Green Book 4K Ultra HD

The 2018 Best Picture Academy Award®-winning"Green Book" is a movie inspired by a true friendship that transcended race, class, and the 1962 Mason Dixon line. When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on The Green Book to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger, as well as unexpected humanity and humor––they are forced to set aside difference to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurettes "Virtuoso Performances," "An Unforgettable Friendship," and "Going Beyond The Green Book"; upfront previews; and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 2.00:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa Mini and XT camera systems and sourced from a 2K (not 4K) master Digital Intermediate format. As the 2K Digital Intermediate has been upconverted to 2160p, there is no real gain in native resolution.

The picture is gorgeous. Colors are rich and warm and perfectly natural. The cinematography is terrific, with excellent lighting attributes that cast just the right intensities. Colors under all lighting conditions are hued naturally with excellent saturation. At times colors pop, as in the scenes at the Copacabana. Fleshtone accuracy is impressive throughout. The nuanced variations, saturation density, depth and shading subtleties in hues are evident throughout. HDR contrast is dynamic with natural black levels, revealing shadow delineation and bright highlights, such as Don Shirley's impeccable white shirts. Resolution is superb, with fine detail exhibited in every frame. Clothing fabrics, along with textural detail on objects, exteriors, and interiors are impressively resolved. Throughout clarity and sharpness is satisfying. Facial features such as skin pores and lines, as well as hair and beard stubble, are also impressively resolved. WOW! segments are from 13:56 to 16:33, 23:46 to 28:40, 01:00:13 to 01:00:48, 01:33:58 to 01:50:38, and 01:52:14 to 01:54:00. This is a beautiful visual experience that is natural and impressive throughout. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is wonderful with an excellent dynamic and natural presence. Music plays as a thread through the soundtrack, as one of the main characters is a musician with contrasting genres of soul music and The Don Shirley Trio, in performance segments during the concert tour. The music performances are impressive, with nicely resolved melodic clarity and definition and distinct instrumentation. Deep bass is naturally delivered. Environmental atmospherics, such as bustling city neighborhood streets, the Copa, a diner, a restaurant and a motel courtyard, are perfectly represented and realistic sounding. The music, of course, is a real treat and recorded and reproduced with excellent fidelity, including popular soul and rock-n'-roll favorites from the 1960s, which are interspersed throughout. Dialogue throughout is intelligible and perfectly executed with generally good spatial delineation.

The Immersive Sound element delivers a satisfying extension of the music, which would be a serious amiss if it wasn't a significant element in the height layer. But even so, numerous segments of The Don Shirley trio performing are not extended. Other sounds are low-level din, children playing and other street sounds, diner ambience, highway traffic sounds, birds chipping, urban din at a motel courtyard, audience applause, crickets, the Orange Bird sit-in with the soul band, pouring rain, and Frank Sinatra singing. This is a really pleasant Immersive Sound presentation that enhances this excellent soundtrack.

This is a warm and fun holosonic® experience with an aggressive surround presence that envelops the soundfield and extends to the height layer, adding a spherical surround presence, which effectively heightens the dimensional experience in numerous scenes. (Gary Reber)