Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull 4K Ultra HD

Get ready for a blast from the past when "Indiana Jones And" his young protege Mutt Williams (Shi LaBeouf) set out to discover "The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull." Everyone's favorite archeologist, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), heads off to the wilds of Peru in search of a mystical crystal skull, which is fabled to have been carved from a single piece of quartz, and posses mystical powers. Jones must find the skull and deliver it to its rightful place before the evil Soviet agent, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), gets her hands on it and assumes its mystical powers. (Stacey Pendry)

Special feature include theatrical trailer 2, theatrical trailer 3 and theatrical trailer 4 and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed on Eastman film stock in anamorphic Panavision® using the Arriflex 235, Arriflex 435, and the Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL camera systems and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. The upgraded picture exhibits a barely visible fine grain structure. The color palette is rich and warm with fantastic color variation and nuanced hue shadings. Tones are effectively earthy with natural browns and greens. Fleshtones retain naturalness with good distinction between various hues. HDR contrast is excellent with perfectly deep black levels that exhibit fine detail, superb shadow delineation and brilliant white levels. Resolution is superb with fine textural detail exhibited throughout in facial features, clothing and objects. Fine details in close shots are captured well, and even long shots look natural and clearly defined. "Crystal Skull" is the newest in the Indiana Jones franchise, and is the finest looking of the four films. The new UHD restoration has resulted in a pleasing film-like presentation that will thrill fans. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack opens with subtle desert atmospherics, followed by a sound design that is very lively, with the surround channels active almost constantly throughout with nicely crafted pans across each stereo wall. Localization is somewhat constrained in the surround channels, but phantom imaging can be heard everywhere around the room. Discrete directionality among sound effects engage the soundfield. The LFE channel is used often throughout the presentation, with bass dropping below 30 Hz in the channel. Bass is defined well, and the midrange is crisp and articulate. Dialogue is always intelligible, but there are moments when the voices are obviously ADR produced, sounding slightly more forward than usual. There is a good sense of dimensionality throughout the room, and dynamic range is well balanced. John Williams' score delivers the best fidelity of the four films, and the soundstage is wide and deep with extension to the surrounds.

The Immersive Sound element includes the extension of the orchestral score and numerous sound effects such as racing roadsters, intense gunfire, a heavy warehouse door opening, Jones' whippings, a jeep crash, a rocket blast off, a siren bomb warning, a bomb explosion and debris wreckage, wind, a steam train whistle, motorcycle rumblings, a police siren, some dialogue leakage for effect, wind, lightening and thunder, fabric rips, gunfire, including machine gunfire, an ant swarm attack, a breaking tree branch, swinging monkeys, raging waters and a waterfall, sand blasts, more dialogue leakage for reverent effect, a caving stone, mayhem debris scattering as aliens leave earth, plus numerous other sound effects. This is a spectacular height layer effect for aggressive spatial dimensionality.

Combined with the new repurposed Dolby Atmos mix, it makes for an expansively engaging holosonic® spherical surround soundtrack. (Gary Reber)