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Ultra HD : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: October 19th, 2021 Movie Release Year: 2021

Old - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Overview -

M. Night Shyamalan's Old is a remarkable, scary film about aging and dying within a few hours. The director has tackled, aliens, ghosts, crazy old people, but this is perhaps his scariest movie because it deals with something that everyone comes in contact with. This is a beautiful, yet a frightening film that is sure to leave a lasting impression. Now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in a two-disc + digital set, the Dolby Vision video in 4K is exquisite and the Dolby Atmos mix is amazing to listen to unfold. The bonus features are all worth watching as well and are quite entertaining. Highly Recommended. 

 

Visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan unveils a chilling, mysterious thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly…reducing their entire lives into a single day.

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital
Video Resolution/Codec:
HDR10
Length:
90
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.39:1
Audio Formats:
English: Dolby Atmos
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, French, Spanish
Special Features:
• A Family in the Moment
Release Date:
October 19th, 2021

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

M. Night Shyamalan is certainly a horror maestro still and this new film Old proves the director has no signs of slowing down. The way Shyamalan portrays the beauty and horror of growing old is nothing short of outstanding here in this suspenseful, terrifying tale. As a group of families and friends head to a secluded, private beach resort while on vacation, it becomes quite clear in a quick fashion that the beautiful beach is something other than it seems.

Everyone starts to age quickly, growing larger with more wrinkles and even gray hair. On top of that, the other horrifying aspects of growing old come to light in the form of cancer, mental illness, dementia, and more. Of course, there is that iconic and trademark Shyamalan twist at the end as well. But this impressive cast of characters and the astonishing camera work by Shyamalan and his daughters are all spectacular. Old is one of those films that leaves a lasting experience long after it's viewed. 

For my full thoughts, check out our Theatrical Review

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Old
grows its way to a 2-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital set courtesy of Universal Pictures. The discs are housed inside a hard, black plastic case with a cardboard sleeve, featuring the artwork of someone on the beach that is part skeleton. There is an insert for the digital code as well.

Video Review

Ranking:

Old comes with a glorious native 2160p 4K UHD transfer with Dolby Vision / HDR10 in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 that looks amazingly sharp and beautiful. 

The color palette of Old is phenomenal with glorious arrays of sunshine, green tropical trees in the background, blue skies, and amber glowing sand on the beach. The many nuanced and detailed colors of these tropic elements are enhanced by the Dolby Vision. which brings out the blues and greens in the ocean and the many browns and grays in the rocks on the cliff that back up to the sandy beach. Varying shades of yellow and amber make up the grains of sand that contrast perfectly with the cliffs and leaf-like rocks in the background. Swimsuits and clothing are forever bright and vibrant and bring in more of the primary colors. The exquisite yellow umbrella looks amazing here. Skin tones are natural and black levels are wonderfully inky in this 4K presentation. There is no murkiness or crushing shadows during the nighttime sequences, all of which look excellent with fire embers flying around. The blood is a nice red as well when it appears on the screen. 

The detail is sharp and vivid with close-ups revealing all of the practical and CGI effects of aging. Facial pores, acne, wrinkles, age spots, and individual hairs show up nicely. Nasty wounds and gashes also look impressive. The details of the rock formations, water droplets from the ocean, and little grains of sand that appear on people's skin can be easily seen in this 4K image. There's great grain management, giving this video some depth to look like a feature film on the big screen. Lastly, there are zero instances of any banding, aliasing, or video noise here, making this thriller a top-notch-looking picture. The 4K way is the best option here. 

 

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with a great Dolby Atmos track that delivers a fully immersive beachside listening experience. Shyamalan films tend to be quiet in nature for the most part until they're not and a crescendo from a jump scare or something intense is happening on screen. This film is no different, however, the ocean and beach sounds are in constant motion. Sound effects of the waves crashing in, rocks on the beach being skipped, or footsteps in the sand are excellent. Wind blowing through fire or trees also sounds exquisite.

The haunting and eerie score brings a low end of bass that has a nice rumble to it. Other supernatural effects travel easily and fluidly through each speaker as if something is chasing a character around the room. There are only a couple of instances with sound pouring in from the height speakers though. Dialogue is clean and clear, free of any audio problems to speak of. 

Special Features

Ranking:

There are about 42 minutes of bonus material included in this release. Shyamalan himself, along with the entire cast and crew, including his daughters all talk about working on the film. These are all worth watching. 

  • All The Beach Is A Stage (HD, 10 Mins.)  - The cast and crew talk about blocking and shooting on location on a beach near the ocean. Everyone talks while shooting the film with some on-set footage added in. This also reveals all the sets, green screens that were used, along with how the cameras shot some of the more impressive shots of the film.
  • Shyamalan Family Business (HD, 8 Mins.) - A cool little featurette with a great song in the background that has M. Night discussing bringing his own daughter to the film as second unit director. She talks about working on the movie with family with some clips of the film and behind-the-scenes footage added in. Additionally, his other daughter talks about making some of the music for the film as well. 
  • Nightmares In Paradise (HD, 8 Mins.) - The crew discusses how they found the beach that the movie takes place in. Sounds like locations were scoured all over the world until they landed on this location. Bonus points for this one, because a few puppy dogs and sea animals are featured here. 
  • A Family In The Moment (HD, 7 Mins.) - The last scene with the main family on the beach that was shot at the end of production got everyone emotional. The cast talk about this moment and show why it was such a great experience. 
  • Deleted Scenes (HD, 9 Mins.) - There are ten scenes in total, none of which give an alternate or look of the overall film. 

 

Final Thoughts

Old is Shyamalan's scariest film because it deals with something everyone has to face - aging and ultimately dying. In this movie, those elements sprint up fast within a matter of hours, all while at a beautiful paradise beach. Shyamalan showcases his vision of life and death, both in the emotional and physical realms, and it's as beautiful as it is terrifying. The 4K with Dolby Vision video presentation is excellent and the Dolby Atmos mix sounds wonderful. The extras are all fun, energetic, and informative as well. Highly Recommended!