The Patriot - Limited Edition 4K UHD SteelBook

As we’ve covered two different disc releases of The Patriot by two different writers, it falls onto me to be the third to raise the flag and charge forward for this new Two-Cut 4K UHD release. Similar to my colleagues, I find The Patriot to be an intensely entertaining Revolutionary War action fantasy epic. Aside from some names, dates, and some locations of specific battles, there’s not much of the film that’s steeped in actual historical fact. But then that’s true for most historical epics. Hell, even Mel Gibson’s Braveheart falls into that particular cinematic claptrap. But this is a movie, and the first rule of big-budget audience-pleasing filmmaking is don’t let facts foil entertainment.  

One could write an entire doctoral thesis about Hollywood and historical inaccuracies, with this film a prominent feature. That’d be easy to do. But for my sake, the film’s failings aren’t resting on history but on the filmmakers. Where The Patriot falters is in the same arena as just about every other Roland Emmerich film I can think of, and that’s when they try to make the large-than-life characters seem human. From Universal Soldier and Stargate to Independence Day to Godzilla and everything after, Roland Emmerich just does not have a sense for presenting characters as believable people without it drifting into trite melodrama or hacky shtick. The little moments that are supposed to draw the audience in and connect with them as sympathetic personalities aggressively push us away because they’re just so cloying. We actually get more out of the film and the characters when the film presents them in their stock versions rather than trying to add poignant dimension. 

And speaking of stock characters, Mel Gibson and Jason Isaacs deliver the goods. Gibson’s Benjamin Martin has all the makings of the reluctant tortured hero out for revenge, while Isaacs’ Tavington is the right sort of gleefully evil character you love to hate. This is the kind of evil Isaacs villain that would never make the mistake of accidentally giving a sock to his house elf! Gibson was in prime form for this film, delivering nuance and range with ease. It’s their dynamic that makes the film work in the spaces between the blistering battle sequences. The rest of the cast is fine, Heath Ledger does what he can as the idealistic rebellious son, while Chris Cooper, the late Tchéky Karyo, Joely Richardson, Donal Logue, and Adam Baldwin do what they can with their roles, but all are outshone any moment Gibson and Isaacs enter the scene. Tom Wilkinson is the only real supporting actor who stands out and outclasses everyone in the show.  

Through the strums of John Williams’ beautiful score, the film proves to be a genuinely entertaining adventure. The Unrated Cut works the best of the two versions; it naturally adds more poignancy in these moments than any of the silly melodramatic muck. That silly stuff is what should have been cut, as all those moments add is face-puckering bloat. I first caught this film on a triple-feature day when I was 18. After running through another viewing of Gladiator with a first sprint of Scary Movie, this was the final feature of the day, and it was a genuinely great time. I wouldn’t watch all three films in a row like that again, but it was a fun memory. I’ve never hated this film; I’ve always enjoyed it, but all these years later I still feel it could have been a lot better.

For another take on the film, check out our previous disc coverage:
Our 4K UHD Blu-ray Review
Our Extended Untrated Cut Blu-ray Review 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
In time for the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America, we celebrate the 26th Anniversary of The Patriot with a new two-disc 4K UHD + Digital SteelBook set from Sony. Each cut of the film comes home with its own BD100 disc rather than relying on branching to deliver both versions. The discs get their own trays within the artful SteelBook and load to static image main menus with standard navigation options. The digital copy slip unlocks only the Theatrical Cut and is Movies Anywhere compatible.

As the Theatrical Cut of The Patriot already enjoyed a rich HDR10 in 2018, Sony continues their run of Dolby Vision updates that offer a slight but still appreciable improvement in overall quality. Again, like so many of these rereleases, the added Dolby Vision grade is a small additional refinement - but because of the film’s grand scope, period clothing and production design, and those vivid Red and Blue coats, it’s a stunning transfer all the way through. It was great before, but now it's a nudge better. The black spaces and shadows pick up a little more nuance and dimensionality. Colors enjoy a little more natural pop - again, those warring Blue and Red army coats marching across the battlefields with their brilliant white accents are a key difference-maker. Details and clarity are pretty damn close to identical. 

The Unrated Cut also enjoys all of the same benefits of the Theatrical Cut in Dolby Vision, only now with those deleted scenes fully restored. Compared to some other films that got this sort of multi-cut treatment (I’m thinking of The Da Vinci Code as an example), the new scenes actually blend into the adjoining footage more seamlessly. So much so, I’d often forget it was the new footage. A couple of moments still stick out a tad; the surviving soldier witnessing Martin disappear after the ambush is one such case. But overall I’m very happy to see this better, longer version looking as good as it does.

Keeping pace with the 2018 release, this new 2-Version 4K UHD SteelBook rallies the same excellent, thundering Dolby Atmos audio mix for the Theatrical Cut, and appropriately facilitates the additional scenes for the Unrated Cut. Given the scale of the film, the mix deftly casts us back to 1776 with wide open farm spaces, creaky barns, and airy homesteads. Most importantly, the Atmos experience puts you right in the thick of battle with muskets firing all around and cannonballs whipping right at your head. But even in calmer moments like when the men are debating going to war in the town hall, the boys reading the mail, or the simple moments in Martin’s swampy hideout, there’s a terrific spread throughout the soundscape to ensure the channels keep working. Dialogue is always clean and easy to hear without any interference from any of the other audio elements. Again, there’s good reason John Williams earned another Oscar nomination for this film. It’s a rich piece of work that often outclasses the rest of the film. Both versions of the film win the war for Atmos Independence. 

Now, there are DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks for both versions of the film, but to be quite honest, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time with them. They’re fine. They work. They've always been good for past editions. But flipping between tracks, there wasn’t much of a contest. If you’re rocking and rolling in Atmos at home, your choice is simple.

On the bonus features side of this package, we have pretty much everything that was released previously. I no longer have my old DVD, but between the first 4K release of the Theatrical Cut and that older Extended Cut Blu-ray, pretty much everything I know of is here. Sadly, that means nothing new has been added or promoted in the ranks of this release. The commentary is still the meatiest piece of the pie. The featurettes are fine enough, but sadly very short and don’t cover a lot of ground. More ironic to me is that the 7 Deleted Scenes with optional commentary, the same ones that appear in the extended Unrated Cut, are found on that particular disc. Don’t know why, but I kinda find that funny. 

Theatrical UHD

• Audio Commentary featuring Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin
• The Art of War (SD 9:46)
• The True Patriots (SD 9:57)
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

Unrated UHD

• Deleted Scenes w/ Optional Commentary: (HD 13:03 Total)
• The Creek
• The Aftermath
• Birth of the Ghost/The Funeral
• The Butcher
• The Heart of a Villain
• Wait for My Order 
• Visual Effects Featurette (SD 9:21)
• Conceptual Art to Film Comparisons (SD 4:48)

And so, on this year of the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, we celebrate the 26th Anniversary of Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot. Sometimes enthralling, sometimes visceral, sometimes far too silly or melodramatic, the film is an entertaining take on the Revolutionary War and the fight for independence. A severely missed opportunity to not have Bill Pullman come out in a curled, dusted wig and heavy frock to deliver another rousing speech, albeit about fighting the British and not aliens. For the first time, both cuts of the film enjoy their freedom in the star-spangled glory of Dolby Vision and Atmos. With both cuts getting their own discs, the presentations are as near-flawless as they come, showcasing the intense artistry and talent involved in bringing 1776 back to life, complete with incredibly impactful audio mixes. Far from a perfect film, it’s an entertaining adventure all the same, and this is a terrific set for fans to enjoy. Especially if you need the longer, better cut in 4K UHD. Highly Recommended