In "The Mountain Between Us," stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forgo a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow-covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing one another to endure and discovering strength they never knew possible. (Gary Reber)
Special features on the Blu-ray Disc include commentary with Director Hany Abu-Assad, the featurettes "Love And Survival: Creating Chemistry" (HD 12:42), "Mountain Between Them: Shooting In Isolation" (HD 10:17), and "The Wilds:Z Survival Stunts" (HD 05:47); seven deleted scenes with optional director's commenary (HD 14:15); a gallery; the theatrical trailer; upfront previews; and a digital copy.
The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally using Arri Alexa 65, Arri Alexa Mini and Arri Alexa SXT camera systems at 2.8K and 6.5K and sourced from a 2.8K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. Picture quality is terrific, with superb HDR contrast exhibiting bright white snow, brownish rocks, tree bark, and of course the two people clothed in a camel brown jacket and darkish blue coat, and the light brown dog coat. A fire in a cave appears absolutely natural with its warm orange hues. The color palette is exactly accurate. Fleshtones are accurate throughout. Resolution is excellent with fine detail exhibited in snow, ice cycles, tree barks, water rapids, clothing, facial features, hair, beard, skin pores, rocks, and all manner of mountain terrain. The civilization scenes are absolutely natural as well, with warm and rich hues. The imagery throughout is mesmerizing as well as the natural color spectrum. This is an exceptional feat of cinematic drama. (Gary Reber).
Unfortunately, the soundtrack is limited to an ear-level DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel rendering. Sound quality is excellent, with atmospherics such as howling wind and snow, Foley sound effects such as trampling through deep snow and cracked ice, and sound effects such as the prop-plane engine and crash are realistic throughout. There are a lot of nuanced sounds that effectively define the severe winter wilderness soundscape. At times deep bass fortifies the more intense scenes. Dialogue is prominent, with excellent intelligibility and spatial integration. The orchestral score is well recorded with a wide and deep soundstage that extends to the surrounds.
The Immersive Sound element produced by Auro-Matic is so much more involving, transforming a two-dimensional native soundtrack into an impressive three-dimensional sonic experience. DTS Neural:X and Dolby Surround work well too, but the reference loudspeaker layout is Auro-3D configured, and Auro-Matic does sound the best. The Immersive Sound elements enhance, especially the prop-plane flight and crash, the howling winds, and the music, for an immersive spherical surround experience. (Gary Reber)