Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 5

If there's one thing I'll give Sony Home Entertainment, they really do deliver a fantastic product. Now with their fifth set in the ongoing Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection line, we have six more films earning their rightful place on 2160p with Dolby Vision HDR transfers - and some with multiple audio options! Click the links below for a full look at each individual film:

All the King's Men - 4K UHD Review

A Man for All Seasons - 4K UHD Review

On the Waterfront - 4K UHD Review

Tootsie - 4K UHD Review

The Age of Innocence - 4K UHD Review

Little Women (2019) - 4K UHD Review

Now, one of the frequent points of contention among some physical media enthusiasts out there is the eclectic assortment of titles with each new volume. That's no less true for this outing. The sets have always rolled with three true classics followed by three fan favorites that are apparently culled from a survey Sony issued some time back. Within the six films you always get a mixture of genres as a sort of "something for everyone" package. Overall I've been very happy with each new edition and like the past four volumes, I'm very happy to add five of the six films to the collection making the sixth title I don't care much for a bonus. 

For my money Volume 5 has four genuine essential classics with All the King's Men, A Man for All Seasons, On the Waterfront, and Tootsie. Granted three of these are intense character dramas and one of the funniest films ever made, but they're the real price of admission as far as I'm concerned. As a title I likely would have picked up someday anyway, Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence is a fantastic chamber room drama with an amazing cast. Not a "favorite" but certainly a film worth revisiting every so often and it makes a dynamite addition to 4K. The "miss" of the set for me is Greta Gerwig's 2019 version of Little Women. It's a nice film, and it's a fine adaptation, but it's not a favorite nor do I think it's a highlight reason to pick up this set. Of the six, it's the "oh, okay..." title. But then almost all of the Columbia Classics sets have been like that to one degree or another. I don't think any one of them has been resoundingly perfect or anything like that. But, there have been enough great films with each volume to justify the price tag. 

Where Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 5 is something of an oddity, three of the titles, On the Waterfront, Tootsie, and The Age of Innocence have all been released on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection. With Criterion's recent February 2025 slate including Punch Drunk Love and the previously issued The Last Picture Show, one has to wonder if Criterion will again follow suit for these three. As Sony has been rather slow and judicious about breaking out individual titles from past collections, On the Waterfront, Tootsie, and The Age of Innocence seem like likely candidates for future solo releases. So if you're not keen on adding another big clunky rectangular collection to your shelf, you might be wise to wait and see what happens in the next few months and see if Criterion doesn't take another look at those.

When it comes to a box set like this, my suggestion for collectors is see what titles you love and extrapolate the cost from there. As I said, I'm all in for five of these films with one being an innocuous addition. And at roughly $22 a film (current sale price at the time of publishing), that's not too bad a price tag for six films with excellent video transfers and audio and some excellent new and archival extras. If Sony is aiming to scrounge together another volume, I hope they visit some of their noir, thriller, horror, and science fiction catalogs for consideration. They have a lot of great films that would absolutely shine on 4K so I don't think we've seen the last of the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collections. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Celebrating the studio's 100th Anniversary, Sony brings the six-film Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 5 to the marketplace. Featuring All the Kings Men, A Man for All Seasons, On the Waterfront, Tootsie, The Age of Innocence - each film has a BD100 disc for 4K with a BD50 serving the 1080p and bonus features. On the Waterfront is a unique offering since Sony gave each unique aspect ratio option its own BD100 disc. Each film gets its own black standard 4K case with a set-exclusive slipcover. Following past editions the discs are housed in a hard sturdy foldout box with a hardcover book inside. Each disc loads to a static image main menu with basic navigation options. 

See the linked reviews for full details 

See the linked reviews for full details 

See the linked reviews for full details 

Five volumes in now and I wouldn't say that the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection series is flawless, but they are very good. In trying to offer a little bit of something for everyone they're actually only catering to die hard collectors who will find the full value in springing for the big sets. Fans only interested in one or two titles have to endure a costly acquisition price or patiently wait for a solo-title release - if that ever happens. With All the Kings Men, A Man for All Seasons, On the Waterfront, Tootsie, The Age of Innocence, and 2019's Little Women I'm very happy to have five of the six on the shelf. It'll be interesting to see if any of the three films previously available from Criterion will get a 4K upgrade to the label, but if you can't wait and love most of these films, this is another Highly Recommended set.