4K represented the movie pretty well.
The 4K UHD offered a remixed Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, this became a fairly active affair.
The soundfield emphasized the forward channels but also made frequent use of the surrounds. This meant the various channels gave us a reasonable amount of information throughout the film,
Music spread around the spectrum, and effects followed suit. The occasional gunfight worked best, but general atmosphere also satisfied. The sound blended together nicely and also panned well.
Audio quality seemed dated but relatively good. Dialogue had the most variation.
Most of the speech came across as clear and acceptably natural, but some lines could be flat and dull. For some reason, that tendency was most prevalent during Connery’s scenes.
Effects appeared reasonably crisp and realistic, though some distortion could crop up at times. Not surprising, gunfights and explosions presented the biggest problems in this domain, though those issues remained minor.
Easily the best aspect of the soundtrack stemmed from the reproduction of Ennio Morricone’s excellent score. The music always sounded clean and full, with some nice low-end and clear highs. Despite some inevitable flaws, the track worked well for a film of its vintage.
How did the 4K UHD compare with the Blu-ray version? The Atmos mix offered similar sound quality – ie, the same kinds of ups/downs – but it expanded the prior disc’s 5.1 soundfield.
The 4K’s Dolby Vision image provided a more natural look than the “scrubbed” Blu-ray, so it came with superior delineation. It also boasted stronger colors and blacks as it became a good step up, even with the limitations of the source.
The 4K UHD replicates the Blu-ray’s extras. Other than the film’s trailer, all of the supplements come from featurettes.
The Script, The Cast runs for 18 minutes, 31 seconds and includes notes from director Brian De Palma, producer Art Linson, and actors Kevin Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, and Sean Connery.
They discuss how De Palma ended up on the project, some general notes about its development, casting and the characters, and the interaction on the set.
It comes as a disappointment that none of the actors appear in modern interviews; all of their clips came from the set and frankly, they don’t tell us much. However, the new comments from De Palma and Linson prove valuable, especially when they chat about the struggle to land De Niro. It’s an inconsistent featurette but it includes more than a few good tidbits.
Next we find 17 minutes, 18 seconds of Production Stories. It provides notes from De Palma, Connery, Smith, Costner, director of photography Stephen H. Burum, and visual consultant Patrizia Von Brandenstein.
We learn about decisions related to the movie’s visual style, locations, production design and vintage elements, clothes, character issues, and some scene specifics. Another mix of old and new interviews, this one seems more satisfying than “Script”. It jumps from one topic to another without great logic, but it gets into many useful subjects and explores them moderately well.
In Reinventing the Genre, we get a 14-minute, 24-second piece. It offers statements from De Palma, Smith, Costner, Burnum, and Linson. They get into ways they attempted to expand the gangster genre such as the horseback scene, some character death sequences, the train station, the score, Billy Drago’s turn as Frank Nitti, and an alternate ending concept.
We hear some notes about the actors’ issues for the various pieces, changes that popped up along the way, and technical concerns like Steadicam shots. As with “Stories”, it doesn’t flow terribly well, but a lot of good information pops up to make this an entertaining and intriguing piece.
For the next featurette, we discover The Classic. It goes for five minutes, 39 seconds and presents remarks from De Palma, Burnum, Smith, and Linson.
They cover their initial reactions to the completed movie, its score, and public success. It doesn’t tell us much other than that people liked the flick, so don’t expect much from this piece.
Lastly, we locate an Original Featurette subtitled “The Men”. From the period of the movie’s initial release, it takes five minutes, 26 seconds and presents notes from Costner, Connery, Garcia, and Smith.
The Untouchables does not always fire on all cylinders. However, it provides a generally exciting and well-executed affair. The 4K UHD provides generally good picture, audio and bonus materials. Expect a solid release for an engaging movie.
To rate this film, visit the DVD review of UNTOUCHABLES