The Fugitive 4K Ultra HD

"The Fugitive" is considered one of the most exciting and thrilling action movies ever made. When Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), falsely convicted for the murder of his wife, escapes on the way to prison, an intense manhunt begins under the unrelenting Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar®-winning role). (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Director Andrew Davis and Actor Tommy Lee Jones; introduction by Davis and Actor Harrison Ford (HD 01:47), the featurettes "The Fugitive: Thrill Of The Chase" (HD 28:19), "On The Run With The Fugitive" (HD 23:04) and "Derailed: Anatomy Of A Train Wreck" (HD 08:52), the theatrical trailer and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 1.85:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 4K Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on film using Panavision cameras and sourced from a 4K Digital Intermediate restoration overseen by Director Andrew Davis. Grain structure is smooth and virtually unnoticable. The picture's appearance is extremely clean, clear and sharp. Color fidelity is superb and exhibits naturalness throughout. Colors are perfectly saturated with solid primaries and realistic settings. Flesh tones are perfectly natural. HDR contrast is excellent with natural black levels, revealing shadows and brilliant white levels. Resolution is superb and at a high level of clarity and sharpness. Facial features reveal detail in skin pores, lines, beard stubble and beards as well as hair. Clothing is finely resolved and object textures enhance realism. This is a gripping presentation of contrasted imagery that is the new reference for this classic. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is wonderful with a fully dimensional immersive soundfield. Fidelity is excellent. Fine atmospherics are never obscured and sound effects effectively punctuate the action segments, James Newton Howard's orchestral score is expansive with a deep and wide soundstage that extends to the surrounds. Surround envelopment is engaging with aggressive immersion. Dialogue is intelligible throughout with good spatial integration.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised largely of an extension of the orchestral score and a few sporadic sound effects such as a helicopter overhead, dripping water in an underground conduit and a nuanced subway train. So much more could have been implemented for a far more effective height layer. Still the music extension is effective in enhancing dimensional realism.

This is a tremendous improvement over the previous Blu-ray DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel encoding with a strong holosonic® spherical surround experience. (Gary Reber)