Ferris Bueller's Day Off 4K Ultra HD

"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" puts a new spin on calling in sick from school. Ferris (Matthew Broderick) uses his tremendous ability to snow his teachers and parents to take a day off. He gathers up his girlfriend (Mia Sara) and his best pal (Alan Ruck) and they head off for a day of adventure in downtown Chicago; while back at home, their suspicious principal and Ferris' frighteningly jealous sister (Jennifer Grey) are trying to catch Ferris in the act of lying. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director John Hughes, the featurettes: "Getting The Class Together—The Cast Of Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (SD 27:45), "The Making Of Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (SD 15:29), "Who Is Ferris Bueller?" (SD 09:12), "The World According To Ben Stein" (SD 10:51), and "Vintage Ferris Bueller: The Lost Tapes" (SD 10:16) and a digital copy.

The 2.35:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on Eastman film stock using Panavision cameras and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. Fine film grain structure remains in tact throughout. Colors are nicely saturated and vibrant, with well-balanced flesh tones and deep blacks. A wide range of blues, reds, and other bright colors saturate the screen with vividness. The red Ferarri sparkles and its brown leather seat are lush. HDR contrast is revealing of deep blacks, fine shadow delineation and excellent white levels. This 4K Ultra HD edition exhibits excellent detail, without any artificial sharpening, and is certain to satisfy videophile fans of the movie. with images that are sharp and nicely detailed. The source element has been cleaned up and restored. This is a very enjoyable visual experience. The film has never looked better. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is effectively engaging and dynamic sounding with a good sense of space. Atmospherics and sound effects nicely compliment the scenes and are most prominent across the frontal soundstage. Dialogue clarity is clear and intelligible. Overall, the soundfied is active all around with surround envelopment. The music track is mixed well across the front stage, and the depth into the surrounds is generally at good relative levels, making it effective. The injection of popular music heard throughout the film, beginning once Ferris is left alone at home and through to the end of the movie (including the entertaining "Twist and Shout" sequence), brings the film to heightened sonic life.

The Immersive Sound element is pretty much limited to a nuanced extension of the music, except for a few instances of atmospherics, such as at the baseball game at at Wrigley Field and the flying Ferarri, and dialogue. Nothing was really significantly done to enhance the height layer except for these generally nuanced extensions. There are wide gaps of complete silence.

Considering its age, this is a nicely crafted holosonic® soundtrack that is fun throughout. (Gary Reber)