Native 4K, HEVC at 44.91 Mbps, 1.85:1, Dolby Vision and HDR10. That is the spec line on Disney's Dead Poets Society disc now that reviews are in, and it is about what you would hope for a 1989 drama that nobody needs to look like a demo reel.
The new restoration was done from the original 35mm acetate negative at Picture Shop and Disney Digital Studio Services. The important thing from the Why So Blu write-up is what they did not do: grain is left alone, and the shot-to-shot sharpness variation that was always part of this film is still there. That will read as soft to some people on the first dark classroom scene, but it is the photography, not the encode. Grain thickens in the low-light scenes, including the cave meetings, and shadow detail is reportedly better than the old Blu-ray there.
The Dolby Vision grade sounds restrained, which is the right call. Daylight, lamps and the snowy exteriors get more room, the interiors at Welton stay dim, and there are no forced specular highlights. If you put this on expecting a big HDR pop you will be disappointed. The gains are in fabric, faces, the depth down those long hallways and the autumn colours around the football game. Depth is described as a modest step up, which is honest.
For a catalogue title from Disney, a studio that has not always been gentle with its older films, a faithful grain-intact 4K with a bitrate this healthy is not a given. If you own the Blu-ray and love the film, this is a proper upgrade. If you only watch it once a decade, the Blu-ray was already fine and the 4K will not change your mind.
The new restoration was done from the original 35mm acetate negative at Picture Shop and Disney Digital Studio Services. The important thing from the Why So Blu write-up is what they did not do: grain is left alone, and the shot-to-shot sharpness variation that was always part of this film is still there. That will read as soft to some people on the first dark classroom scene, but it is the photography, not the encode. Grain thickens in the low-light scenes, including the cave meetings, and shadow detail is reportedly better than the old Blu-ray there.
The Dolby Vision grade sounds restrained, which is the right call. Daylight, lamps and the snowy exteriors get more room, the interiors at Welton stay dim, and there are no forced specular highlights. If you put this on expecting a big HDR pop you will be disappointed. The gains are in fabric, faces, the depth down those long hallways and the autumn colours around the football game. Depth is described as a modest step up, which is honest.
For a catalogue title from Disney, a studio that has not always been gentle with its older films, a faithful grain-intact 4K with a bitrate this healthy is not a given. If you own the Blu-ray and love the film, this is a proper upgrade. If you only watch it once a decade, the Blu-ray was already fine and the 4K will not change your mind.
