It’s been an interesting time in the world of 4K Blu-ray. There has been recent news that several critically acclaimed, award-winning films will not receive a 4K Blu-ray release, or in some cases, even a physical release. But there are also cases where films that are decimated by critics and audiences somehow get the 4K Blu-ray treatment.
Take for example All of us strangers And Mrs. Web. Yes, it’s strange to see these two films mentioned in the same sentence because they are worlds apart. All of us strangersstarring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, is based on the 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada and tells the story of a screenwriter who develops a relationship with a neighbor and returns to his childhood home to find his parents there as if they had not died thirty years ago.
Mrs. WebBased on the somewhat fringe character from Marvel’s Spider-Man comics, it stars Dakota Johnson in the title role alongside current megastar Sydney Sweeney and is Sony’s next foray into its ‘Spider-Man universe’ following films like Venom And Morbius. It tells the story of a paramedic who becomes clairvoyant and must protect three young women from an evil force.
All of us strangers received universal critical acclaim for its powerful story and incredible acting, especially from Scott. It has been nominated for a host of awards, including several BAFTAs. Mrs. Web, on the other, it is savaged by critics and spectators alike. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 15% and 59% from critics and audiences respectively, with many citing the poor writing, poor effects, and overall dull feel.
Yet only one of these films will get a 4K Blu-ray release: Mrs. Web. All of us strangers, on the other hand, it won’t get a physical release not at all (as reported by World of Reel). Granted, I haven’t seen any of these movies, but from what I’ve read and what I’ve been told by people who have seen the movie, All of us strangers belongs on 4K Blu-ray and it’s a crime that it doesn’t.
I don’t want to speak for anyone, but from what I’m reading in various comment sections and forums like Reddit, home theater fans and cinephiles don’t agree that this is the state of 4K Blu-ray and physical media releases right now. So what’s going on?
Disney does it again
Now I’d like to start by saying that there will be home theater fans who will happily buy this Mrs. Web on 4K Blu-ray and add it to their collection, and that’s great! The problem I have is why can I watch movies like All of us strangers receive the same treatment as Mrs. Web? Read one Mrs. Web Reddit thread about the 4K Blu-ray Amazon pre-order certainly sheds light on how some home theater fans feel about this topic.
When we heard the news that Disney might be doing away with 4K Blu-ray, we said that would be a crime, and as time goes on it certainly seems like that’s the case as Disney continues to phase out physical media.
All of us strangers is a Searchlight, formerly Fox Searchlight, production and as a Fox product, now owned by Disney. This means All of us strangers, despite its success and acclaim, will not see a physical release. That’s right, a film whose cinematography, by Jamie D. Ramsay, was highly praised will not be released in the physical media format it was made for: 4K Blu-ray.
This is not the first time in recent history that this has happened. Films were announced as nominated for best picture Poor things, starring Emma Stone, and The survivorsstarring Paul Giamatti, only getting standard Blu-ray releases, not 4K. These films are both making waves at the awards show, with both Stone and Giamatti having already won the Golden Globes for Best Actor, and yet film fans at home won’t be able to enjoy them in the best possible quality.
Barbarian, starring Bill Skarsgård, is another film that has seemingly been denied a physical release (as a press release only listed a streaming date). And Barbarian is a cult horror film – a genre especially suited to 4K Blu-ray and physical media – that has enjoyed great success. Understandably, fans have been clamoring for a physical copy on forums around the world.
These are the kinds of movies the best 4K Blu-ray players are made for. Home theater fans are generally moviegoers and will want to add these films to their collections, but that’s not possible in their current form. What connects three of these four films? You guessed it, they’re all owned by Disney. (The survivors comes from Focus Features).
It shouldn’t all be on smaller companies
I recently wrote about how 4K Blu-ray isn’t dying despite Disney’s best efforts, and in that article I championed the efforts of distributors like Arrow Films, The Criterion Collection, and many more for their work remastering and distributing often forgotten and neglected films on physical media. In that article I quoted my own copy of The warriorsremastered in 4K by Arrow, as a special highlight.
While I still applaud these companies, it shouldn’t all be on them. Why would we have to wait potentially years for a physical release of All of us strangers or a 4K version of it Poor things from Arrow, Criterion or any of the other smaller companies when Disney could release them with its much wider distribution resources?
This situation also comes at a time when people are feeling disenfranchised by streaming sites, with regular price increases and strange cheating behind the scenes – the news that Prime Video, for example, is removing support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos from the ad-supported tiers fetched . This understandably drives people to buy their favorite movies to have at home, but companies like Disney and Best Buy, which recently stopped selling physical media in their stores, are making that increasingly difficult.
Final thoughts
It’s wrong that major distributors and retailers are backing away from releasing physical copies of movies, especially 4K Blu-rays. All the best TVs can now display 4K, but people at home will no longer be able to watch these beloved films in the best possible quality at home, but will have to rely on a compressed 4K stream that won’t provide the same quality experience as a 4K disc.
Home theater fans spend time researching and investing in their setups, from the TV or projector to the sound system and even the Blu-ray player. They deserve a physical media format worthy of their system, and that format is 4K Blu-ray.