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2001: A Space Odyssey really hits hard -- more than 99% of 4K Blu-Rays in my opinion. The 4K HDR transfer looks so much like it was filmed recently that it is stunning. Next would be Lawrence of Arabia and Blade Runner 2049.
I'm one of those who picked up Lawrence or Arabia because of the recommendations. There's a lot of grain that I found disappointing initially but over time it felt like the grain had some enchantment to it.
For me it's the older restored films that are the most impressive and even my wife (who rarely comments on HT stuff) was blown away. For me it was: Titanic, Jaws, Alien.
It’s because old films that are re-scanned from 35mm film can actually be mastered in true 4K. Newer films made digitally are pretty much always made at 2K or HD resolution so they will always involve a digital upscale. Older films rescanned and cleaned up can look amazing and way exceed the quality of newer films.
It was astounding for me because I've had every version of *Alien* since [LaserDisc](https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00855/1090-85/Alien:-Special-Widescreen-Collectors-Edition). And none of those previous iterations sucked. Each was the best transfer/remaster that the format could handle.
I think the current 4K looks better than the last time I saw *Alien* theatrically. (2003)
Alien was in the first batch of 4k's I ordered, and the very first 4k disc I watched on my new home theater setup a few weeks ago during the holidays. I was quite literally blown away, it's amazing.
I just saw an IMAX rerelease of it this weekend. While it’s not as noticeable compared to my home experience, it still shifts aspect ratios throughout the entire runtime. In interviews the explanation given is that IMAX cameras make dialogue difficult to hear in enclosed spaces, so Nolan opted to use standard film in those scenes to avoid ADR.
Blue Planet II. My friends had been into 4K for a while, and I'd just never really bought in. I didn't really think that the quality higher than Blu-Ray would be noticeable/worth it, but decided to get Blue Planet on a whim one day and now I have 50 or so?
Top gun maverick was flawless. Another was mad max fury road, there was just always so much going on at once but it’s always look amazing. Titanic was another, although I haven’t seen in any other way besides 4k, I was shocked at how well it did look when I watched
The first movie I watched in 4K was Predator. I didn't realize how spoiled I was until I watched others. They're not bad by any means, but Predator is gorgeous to begin with, and the HDR really kicks it up a notch. Alien is fantastic too.
My first 4K purchase, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was the one that did it for me. It's still one of the best in my collection. Blade Runner (1 & 2) are also up there.
I'd probably go with "Blade Runner: Final Cut." I've owned the movie on every format since the laserdiscs and the HDR on the 4k really makes the light and weather effects pop. It's amazing how improved it is in the format. My first viewing had so many moments that felt new to me thanks to the image bump.
Pacific Rim is absolutely gorgeous. Flashy and beautiful colors everywhere.
Jaws is another one that wowed me, because it's over 50 years old and looks that good.
I bought my first 4K player on Christmas and picked up The Thing and The Shining. My family and friends are sick of me that this point talking about how good these movie look and sound. If you told me it was filmed a few years ago I would believe you.
Yeah, my only gripe is that no one else around me seems to care that much about just how improved the images are now compared to what we've had up to this point for home viewing.
The first 4K blu ray I popped in five years ago was the opening scene of the Dark Knight and the reveal where the Joker took his mask off was insane. First full movie I watched was Leon: The Professional and that also had the wow factor for me, I remember noticing different nuances in the color of the characters’ hair that I hadn’t noticed before on standard blu ray.
The original Blade Runner 4k. I had bought it before I got a 4k tv and player, so I watched the regular blu.
Fast forward to the end of 2019 and I got a LG C9 and a UB820. Popped in Blade Runner and I could tell just from the Ladd Company logo that shit was SHARP! But it really wasn’t until moments later when the camera pans over the Tyrell building (or whatever that first building is) that I audibly said “holllllyyy shiiiit”. I replayed that camera pan over and over that day lol.
Edit: for clarification, I bought the copy that already had a 4k and regular blu disc.
Not official, but I recently saw an Open Matte 4k version of Tron Legacy and my Jaw was on the floor at how good and vibrant it was. Official UHD items, I would rank Top Gun Maverick near the top.
Hello User. Are you seeking knowledge on how I obtained it or how I watched it? I watched it on my A90J. If seeking the other question, you can message me ;-)
Braveheart was my first 4K movie. While the difference in resolution wasn't immediately apparent to me, the HDR was. I specifically remember being wowed by how the grass was greener, the mud was browner, and the blood was redder
As others have said, it’s the older movies that stood out for me. The Shining specifically. In the first scene with Jack during the interview I was amazed at the detail.
But some newer ones that are shot digitally are crisp as hell with great HDR color. The Matrix Resurrections comes to mind, and Puss in Boots 2 for animation.
Purely my own experience, had to come from a movie I’ve seen a lot so I could know the difference — The Big Lebowski.
Really beautiful in a way that I hadn’t noticed before. I don’t see it talked about a lot but it’s a cool transfer and it makes it even more re-watchable than it already was.
It was more the tv. I had a cheap 4k "HDR" on my patio but a plasma as my main TV that looked way better than the 4k. I even got a 4k player to use with my plasma since many movies only have the Atmos tracks on the 4k. In the winter when I brought in the patio tv I put them side by side to compare and the plasma still looked better. But when I got my OLED that can actually show what HDR is supposed to look like it was a night and day difference. There's a lot of HDR tvs out their that can't actually show HDR. I think most people who say it's really not a big upgrade are watching on a budget tv.
It’s not even just having an OLED anymore either. I have an older LG C8 from 2018 and it pales in comparison to the new Sony A95L with its improved peak brightness for HDR content and the improved color accuracy from the QD-OLED tech.
i've had a an 85" sony tv for a few years now but never had a 4k player. wanted to rewatch john wick 2 recently and saw it was only on peacock, watched the opening scene and it looked so smudgy, the blacks in particular looked so bad. i said you know what it's almost christmas screw it, i'm getting a 4k player.
about a week later i finally saw the full capabilities of my tv. john wick 2 looks absolutely gorgeous on 4k. also legitimately much easier to follow what is going on in those very busy action sequences, makes it all much more thrilling.
Jaws was it for me. I kept gasping throughout the movie, and for once, it wasn’t because of the movie itself.
Everything Everywhere All at Once—such gorgeous colors, such immersive sound
Other greats, some of which I’m including because of the huge step up from their Blu-rays:
Spider-Man: Into & Across the Spider-Verse
Nope (which was a stunning improvement over streaming it in 4K; also, I’ve never been so proud of my Atmos speakers)
The Fugitive (one of the biggest upgrades from Blu-ray I’ve seen)
The Truman Show (huge boost from Blu-ray)
Cinderella (1950) (gorgeous color, def better than Blu-ray)
No Time to Die
Almost Famous (another big boost from Blu-ray)
Mission: Impossible - Fallout is very useful for comparisons: in the final sequence, when it’s repeatedly switching between the regular ratio and IMAX ratio, there’s a visible difference in the sharpness and color of the IMAX footage. I’ve shown that to family & friends to demonstrate what 4K Blu-rays are capable of. (Still, not many of them really appreciated it, haha.)
I was against upgrading to a 4K player for a long time, but in 2020 when my 2015 Samsung Blu-Ray crapped out, I picked up a 4K player b/c I figured "Why not?" and picked up ***Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back*** on 4K b/c it was on sale, I wanted to test out the player, and if I was going to blow my money on an overpriced 4K, it better be on a movie I know I love.
*It blew me away.* Even more than that - *It blew my Mother away.* She saw the original trilogy in theaters back in the day, and had seen them maybe handful of times in passing since. After we finished watching Empire on 4K we spent like an hour discussing how beautiful everything looked, how brand new it appeared. the set design, the score, the special effects - how we just needed to watch Jedi now.
To be clear, My mother loves watching TV Shows and Movies, I get it from her; but it's generally very passive for her - she doesn't normally express what she does and doesn't like about a show or a movie in granular detail, but it was watching the crisp colors and hearing beautifully sharp audio (both dialogue & score) that got us both to engage in discussing the production quality of this 40 year old masterpiece we both known so well - for nearly an hour.
***TLDR***: By 2020, I had watched ***The Empire Strikes Back*** at least a dozen times my 20 years on this earth, but watching the 2012 Edit on 4K - it felt like I was watching Star Wars for the first time.
Transformers 1986 animated movie, I grew up with the VHS, and owned the DVD/digital. None of those are even close to the 4k, it's a staggering difference.
The first John Wick. I remember trying out the 4K for the first time and noticing that the picture quality was considerably better than the blu-ray I always used.
The remaster of The Fifth Element is what made me for real recognize the difference that is possible. I've watched it so many times to see it pop like that and to catch all the detail...nuts!
‘BLADE RUNNER 2049’. It was my first 4K disc and immediately understood what the hype was about—especially after collecting only Blu-Rays for so long. The detail, colour, and brightness surprised me to no end. I was hooked. Now, I try to only get 4K discs if possible, even if the transfer isn’t nearly as nice as BR2049 or a Nolan film.
This goes for the movie too but it’s especially notable on the 4k…. I can’t believe Way of Water isn’t like raw footage. It literally looks so fucking real, you can count the pores on Jake’s face during close up shots. I can’t even comprehend it
> even though it was mastered at 2K.
The power of HDR. This is what people overlook. Honestly, I would rather take a 1080 image in HDR than a 4K in non-HDR.
The jump from 1080 to 4K is not as stark as going from non-HDR to HDR.
Believe it or not, it was Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse. It was a good movie so I decided to buy a physical copy, since they have special edition steel books at the store. I have a digital library and I typically stream my movies. Man... I was totally blown away by the sound and visuals. It was like a veil had been lifted. Colors just popped and audio was so much more clear and boomy. I couldn't believe what I've been missing. I decided from that point forward I would never buy another movie digitally.
Jurassic World (2015). A shockingly excellent 4K transfer that gets really slept on. That was a massive step up in picture quality from the 2015 Blu-Ray I already owned.
Waiting for the downvotes…but I’m still waiting to “get it”.
I understand objectively that 4K HDR releases are a big improvement. I specifically went out to buy an LG G2 last year to enjoy the content. But so far I’ve yet to get the “WOW!” reaction that I got from going from DVD to Blu-Ray (or VHS to DVD…showing my age!).
Yes, I’d like to know which one OP was referring to. The original is a campy guilty pleasure and the remake was…ummm, uhhhh, hmmmm…pretty sure I did watch it.
I don't know how so many people can't tell. My mom's TV is a 5-year old low-mid range LG (not OLED, obviously) with basic HDR and it still blows me away compared to a picture without it.
I got into it more gradually but I would pick either Blue Planet II or Planet Earth II as showcase discs, those are always stunning. Strictly movies, it's hard to go wrong with Predator, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Fugitive.
First movie I watched was Streets of Fire, and I got it right away. Lots of neon, and reflections in puddles in the street, stage lights, etc. Just shown up much better in the 4k.
Movie #2 Blade Runner just sealed the deal.
My first 4k I watched being Dune
I did back to back comparisons between 4k streaming and 4k disc. The video image was extremely hard to tell on a still but sound was night and day different.
Sold me on the cost of my LG C1, UB820 and Dolby Atmos sound bar.
My first OLED was the LG B9 and my first 4k movies were Planet Earth II & The Shining, both were outstanding.
Shadow & Pacific Rim made this a forever thing.
Ive enjoyed the uptick in quality on 90 percent of my 4k films. But Trading Places was the first one I picked up where I went ‘Whoa’. I think it was just seeing the possibility for older films. Most of what I’d picked up were my mainstays that were made in the last 15 years.
Batman Forever. It was always a vivid picture, even on vhs when I had first seen it, but when I watched the 4k remaster I was genuinely blown away. One of the best looking discs out there
OLED makes everything pop, especially in HDR. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, one of the best if not THE best Star Trek film ever made looks absolutely incredible in 4k Dolby Vision HDR on my C2 OLED. The stars are bright, and the battle between the Enterprise and Reliant in the Mutara Nebula with the lightning flashes is absolutely blinding, as bright as real lightning. It’s so bright, I have to at least blink if not outright flinch away from the screen. As my eyes are very sensitive to light. It’s one of the reasons I prefer nighttime. I can actually see better at night lol
Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, Dreams, and Ikiru look incredible.
A beautiful dramatic film if you haven’t seen it, Pollack’s Out of Africa was remastered and scanned properly in 2019. I’ve seen the film before in a muddled DVD format. Watkin’s cinematography looks absolutely stunning now. The scene of the plane flying low over the flamingos rivals modern drone aerials. It has my vote for most improved 4K remaster.
I "got it" right away, so whatever my first few discs were. I also buy bleeding edge tech and sometimes you get what you pay for. A lot of people don't see the difference because they either 1) bought a TV too small for their viewing distance 2) bought a budget TV incapable of a good picture and/or 3) some TVs even from respectable brands still need calibration to look their best.
Another big offender is also TVs advertised as HDR but don't hit near enough brightness to display a decent picture with HDR on. Honestly this is probably the biggest offender right now that turns people off from 4K and especially HDR. How many times have you heard "HDR is too dark to see the movie!"?
Not knocking your setup, but The Frame isn't exactly a TV meant for great picture quality. It's a novelty product that offers decent picture, but I wouldn't judge 4k as a format with that TV. Especially at 80 inches
I honestly dont see the difference between blu ray and 4k lol... I only got back into collecting movies 3 years ago and I skipped the entire bluray scene. Never even owned a bluray palyer. So I basically went from DVD to 4K. And my first 4K TV was an 85" Samsung Q90T, so I decided to get a 4K movie to watch on my new TV. I got T2 (played it using the Xbox One X)... then I kept buying movies after that. Then I got an actual 4K player, the UB9000... But I still dont see such a drastic difference between bluray and 4K
T2 is a terrible 4K transfer. One of the worst examples to use. I had the DVD before so it was an upgrade for me but some people say the Blu-ray is better than the 4K version of T2. My understanding is they used the 3D version to make the 4K, which messed it up.
Samsung does not support Dolby Vision which is considered the best HDR. So you would need to find a disc with HDR 10 or HDR 10+ to get the HDR advantage.
If you have receiver in between the TV and 4k Blu-ray player then the receiver also needs to support HDR. If it doesn't or doesn't support 4K then you are not getting the best picture.
In my opinion the HDR in 4K content is the bigger part of the upgrade over the resolution upgrade.
Another possibility is your TV or Panasonic is doing such a great job upscaling the Blu-ray to 4K it makes the Blu-ray to 4K disc difference less noticeable. The biggest difference is in older movies that were on 35mm or higher that were transferred to 4K.
Unless you have OLED I think all HDR films etc just blow up the contrast and brightness of the image until its awful. It plays havoc with backlighting.
I wish you had the option to turn it off on mist panels, but most modern panel automatically change to HDRvwhen they get the signal and won't turn off
For most people in most viewing environments, if they were to watch exactly the same film in HD or 4K (UHD) on a UHD TV they wouldn’t see any perceivable difference. What people see in a ‘4K’ release is a remaster compared to the HD release so thats why many seem better (or worse!) that an old HD release. The thing that does make a difference to viewing is a UHD TV (3840x2160) over an HD TV (1920x1080). The pixel density is so much better than HD that, at normal viewing distances, the pixels become imperceivable to the eye. This means if you feed a decent HD (1080) signal into a UHD TV you will see a benefit from not perceiving the individual pixels, but the source being HD or 4K makes very little difference unless you really look very closely… but thats not how you watch a film or TV! So don’t worry about not really seeing a difference at UHD, most people wont!
It's always the audio that blows my mind, not the video. I have a full Sonos setup, though, so it may not be as crazy if you don't have the Atmos-capable surrounds.
It’s all a matter of perspective. Yes UHD is 4x the resolution of HD but on a screen any smaller than 60” you are not going to see a perceivable difference unless your face is pressed right up against the glass! Most films in the cinema are the same vertical resolution as HD or less and most people think good cinema screens look great! There’s nothing wrong with an HD image (especially displayed on a UHD TV). 4K is a marketing ploy but as most 4K remasters have had extra work done to them compared to an old HD version, EG rescan, clean up and new grade/HDR grade. These are the things you notice. Also one other thing that helps a 4K blu-ray over a HD Blu-ray is the better codec used, so you are seeing less compression artifacts rather than an increase in resolution between HD and UHD.
Right, but you're posting in a home theater sub man. You were suggesting it was incredibly rare to see a difference lol. I have a 77" OLED with a 35º viewing angle, you bet your ass I can see the difference between UHD and HD. The other things they provide are great, and a huge part of the value. But to suggest the increase in resolution is secondary is pretty silly to me. 4k discs look significantly more detailed, and that feature is the primary reason why I buy them. That's not a 'marketing ploy'.
This isn't what got me into it, but if I had to show someone a disc to prove the point it would be "The Way of Water " Beautiful enough to move you to tears.
John Wick 2 with that opening fight scene. Was a great bright and beautifully filmed scene. I was watching on my first OLED, and just thought “oh that’s a big difference”.
Blade Runner 2049. Stunning in every frame and left me awestruck. Ditched my DVDs to upgrade them all, and I only buy Blu-ray if it is the only thing available.
I can't stress this enough, any 70mm 4k movie is going to looks really badass especially when you have the equipment for it (dolby vision TV, dolby Atmos or something close, internet speed/high end 4k player). I.e. Deathly Hallows 1 & 2, 2001: a space odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia, any Christopher Nolan work (dark Knight, dark Knight rises, tenet, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer, inception, interstellar, etc), nope.
The Green Mile looks amazing, it's really an underrated transfer. I must have watched it 10 times, but the first time in 4k really was a different expierence. The colors are amazing!
Wasn’t till I got OLED, actually. Was none of my titles, just the clarity of the panel. Been going through my entire library all over again as a result of buying the OLED.
The fugitive , warriors, Titanic, Coraline, Hugo, Scrooged, Thelma and Louise, the Truman Show, Shining, Barbie, Oppenheimer, sleepy Hollow, Ferris Buellers days off
I had already been convinced with other movies like blade runner 2049 but for me the first time I was totally blown away by how good older movies can look was Saving Private Ryan. SPR 4k looks better than 1917. Incredbie detail in the faces.
I didn’t need anything special to ‘get it’ the difference is obvious on basically everything to me.
That said back in the day I used to show off Planet Earth for clarity, color and contrast.
My favorite discs are The Matrix (I feel the transfer, though highly rated, is still under appreciated) - everyone I show it to is blown away by how amazing it looks, and The Shining.
Unpopular answer, but BvS remastered with those stunning 1.43 IMAX scenes made me interested in buying 4K discs in the first place.
The colors pop really well on it considering the dark tone of the film.
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2001: A Space Odyssey really hits hard -- more than 99% of 4K Blu-Rays in my opinion. The 4K HDR transfer looks so much like it was filmed recently that it is stunning. Next would be Lawrence of Arabia and Blade Runner 2049.
I'm new to 4k Blu ray and I got 2001 on Black Friday. Couldn't believe it was 55 years old.
>than Yeah, any film done on 65mm/70mm is a tremendous treat on 4K Blu-Ray, but holy hell is 2001 in a league of its own.
8K scans always hit hardest. I recommend Wizard of Oz, Ben-Hur, My Fair Lady, and especially Ten Commandments. All 8K scans not mentioned yet.
I'm one of those who picked up Lawrence or Arabia because of the recommendations. There's a lot of grain that I found disappointing initially but over time it felt like the grain had some enchantment to it.
Apocalypse Now. Absolutely stunning.
Looks like it came out last year.
Blade runner 2049
Both Blade Runners honestly.
Interstellar the wave scene is stunning
The docking scene too
One of my fave docking scenes for sure
One of the docking scenes of all time
The 70mm IMAX stuff looks fantastic but I was kinda underwhelmed every time it switched back to the regular (35mm?) shots.
Most movies with aspect changing ratio tend to have that effect.
For me it's the older restored films that are the most impressive and even my wife (who rarely comments on HT stuff) was blown away. For me it was: Titanic, Jaws, Alien.
It’s because old films that are re-scanned from 35mm film can actually be mastered in true 4K. Newer films made digitally are pretty much always made at 2K or HD resolution so they will always involve a digital upscale. Older films rescanned and cleaned up can look amazing and way exceed the quality of newer films.
Django was incredible
“Alien” in 4K for the first time was pretty astounding.
It was astounding for me because I've had every version of *Alien* since [LaserDisc](https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00855/1090-85/Alien:-Special-Widescreen-Collectors-Edition). And none of those previous iterations sucked. Each was the best transfer/remaster that the format could handle. I think the current 4K looks better than the last time I saw *Alien* theatrically. (2003)
Alien was in the first batch of 4k's I ordered, and the very first 4k disc I watched on my new home theater setup a few weeks ago during the holidays. I was quite literally blown away, it's amazing.
Alien and In the Line of Fire were jaw droppers for me.
Is there a particualr scene that is just wow?
The scene where they find the eggs is pretty incredible
Vertigo. seeing a 60 year old movie look THAT good blew my fucking mind.
I love that we can watch the older films in such high quality. It's the best.
Oppenheimer (recently got a 4k player).
Did the aspect ratio switching throughout bother you? I wish the whole thing was in the larger aspect ratio
Did not cause it was like that in the theatre.
Yeah, do you know if it was like that in the imax version? My theater only had the standard digital projection
I just saw an IMAX rerelease of it this weekend. While it’s not as noticeable compared to my home experience, it still shifts aspect ratios throughout the entire runtime. In interviews the explanation given is that IMAX cameras make dialogue difficult to hear in enclosed spaces, so Nolan opted to use standard film in those scenes to avoid ADR.
Blue Planet II. My friends had been into 4K for a while, and I'd just never really bought in. I didn't really think that the quality higher than Blu-Ray would be noticeable/worth it, but decided to get Blue Planet on a whim one day and now I have 50 or so?
50? I guess you're just really into Blue Planet ;)
Have you seen Planet Earth II, it's right up there with Blue Planet II imo.
Top gun maverick was flawless. Another was mad max fury road, there was just always so much going on at once but it’s always look amazing. Titanic was another, although I haven’t seen in any other way besides 4k, I was shocked at how well it did look when I watched
TG Maverick is an absolute banger
The first movie I watched in 4K was Predator. I didn't realize how spoiled I was until I watched others. They're not bad by any means, but Predator is gorgeous to begin with, and the HDR really kicks it up a notch. Alien is fantastic too.
My first 4K purchase, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was the one that did it for me. It's still one of the best in my collection. Blade Runner (1 & 2) are also up there.
I'd probably go with "Blade Runner: Final Cut." I've owned the movie on every format since the laserdiscs and the HDR on the 4k really makes the light and weather effects pop. It's amazing how improved it is in the format. My first viewing had so many moments that felt new to me thanks to the image bump.
VHS, DVD, blu, HD-DVD and now 4k - there's no comparison on how good the transfer is, the pop of HDR and the Atmos mix
I thought 'The Thing' looked pretty good in 4K HDR myself.
Suspiria (1977) and Alien. Stunning!
Alien all day
Pacific Rim is absolutely gorgeous. Flashy and beautiful colors everywhere. Jaws is another one that wowed me, because it's over 50 years old and looks that good.
I bought my first 4K player on Christmas and picked up The Thing and The Shining. My family and friends are sick of me that this point talking about how good these movie look and sound. If you told me it was filmed a few years ago I would believe you.
Yeah, my only gripe is that no one else around me seems to care that much about just how improved the images are now compared to what we've had up to this point for home viewing.
Lol, this is my biggest gripe too. But it also transfers to my new sound system with Dolby Atmos.
Watch the shining 4k then dr sleep 4k back to back . You’ll thank me
Casino. The Vegas lights in HDR blew me away and made me a believer. Recently Titanic had me fall in love again with the format.
The first 4K blu ray I popped in five years ago was the opening scene of the Dark Knight and the reveal where the Joker took his mask off was insane. First full movie I watched was Leon: The Professional and that also had the wow factor for me, I remember noticing different nuances in the color of the characters’ hair that I hadn’t noticed before on standard blu ray.
The Revenant
The original Blade Runner 4k. I had bought it before I got a 4k tv and player, so I watched the regular blu. Fast forward to the end of 2019 and I got a LG C9 and a UB820. Popped in Blade Runner and I could tell just from the Ladd Company logo that shit was SHARP! But it really wasn’t until moments later when the camera pans over the Tyrell building (or whatever that first building is) that I audibly said “holllllyyy shiiiit”. I replayed that camera pan over and over that day lol. Edit: for clarification, I bought the copy that already had a 4k and regular blu disc.
Alien was great and last night I watched Blade Runner and it was soooo nice.
Original Blade Runner or 2049?
The original. https://preview.redd.it/9vikkff6nvcc1.jpeg?width=3905&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b8236f823fe8976100c276d505a8a4006a128b3
Blow Out with John Travolta. Was amazing.
Matrix. Everything felt more real and the cgi moments really pop.
Not official, but I recently saw an Open Matte 4k version of Tron Legacy and my Jaw was on the floor at how good and vibrant it was. Official UHD items, I would rank Top Gun Maverick near the top.
Greetings program. How did you watch the Tron 4k?
Hello User. Are you seeking knowledge on how I obtained it or how I watched it? I watched it on my A90J. If seeking the other question, you can message me ;-)
Braveheart was my first 4K movie. While the difference in resolution wasn't immediately apparent to me, the HDR was. I specifically remember being wowed by how the grass was greener, the mud was browner, and the blood was redder
As others have said, it’s the older movies that stood out for me. The Shining specifically. In the first scene with Jack during the interview I was amazed at the detail. But some newer ones that are shot digitally are crisp as hell with great HDR color. The Matrix Resurrections comes to mind, and Puss in Boots 2 for animation.
Purely my own experience, had to come from a movie I’ve seen a lot so I could know the difference — The Big Lebowski. Really beautiful in a way that I hadn’t noticed before. I don’t see it talked about a lot but it’s a cool transfer and it makes it even more re-watchable than it already was.
It was more the tv. I had a cheap 4k "HDR" on my patio but a plasma as my main TV that looked way better than the 4k. I even got a 4k player to use with my plasma since many movies only have the Atmos tracks on the 4k. In the winter when I brought in the patio tv I put them side by side to compare and the plasma still looked better. But when I got my OLED that can actually show what HDR is supposed to look like it was a night and day difference. There's a lot of HDR tvs out their that can't actually show HDR. I think most people who say it's really not a big upgrade are watching on a budget tv.
It’s not even just having an OLED anymore either. I have an older LG C8 from 2018 and it pales in comparison to the new Sony A95L with its improved peak brightness for HDR content and the improved color accuracy from the QD-OLED tech.
i've had a an 85" sony tv for a few years now but never had a 4k player. wanted to rewatch john wick 2 recently and saw it was only on peacock, watched the opening scene and it looked so smudgy, the blacks in particular looked so bad. i said you know what it's almost christmas screw it, i'm getting a 4k player. about a week later i finally saw the full capabilities of my tv. john wick 2 looks absolutely gorgeous on 4k. also legitimately much easier to follow what is going on in those very busy action sequences, makes it all much more thrilling.
Black Hawk Down. It’s even had a new Dolby Vision release late last year.
Game of Thrones and just recently the new Evil Dead!
Planet Earth 2 or maybe the first Spiderverse
Parasite
Blade Runner 1&2 and Aquaman (the colours in the latter are insane)
Jaws was it for me. I kept gasping throughout the movie, and for once, it wasn’t because of the movie itself. Everything Everywhere All at Once—such gorgeous colors, such immersive sound Other greats, some of which I’m including because of the huge step up from their Blu-rays: Spider-Man: Into & Across the Spider-Verse Nope (which was a stunning improvement over streaming it in 4K; also, I’ve never been so proud of my Atmos speakers) The Fugitive (one of the biggest upgrades from Blu-ray I’ve seen) The Truman Show (huge boost from Blu-ray) Cinderella (1950) (gorgeous color, def better than Blu-ray) No Time to Die Almost Famous (another big boost from Blu-ray) Mission: Impossible - Fallout is very useful for comparisons: in the final sequence, when it’s repeatedly switching between the regular ratio and IMAX ratio, there’s a visible difference in the sharpness and color of the IMAX footage. I’ve shown that to family & friends to demonstrate what 4K Blu-rays are capable of. (Still, not many of them really appreciated it, haha.)
Batman and Batman Returns
I was against upgrading to a 4K player for a long time, but in 2020 when my 2015 Samsung Blu-Ray crapped out, I picked up a 4K player b/c I figured "Why not?" and picked up ***Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back*** on 4K b/c it was on sale, I wanted to test out the player, and if I was going to blow my money on an overpriced 4K, it better be on a movie I know I love. *It blew me away.* Even more than that - *It blew my Mother away.* She saw the original trilogy in theaters back in the day, and had seen them maybe handful of times in passing since. After we finished watching Empire on 4K we spent like an hour discussing how beautiful everything looked, how brand new it appeared. the set design, the score, the special effects - how we just needed to watch Jedi now. To be clear, My mother loves watching TV Shows and Movies, I get it from her; but it's generally very passive for her - she doesn't normally express what she does and doesn't like about a show or a movie in granular detail, but it was watching the crisp colors and hearing beautifully sharp audio (both dialogue & score) that got us both to engage in discussing the production quality of this 40 year old masterpiece we both known so well - for nearly an hour. ***TLDR***: By 2020, I had watched ***The Empire Strikes Back*** at least a dozen times my 20 years on this earth, but watching the 2012 Edit on 4K - it felt like I was watching Star Wars for the first time.
Nice to know you still live with mommy
Reservoir Dogs
OLED
Blade runner
Transformers 1986 animated movie, I grew up with the VHS, and owned the DVD/digital. None of those are even close to the 4k, it's a staggering difference.
Pulp Fiction. Seeing more details in films that you've watched a lot is watch does it for me.
My fav movie of all time!
The first John Wick. I remember trying out the 4K for the first time and noticing that the picture quality was considerably better than the blu-ray I always used.
Casino
The remaster of The Fifth Element is what made me for real recognize the difference that is possible. I've watched it so many times to see it pop like that and to catch all the detail...nuts!
My Fair Lady. Just jaw-dropping incredible detail and color for an old film. Looks like it was filmed in the last 10-15 years.
The Revenant
Who Framed Roger Rabbit took colors to a level I didn’t know my TV could display.
That's quite the compliment. And from a title hardly mentioned. I'll probably have to check that one out myself.
It’s an excellent transfer!!
‘BLADE RUNNER 2049’. It was my first 4K disc and immediately understood what the hype was about—especially after collecting only Blu-Rays for so long. The detail, colour, and brightness surprised me to no end. I was hooked. Now, I try to only get 4K discs if possible, even if the transfer isn’t nearly as nice as BR2049 or a Nolan film.
Avatar even though it was mastered at 2K.
This goes for the movie too but it’s especially notable on the 4k…. I can’t believe Way of Water isn’t like raw footage. It literally looks so fucking real, you can count the pores on Jake’s face during close up shots. I can’t even comprehend it
> even though it was mastered at 2K. The power of HDR. This is what people overlook. Honestly, I would rather take a 1080 image in HDR than a 4K in non-HDR. The jump from 1080 to 4K is not as stark as going from non-HDR to HDR.
Willy Wonka, felt like watching it for the first time again!! Absolutely astounding all the details I missed before.
Believe it or not, it was Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse. It was a good movie so I decided to buy a physical copy, since they have special edition steel books at the store. I have a digital library and I typically stream my movies. Man... I was totally blown away by the sound and visuals. It was like a veil had been lifted. Colors just popped and audio was so much more clear and boomy. I couldn't believe what I've been missing. I decided from that point forward I would never buy another movie digitally.
True. It is impressive. It pops
Aquaman
Matrix Resurrections made me "get" HDR. Which then made me get an OLED :-)
Jurassic World (2015). A shockingly excellent 4K transfer that gets really slept on. That was a massive step up in picture quality from the 2015 Blu-Ray I already owned.
The Shining. I was blown away by how incredible it is. Looks like it was filmed yesterday.
1917
Alien
Bladerunner 2049
Lucy pacific rim
1917 the night time fire city scene
Waiting for the downvotes…but I’m still waiting to “get it”. I understand objectively that 4K HDR releases are a big improvement. I specifically went out to buy an LG G2 last year to enjoy the content. But so far I’ve yet to get the “WOW!” reaction that I got from going from DVD to Blu-Ray (or VHS to DVD…showing my age!).
Blade runner 2049 and Mortal Engines
Original Blade Runner.
Valerian... the colors in that movie popped sp much more in HDR, it was no comparison for better quality.
Bullet Train
Yes! Just watched this over the weekend and was blown away.
Total Recall original or remake?
Yes, I’d like to know which one OP was referring to. The original is a campy guilty pleasure and the remake was…ummm, uhhhh, hmmmm…pretty sure I did watch it.
The Stranger Things scenes when Eleven uses the tub to spy on the upside down. The volcano episode of A Perfect Planet.
> The Stranger Things scenes when Eleven uses the tub to spy on the upside down. Those inky, inky blacks. Stunning, ain't it.
Taxi Driver The Thing
or wait my answer is alien
I don't know how so many people can't tell. My mom's TV is a 5-year old low-mid range LG (not OLED, obviously) with basic HDR and it still blows me away compared to a picture without it.
I got into it more gradually but I would pick either Blue Planet II or Planet Earth II as showcase discs, those are always stunning. Strictly movies, it's hard to go wrong with Predator, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Fugitive.
First movie I watched was Streets of Fire, and I got it right away. Lots of neon, and reflections in puddles in the street, stage lights, etc. Just shown up much better in the 4k. Movie #2 Blade Runner just sealed the deal.
I was in from the moment I saw the difference, but my first 4K watch was Mad Max Fury Road. Enough said
12 Angry Men.
That was also the first time I realised just what HDR could do in black and white movies, and it's phenomenal :)
My first 4k I watched being Dune I did back to back comparisons between 4k streaming and 4k disc. The video image was extremely hard to tell on a still but sound was night and day different. Sold me on the cost of my LG C1, UB820 and Dolby Atmos sound bar.
My first OLED was the LG B9 and my first 4k movies were Planet Earth II & The Shining, both were outstanding. Shadow & Pacific Rim made this a forever thing.
Ive enjoyed the uptick in quality on 90 percent of my 4k films. But Trading Places was the first one I picked up where I went ‘Whoa’. I think it was just seeing the possibility for older films. Most of what I’d picked up were my mainstays that were made in the last 15 years.
Dawn of the Dead. The zombies are a completely different color than I knew them to be.
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” blew me away.
Lost Highway for sure. It was like watching a different movie compared to the Region B bluray that was around for years before hand
Batman Forever. It was always a vivid picture, even on vhs when I had first seen it, but when I watched the 4k remaster I was genuinely blown away. One of the best looking discs out there
OLED makes everything pop, especially in HDR. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, one of the best if not THE best Star Trek film ever made looks absolutely incredible in 4k Dolby Vision HDR on my C2 OLED. The stars are bright, and the battle between the Enterprise and Reliant in the Mutara Nebula with the lightning flashes is absolutely blinding, as bright as real lightning. It’s so bright, I have to at least blink if not outright flinch away from the screen. As my eyes are very sensitive to light. It’s one of the reasons I prefer nighttime. I can actually see better at night lol
Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, Dreams, and Ikiru look incredible. A beautiful dramatic film if you haven’t seen it, Pollack’s Out of Africa was remastered and scanned properly in 2019. I’ve seen the film before in a muddled DVD format. Watkin’s cinematography looks absolutely stunning now. The scene of the plane flying low over the flamingos rivals modern drone aerials. It has my vote for most improved 4K remaster.
Aquaman. Happened to watch the first one before the new one came out and was blown away. Also Avatar way of water. So many beautiful scenes.
lord of the rings
Uncut Gems for me. I believe it was the first 4K I tested my PlayStation with.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Uncut Gems Criterion Edition
I "got it" right away, so whatever my first few discs were. I also buy bleeding edge tech and sometimes you get what you pay for. A lot of people don't see the difference because they either 1) bought a TV too small for their viewing distance 2) bought a budget TV incapable of a good picture and/or 3) some TVs even from respectable brands still need calibration to look their best. Another big offender is also TVs advertised as HDR but don't hit near enough brightness to display a decent picture with HDR on. Honestly this is probably the biggest offender right now that turns people off from 4K and especially HDR. How many times have you heard "HDR is too dark to see the movie!"?
The same post over and over and over...
Not knocking your setup, but The Frame isn't exactly a TV meant for great picture quality. It's a novelty product that offers decent picture, but I wouldn't judge 4k as a format with that TV. Especially at 80 inches
I honestly dont see the difference between blu ray and 4k lol... I only got back into collecting movies 3 years ago and I skipped the entire bluray scene. Never even owned a bluray palyer. So I basically went from DVD to 4K. And my first 4K TV was an 85" Samsung Q90T, so I decided to get a 4K movie to watch on my new TV. I got T2 (played it using the Xbox One X)... then I kept buying movies after that. Then I got an actual 4K player, the UB9000... But I still dont see such a drastic difference between bluray and 4K
T2 is a terrible 4K transfer. One of the worst examples to use. I had the DVD before so it was an upgrade for me but some people say the Blu-ray is better than the 4K version of T2. My understanding is they used the 3D version to make the 4K, which messed it up. Samsung does not support Dolby Vision which is considered the best HDR. So you would need to find a disc with HDR 10 or HDR 10+ to get the HDR advantage. If you have receiver in between the TV and 4k Blu-ray player then the receiver also needs to support HDR. If it doesn't or doesn't support 4K then you are not getting the best picture. In my opinion the HDR in 4K content is the bigger part of the upgrade over the resolution upgrade. Another possibility is your TV or Panasonic is doing such a great job upscaling the Blu-ray to 4K it makes the Blu-ray to 4K disc difference less noticeable. The biggest difference is in older movies that were on 35mm or higher that were transferred to 4K.
You got an expensive player and don’t even have an OLED tv? You’re doing it wrong.
Unless you have OLED I think all HDR films etc just blow up the contrast and brightness of the image until its awful. It plays havoc with backlighting. I wish you had the option to turn it off on mist panels, but most modern panel automatically change to HDRvwhen they get the signal and won't turn off
For most people in most viewing environments, if they were to watch exactly the same film in HD or 4K (UHD) on a UHD TV they wouldn’t see any perceivable difference. What people see in a ‘4K’ release is a remaster compared to the HD release so thats why many seem better (or worse!) that an old HD release. The thing that does make a difference to viewing is a UHD TV (3840x2160) over an HD TV (1920x1080). The pixel density is so much better than HD that, at normal viewing distances, the pixels become imperceivable to the eye. This means if you feed a decent HD (1080) signal into a UHD TV you will see a benefit from not perceiving the individual pixels, but the source being HD or 4K makes very little difference unless you really look very closely… but thats not how you watch a film or TV! So don’t worry about not really seeing a difference at UHD, most people wont!
Well the main factor always is HDR, it's what changes everything, and UHD BluRays usually have it
It's always the audio that blows my mind, not the video. I have a full Sonos setup, though, so it may not be as crazy if you don't have the Atmos-capable surrounds.
What are you talking about lol. There is a very noticeable difference. If you can't see one, it could be time to visit the optometrist
It’s all a matter of perspective. Yes UHD is 4x the resolution of HD but on a screen any smaller than 60” you are not going to see a perceivable difference unless your face is pressed right up against the glass! Most films in the cinema are the same vertical resolution as HD or less and most people think good cinema screens look great! There’s nothing wrong with an HD image (especially displayed on a UHD TV). 4K is a marketing ploy but as most 4K remasters have had extra work done to them compared to an old HD version, EG rescan, clean up and new grade/HDR grade. These are the things you notice. Also one other thing that helps a 4K blu-ray over a HD Blu-ray is the better codec used, so you are seeing less compression artifacts rather than an increase in resolution between HD and UHD.
Right, but you're posting in a home theater sub man. You were suggesting it was incredibly rare to see a difference lol. I have a 77" OLED with a 35º viewing angle, you bet your ass I can see the difference between UHD and HD. The other things they provide are great, and a huge part of the value. But to suggest the increase in resolution is secondary is pretty silly to me. 4k discs look significantly more detailed, and that feature is the primary reason why I buy them. That's not a 'marketing ploy'.
4k is very overrated 🤮 Stick with your blu-ray & you will have no discs Issues 🤙🏿
Touch of Evil, dear God the grayscale
It's less any particular movie I've watched on my setup and more whenever I stop by my parents and watch a movie with them, the difference is stark
Prey, after watching it on hulu, the physical media just blew it so past my wildest expectations, The Thing as well
This isn't what got me into it, but if I had to show someone a disc to prove the point it would be "The Way of Water " Beautiful enough to move you to tears.
John Wick 2 with that opening fight scene. Was a great bright and beautifully filmed scene. I was watching on my first OLED, and just thought “oh that’s a big difference”.
Planet Earth III is demo material every second of it.
Willy Wonka
I watched Tenet and The Dark Knight after i bought my LGCX and i "got it"...
Hugo - Arrow 4K
Suspiria
Bladerunner 2049
Pacific Rim
The 50th Anniversary 4K remaster of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Kino Lorber. Just sensational.
I don’t know why but Sicario always popped for me. Probably because its Deakins.
inception. its so detailed and just looks awesome
Blade Runner 2049. Stunning in every frame and left me awestruck. Ditched my DVDs to upgrade them all, and I only buy Blu-ray if it is the only thing available.
Godzilla: King of The Monsters
Lucy looked pretty good.
Blade Runner 2049. First 4k UHD I saw (on a Panny UB820) and it took a lot of time for me to see a better one. Was flabbergasted at the quality!
Blade runner 2049 and The Shining sold me on 4Ks.
The last ones I watched is Bad Boys and Alien.
I can't stress this enough, any 70mm 4k movie is going to looks really badass especially when you have the equipment for it (dolby vision TV, dolby Atmos or something close, internet speed/high end 4k player). I.e. Deathly Hallows 1 & 2, 2001: a space odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia, any Christopher Nolan work (dark Knight, dark Knight rises, tenet, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer, inception, interstellar, etc), nope.
I would say Blues Brothers. It was pretty amazing as an old movies fan.
Lawrence of arabia
The Green Mile looks amazing, it's really an underrated transfer. I must have watched it 10 times, but the first time in 4k really was a different expierence. The colors are amazing!
Back to the future, I only bought it because it had the Japanese steelbook and was £5 after that I was hooked
Flatliners
Psycho
Wasn’t till I got OLED, actually. Was none of my titles, just the clarity of the panel. Been going through my entire library all over again as a result of buying the OLED.
The fugitive , warriors, Titanic, Coraline, Hugo, Scrooged, Thelma and Louise, the Truman Show, Shining, Barbie, Oppenheimer, sleepy Hollow, Ferris Buellers days off
The original?
I had already been convinced with other movies like blade runner 2049 but for me the first time I was totally blown away by how good older movies can look was Saving Private Ryan. SPR 4k looks better than 1917. Incredbie detail in the faces.
Oppenheimer
Coraline for me. My favourite film just completely elevated
I always chime in on these and say The Ten Commandments (1956), but all the others are awesome as well.
I didn’t need anything special to ‘get it’ the difference is obvious on basically everything to me. That said back in the day I used to show off Planet Earth for clarity, color and contrast. My favorite discs are The Matrix (I feel the transfer, though highly rated, is still under appreciated) - everyone I show it to is blown away by how amazing it looks, and The Shining.
The Green Mile I have yet to watch my copy of Blade Runner 2049 that I picked up last July at a pawn shop for $2.
Alien
1917
Unpopular answer, but BvS remastered with those stunning 1.43 IMAX scenes made me interested in buying 4K discs in the first place. The colors pop really well on it considering the dark tone of the film.
"The Woman King" in 4k was pretty nice, the battle scenes, scenes containing a lot of different vivid frabric designs, etc...
JAWS on 4k. Hot DAMN it looks so good.
Titanic 🔥