The Outlaw Josey Wales 4K Ultra HD

"The Outlaw Josey Wales" is about the fight for vengeance by a Missouri farmer (Cling Eastwood) whose family is murdered in the last days of the United States' Civil War. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary by Richard Schickel; six featurettes: "An Outlaw And An Antihero –– NEW (HD 07:22), "The Cinematography Of And Outlaw: Crafting Josie Wales –– NEW (HD 07:55). "Clint Eastwood’s West" (HD 29:03), "Eastwood In Action" (HD 07:54), Hell Hath No Fury: The Making Of The Outlaw Josie Wales" (HD 29:14) and "Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy –– Reinventing The West" (HD 17:36) and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.35:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on Eastman 35 mm film in anamorphic Panavision® using the Panavision Panaflex camera system and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. Film gran is smooth and never objectionable. Cinematographer Bruce Surtees has perfectly depicted the old West with jaw-dropping outdoor earth-toned landscapes. Picture quality for most the most part, as in the daylight scenes, is excellent. But during darker segments shadows are blackness and unrealistic. Color fidelity is purely earthy with browns and greens and clear blue skies. As for the Western town setting, the hues reflect dirt "roads" and wood structures. Everything looks natural and realistic. Flesh tones appear natural throughout. HDR contrast is generally excellent. Blacks are deep and solid. Shadows can be black rather than revealing, a "trademark" pf Surtees' use of strong silhouettes. White levels appear perfectly realistic. Resolution is excellent. Horses, uniforms and Western clothing reveal fine detail, Environmental settings are revealing of natural beauty and detail. Facial features are finely detailed, such as skin pores, lines, beards an hair. This is a great looking picture that is very filmic in characteristics. The picture quality will please fans of this classic. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is dynamic sounding with terrific environmental atmospherics and Westen sound effects, Sound effects such as galloping hoses and gunfire, are realistic and at times powerful and enhanced with strong bass transients and .1 LFE. All sorts of sonics are identified with a classic Western characteristic. Jerry Fielding's orchestral score is exciting and powerful. The music occupies a wide and deep soundstage and aggressively envelops the surrounds. Surround energy in generally is strong and enveloping. Fidelity throughout is excellent, Dialogue for the most part is ADR produced and generally acceptably integrated,

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of an aggressive extension of the orchestral score, as well as atmospherics and sound effects, such as echoing gunfire and rain and thunder. The use of the height layer is quite effective in enhancing the spherical characteristic of the sound field.

This is a a real rootin'-tootin' Westen holosnic® soundtrack that is exciting and one of Eastwood's best that will really please fans of the genre. As a secondary the original theatrical mix is presented in DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio split monaural. (Gary Reber)