Video Quality
The UHD's improvements and refinements over the very aged Blu-ray are nothing short of astonishing. Whether obvious macro improvements like grain structure and detail or less obvious but nevertheless critical improvements like the way the UHD removes white bloom around subtitles and tightens up the letters, the total package of upgrades dazzles from the first to the final frames. The UHD reveals the movie's gritty grain structure with a level of sophistication, clarity and even distribution that the Blu-ray simply cannot touch. The image further offers a significant leap in terms of clarity and textural revelations. Skin tones are tightly detailed and intimately refined, with war-weary faces revealing blood, pores, wrinkles, sweat, and grime with outstanding clarity. Character close-ups are breathtakingly clear, sharp, and complex. Clothing details, particularly the military uniforms, showcase material density, patches, nylon straps, and other details with excellence well beyond the long-established Blu-ray transfer, which is subpar by today's standards. In contrast, Black Hawk Down's textural presentation is at the top of what the UHD format can deliver today.
The HDR color enhancements maintain the movie's predominant green tint, which appears refined with more precisely dialed-in contrast and intensity. Colors absolutely leap off the screen and total color brilliance is amazing. Saturation, pop, punch, vitality, and depth are all terrific. Whether considering bright blue skies and the waters off the coast (and UN helmets late in the movie), blood, skin, or the earthy sand and flat browns that are dominant around the city, there's never a shot without perfectly graded and brilliant, but still natural, color timing. Explosions reveal intense fiery oranges with significantly more boldness and brightness compared to the Blu-ray, which frankly looks pitiful in comparison. As the action shifts to night, not only do the sweaty, bloody skin and clothing textures and worn location details remain firm, but black level depth finds a new level of inky saturation without crushing out details. Add that the image is free of print blemishes or encode artifacts and Black Hawk Down proves itself a gem of a UHD.
Audio Quality
The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is terrific but not quite the revelation that is the 2160p/HDR image quality. Nevertheless, it's an astonishingly good track in all areas of concern: clarity, action, music, width, depth, and total immersion into the combat zone. As the mission begins, choppers rush through the stage and above the listener with intense weight and depth and an authoritative and true sense of movement. As the film reaches its prolonged depictions of on-the-ground action, the track explodes with a significant level of well managed sonic chaos. Gunfire pops with quality depth and authority, whether rifle pops, heavy weapons fire, or blasting rockets. Shots emanate from all over and impact all over. Flying debris, crumbling structures, screaming fighters, the general din of urban warfare are all delivered with frighteningly exceptional detail throughout. Music is richly detailed and effortlessly wide with a complimentary surround immersion. City atmospherics reveal nuanced sound design when the gunfire ceases from time to time. Dialogue is well prioritized above the fighting din and clear in calmer locations. Placement and prioritization are perfect.
4K Bluray details
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (51.71 Mbps)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles
English, English SDH, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Discs
4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (1 BD-100, 1 BD-25, 1 BD-50)
Digital
Digital 4K
Movies Anywhere, Vudu, FandangoNOW
Packaging
Slipcover in original pressing