Conclave - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

A good thriller doesn’t always have to be about murder or the threat of danger. Sometimes all a good thriller needs is a little intrigue, personal betrayal, and an incredibly fraught high-pressure situation to deliver a tantalizing experience. In 2022, Edward Berger brought the horrors of The Great War to visceral life with All Quiet on the Western Front. Four years later he brings us a different battle of sorts. Where one film was about the brutality of war at the expense of life, Conclave is about the responsibility of finding a leader to shepherd the souls of over a billion lives, and it’s just as enthralling. 

As the film opens we find Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) summoned to the bedside of the ailing Holy Father. As the pontiff exudes his agonal breath, tradition calls for the selection of a new Pope and as Dean of the College of Cardinals, Lawrence must call these men to Rome and ensure a smooth vote and transition of the papacy. There are men who want to become Pope out of greed like Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow). Traditionalists like Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellito) want to become Pope to reverse the course of progressivism. Some men do not want to be Pope, men like Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci) will accept the position to continue the church’s path toward acceptance of all. As the Cardnals sequester for the vote, Lawrence will contend with a web of conspiracies, lies, and betrayals that could shake the Church to its very core. 

While I love a good dose of spycraft, a healthy amount of high-stakes espionage, or an edge-of-your-seat heist flick, I also love a thriller where simple words and phrasings are as dynamic as a gunfight. Conclave is just that sort of thriller. Edward Berger with screenwriter Peter Straughan delivers a riveting adaptation of Robert Harris’s (not the Hannibal Lecter creator) 2016 novel. I read that novel when it came out and was riveted by it. Now some eight years later I get to enjoy it all over again as an expertly crafted and exhilarating film. There are some small mild changes from the book to the film, but nothing severe or incongruous to the original text. A couple of names have been changed, and a character’s original region has been changed, but otherwise, this is an exceptional adaptation. Perhaps a tad sensationalist for a couple of key plot beats, but otherwise, it’s right on the nose for a genuinely excellent film.

Without guns, spycraft, heists, or car chases, Conclave is a talking thriller. It could be described as a “thinking person’s” thriller, but I’d say that’s a disingenuous description. Conclave is a smart film that’s not exclusively intended for “smart” or elitist cinema fans. It’s the best kind of film regardless of genre as everyone can enter into the fold and come away with a different experience.

Early in the film, a half-finished game of chess is pointed out, and the film's plot plays along that board. Lawrence makes his moves and must counter each new development. As different revelations come to light, he must pivot his strategy to ensure a peaceful and united transition of the Papacy. He just doesn’t always know who his opponents, friends, or strategic allies are. But the thing to always keep in mind is who was playing that initial game. Who owned that chessboard? With that in mind, it's a worthy theme for the film that carries well right to the end.  

Throughout, Ralph Fiennes once again proves how dynamic a performer he can be with this Best Actor Oscar-nominated performance. Within a single scene, he can be quiet and thoughtful as he carries the weight of his office and then be bombastic passionately asserting his position within the Conclave. John Lithgow delivers another excellent performance as a conniving ladder climber. Sergio Castellito is magnetic as the traditionalist reactionary. Tucci is just as dynamic with his seemingly passive presence. Standing with Fiennes, I am excited to see Isabella Rossellini nominated for Best Supporting Actress as her Sister Agnes is the eyes and ears of the proceedings. She may not say much but when she does it commands attention. 

Much like when I read the novel, Conclave was one of those rare films where I was left wanting to immediately dive back into it again. Even knowing the story and twists going into the film, Edward Berger presented the story in such a way that the twists felt like new surprises. It takes the right amount of time to set the stage, introduce the players, and establish the stakes before the figurative Papal chess game commences letting this army of amazing actors play their roles. If the Academy were to elect Conclave as Best Picture, I would not be disappointed. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
After an odd wait between format releases, Universal casts its vote for Conclave on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with a two-disc 4K + Blu-ray + Digital release. The 4K is pressed on a BD66 disc with a BD50 standing in for the 1080p release. Both discs are housed in a standard two-disc black case with identical slipcover artwork. The discs load to static image main menus with standard navigation options. Curiously though, the 4K disc does not have a chapter menu but the Blu-ray does, so there’s that. 

Universal tends to enjoy releasing a title on Blu-ray and then following up with a 4K disc a stretch of days later. While they did that with Conclave, I’m grateful that it wasn’t a year or longer but a mere few weeks. I don’t get why there was the delay between releases but it gave me ample time to reflect on the two choices. The 1080p was a pretty damned flawless-looking disc, certainly no slouch, but this 2160p HDR10 run certainly offers a worthy notable improvement. I was most struck by the refinement in skin textures. This is a film with a lot of faces filling the screen so we get to see a lot of creases, slight beard stubble, balding heads, and quite a few liver spots with extra refined detail. This is followed by the ornate robes and costumes and the immaculately conceived production and set design work. Even some of the rooms with CGI extensions still come through perfectly and aren’t betrayed by the added resolution or the HDR grade. And speaking of that HDR grade, it’s a lovely accent. The robes obviously see plenty of enhancement given their crimson coloring, but splashes of blue and yellow see their time and skin tones appear much healthier and varied from one actor to the next. All around an excellent transfer that delivers.

For this release, Universal also elected to give the film a full Dolby Atmos track over the previous very excellent Dolby TrueHD 7.1. The improvements here are quite a bit more subtle but it’s worth it. The added layering for height channel spacing and the extra weight of LFE for footfalls and impacts is notable. I also felt like the steady persistent breathing sound of Finnes’ Lawrence had more of a presence. This sound effect is nicely discussed in the commentary, but it helped lend some urgency to a couple of sequences as well as communicate the exhaustive weight of running the conclave. This is also a film where the sound design thrives on silence letting key sound effects in the side/surround channels carry a lot of the heavy emotional weight of any given scene. Dialog is again clean and clear throughout without issues. It’s a very subtle upgrade, but an appreciable one nonetheless. 

As for the bonus features, Universal leaves us with the same set of extras. Now to be sure, the Edward Berger commentary track is fantastic. It’s an amazing and informative listen as he details various aspects of the production. I was a little worried he’d get stuck narrating the action but then I realized it’s with purpose for how or why they ran a scene the way they did. And again we’re getting the solid featurette Inside Conclave that runs less than twenty minutes. It’s a shame because this is a great film that should have a lot more interesting extras backing up the A/V value. 

• Audio Commentary featuring Edward Berger
• Sequestered: Inside Conclave (HD 16:47)

Conclave is a brilliant thriller. A “smart” film that isn’t exclusively intended for cinema snobs but one that anyone can enjoy. Nor is the story dumbed down in such a fashion that it would insult the intelligence of its audience. It’s a film where its only ask is that you pay attention as the twists and turns in the tangled plot unravel. Ralph Fiennes carries the film magnificently well in a role that should finally earn him Oscar Gold. The rest of the cast of Cardinals is excellent, but I again must call attention to the studious and graceful turn from Isabella Rossellini. Edward Berger caught my curiosity with All Quiet on the Western Front but now he demands my full attention. Whatever he’s got cooked up next, I’m sure to make time for a run to my local theaters. Now that Conclave has been elected to 4K, the results are excellent and well worth the purchase, especially if you didn’t buy the Blu-ray a mere few weeks earlier. The only reason I’m not calling this release a “Must Own” is that I can see this winning some Oscar gold and by extension also see another and far more elaborate release with a proper filling of extras coming down the disc pipeline. However, if this is to be the only 4K disc of Conclave then the very least I can say is Highly Recommended.