Starman 4K Ultra HD (SteelBook)

"Starman" is a romantic science fiction odyssey starring Jeff Bridges as an innocent alien from a distant planet who learns what it means to be a man in love. When his spacecraft is shot down over Wisconsin, Starman (Jeff Bridges) arrives at the remote cabin of a distraught young widow, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), and clones the form of her dead husband. The alien convinces Jenny to drive him to Arizona, explaining that if he isn't picked up by his mothership in three days, he'll die. Hot on their trail are government agents, intent on capturing the alien, dead or alive. En route, Starman demonstrates the power of universal love, while Jenny rediscovers her human feelings for passion. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director John Carpenter and Actor Jeff Bridges; seven deleted scenes (HD 18:19); the featurettes: "Behind-The-Scenes Time Lapses" (HD 09:45) and "They Came From Hollywood: Revisiting Starman" (HD 23:23), a "Making-Of featurette (SD 11:24); "All I Have To Do Is Dream" music video (SD 03:35); still gallery; theatrical trailer and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.35:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on 35 mm film in anamorphic Panavision® using the Panavision Panaflex Gold camera system and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. The film has been restored from the original negative. The picture is very filmic. Film grain is very smooth and never objectionable.The imagery is sharp and clear. Color fidelity is excellent with nicely saturated hues and strong primaries that pop, and hues that exhibit warmth and richness. The desert scents exhibit realistic earth tones. Flesh tones appear accurate. HDR contrast wide with deep natural blacks and revealing shadow delineation. White levels a well illuminated and at times brilliant. Resolution is excellent as well with satisfying sharpness and clarity. Facial features, especially during closeups, reveal skin pores, lines, beard stubble and hair. Clothing fabrics are discernible. Backgrounds and settings are well defined. This is a great looking picture that has never looked better and is the new reference for this John Carpenter classic. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack sounds dynamic. Atmospherics enhance each scene throughout. Sound effects, such as car engines, road noise, trucks, trains, explosions and gunfire, sound realistic. The soundstage is directional with excellent panning, Foley sound effects are in perfect sync. The Synclavier digital music score is wonderful and nicely supportive. The music extends to the surround for envelopment. Deep bass is strong with the .1 LFE channel delivering strong sub-20 Hz bass during the early and ending scenes. The surround channels are energized with directional effects. Dialogue is often ADR produced and a bit forward sounding but otherwise nicely integrated.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of an aggressive extension of the music; sound effects, such as spacecraft and jet plane maneuvers, mysterious sonics, helicopters, explosions, gunfire, thunder and pouring rain and more; and some nuanced dialogue. As a result, the height layer nicely enhances sound field dimensionality.

This is a terrific holosonic® spherical surround soundtrack that is varied in sonic settings and a lot of fun with good fidelity and sound dynamics. (Gary Reber)