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Ultra HD : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: June 13th, 2023 Movie Release Year: 1988

Rain Man - MVD Marquee Collection 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Overview -

With outstanding memorable performances by Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, Barry Levinson's classic road drama Rain Man remains just as impactful, relevant and heartfelt thanks to a poignant plot about living in a culture of excess, self-interest, and greed. Courtesy of MVD Marquee Collection, the film drives down the Ultra HD driveway with an excellent 4K HDR presentation, a strong DTS-HD MA track, and the same assortment of special features, making this UHD edition a Recommended addition to the library.

WINNER OF 4 ACADEMY AWARDS® INCLUDING BEST PICTURE!

Dustin Hoffman (Meet the Fockers) is a “triumph” (People) in an Oscar®-Winning* role, and Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick) delivers the “best acting of his career [in a film that’s] fascinating, touching and full of smart surprises” (Newsweek).

Charlie Babbitt (Cruise) has just discovered he has an autistic brother named Raymond (Hoffman) and is now taking him on the ride of his life. Or is it the other way around? From his refusal to drive on major highways to a “four minutes to Wapner “ meltdown at an Oklahoma farmhouse, Raymond first pushes hot-headed Charlie to limits of his patience… and then pulls him completely out of his self-centered world. But what begins as an unsentimental journey for the Babbitt brothers becomes much more than the distance between two places. It’s a connection between two vastly different people… and “a poignant profound and powerful film” (Joel Siegel, ABC-TV).

*1988, Best Actor


SPECIAL FEATURES:

DISC ONE: 4K ULTRA HD DISC

  • 4K Ultra High Definition (2160p) presentation of the main feature in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. (HD master created and provided by MGM was scanned in 4K from the original camera negative and was approved by director Barry Levinson)
  • English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by Director Barry Levinson
  • Audio Commentary by Writer Barry Morrow
  • Audio Commentary by Writer Ronald Bass
  • Original Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:13)


DISC TWO: BLU-RAY DISC

  • High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
  • Audio Commentary by Director Barry Levinson
  • Audio Commentary by Writer Barry Morrow
  • Audio Commentary by Writer Ronald Bass
  • English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Mono
  • Optional English SDH Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, French Subtitles
  • ‘The Journey of Rain Man’ featurette (SD, 22:07)
  • ‘Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism’ featurette (SD, 20:13)
  • Deleted Scene (SD, 2:10)
  • Original Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:13)

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Region Free
Video Resolution/Codec:
HDR10
Length:
134
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, French, Spanish
Special Features:
Trailer
Release Date:
June 13th, 2023

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

The most impressive aspect of Barry Levinson's Rain Man is really how much could have seriously gone wrong in the production, yet the road drama manages to deliver a poignant, well-told tale about selfishness, greed, and the harm that self-centredness can have on a person and those they allege to love. At the center of Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass's excellent screenplay is the hurtful, unpleasant, and ultimately, emotionally-unavailable wheeler-dealer Charlie (a memorable Tom Cruise) discovering that his late father willed their $3-million estate to his previously unknown autistic brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). Given that, the plot where Charlie irresponsibly kidnaps Raymond for half of the estate could have easily gone off the rails into something ridiculously hackneyed, pedestrian, and overall into a terribly hamfisted tear-jerker. However, thanks to the performances, a well-crafted story, strong direction, and everyone involved in the production, Rain Man is a marvelous drama that sees Charlie genuinely grow as a person, a tale that serves as an indictment of the 80s culture of excess, self-interest and the pursuit of greed as a means of living a purposeful life. Nearly forty years later, the classic film remains just as impactful, relevant, and heartfelt as it was in 1988. 

For a more in-depth take on the film, check out our review of the 2011 Blu-ray HERE.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
MVD Marquee Collection drives Barry Levinson's Rain Man to Ultra HD Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack. The triple-layered UHD100 disc sits comfortably opposite a Region Free, BD50 disc inside a black, eco-elite vortex case with a glossy slipcover. At startup, the disc goes straight to a static menu screen with the usual options along the bottom while music plays in the background.

Video Review

Ranking:

The classic drama hits the Ultra HD road with a great-looking HEVC H.265 encode that offers a notable step up from its many Blu-ray predecessors to give fans arguably the best presentation of the film ever seen in any format. 

Reportedly, the 4K transfer comes from a brand-new remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives and was approved by director Barry Levinson. At first, the quality of the picture brought this statement into question because things begin somewhat average, falling mostly on the softer side with little to almost no improvement in the color gamut, contrast or brightness. However, once Charlie is at the funeral, the 1.85:1 image dramatically improves and continues to impress thereafter, washing the film with spot-on, brilliant whites and deep, rich blacks that never obscure the finer aspects of the darkest shadows. Granted, the video remains a tad softer than other titles from the same era, but the overall definition is sharper with cleaner, fine details in the clothing, furniture and along the interior of the 1949 Buick Roadmaster. The Dolby Vision HDR presentation also comes with a fuller array of colors, particularly the primaries, while affording the cast a healthier, more accurate complexion. Some of the hottest spots, like sunshine through the windows, can appear a tad blown, but that is the result of the original cinematography while specular highlights throughout provide a crisp, radiant along metallic objects and the edges of clouds.

Awash in a fine layer of natural grain from start to finish, the new transfer comes with an attractive film-like quality that fans will appreciate, and although it may not be the sort to impress most, the 4K HDR presentation is the best the film has ever looked. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 82/100)

Audio Review

Ranking:

A comparison of the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray release with this UHD reveals little to no discernible difference between the two. However, it is worth noting that the track and Hans Zimmer's musical score splendidly lend themselves to the receivers' Dolby Surround or DTS: Neural:X up-mixing functionality, effortlessly spreading many atmospherics and music into the overheads. 

For a more in-depth take on the audio quality, you can read our review of the standard Blu-ray HERE. (Audio Rating: 78/100)

Special Features

Ranking:

All the same features from the previous Blu-ray release have been imported for this UHD edition with a majority of them contained in the accompanying BD disc.

  • Audio Commentaries of which there are three.
  • The Journey of Rain Man (1080i/60, 22 min)
  • Lifting the Fog: A Look at the Mysteries of Autism (1080i/60, 20 min)
  • Deleted Scene (1080i/60, 2 min)
  • Trailer (1080i/60)

Nearly forty years later, Barry Levinson's classic road drama Rain Man remains just as impactful, relevant and heartfelt as ever. This is largely thanks to the amazing work of the entire production team, the two leading performances and a poignant plot that serves as an indictment of the capitalist culture of opulence, self-interest and greed. Courtesy of MVD Marquee Collection and MGM Home Entertainment, the film drives down the 4K Ultra HD driveway with an excellent Dolby Vision HDR presentation that delivers a notable step up from previous releases but ports over the same DTS-HD MA soundtrack and assortment of special features. Nevertheless, this UHD edition is Recommended.

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.