Alita: Battle Angel 4K UHD ,3D Blu-ray ,Blu-Ray ,Digital Code

Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D

 (2019)

Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D Blu-ray delivers stunning video and reference-quality audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido, a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens, she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious past.


For more about Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D and the Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D Blu-ray release, see Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on July 24, 2019 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Writers: James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis, Yukito Kishiro
Starring: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley
Producer: James Cameron

» See full cast & crew

Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D Blu-ray, Video Quality

      

1080p

   

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the (flat) 1080p Blu-ray.

This is one of the first 4K/3D/Blu-ray packages I've personally reviewed, and as such each disc has separate specs. For my thoughts on the "flat" 1080p presentation, please refer to our Alita: Battle Angel Blu-ray review. As should be expected, the 3D presentation is 1080p and the 4K UHD presentation 2160p, both in 2.39:1. I'll separate my thoughts somewhat below, though I recommend reading both analyses, as certain elements pertain to both, even if I don't explicitly mention them.

3D: Fans of 3D Blu-rays have felt like the writing has been on the wall for this particular format for some time, but it's perhaps comforting to realize that there's one figurative 800 pound gorilla still promoting dimensionality in high definition home media presentations (after theatrical exhibitions, of course), namely James Cameron. While a lot of this presentation can be rather subtle at times, especially with regard to a lot of wide establishing shots, there is consistent depth in the imagery here that is often quite striking. A nice example of the difference between "subtle" and "not so subtle" is evident in the very first sequence, with Ido scavenging through the dump. The initial shots showing the sky city and even the piles of trash really don't offer much in the way of dimensionality, but as soon as the shot gets to midrange territory, with items in the foreground and Ido in the background, there's immediate and quite noticeable delineation of space. Quite frequently throughout this presentation, foreground objects, often in shadow, give a great "reference" point establishing depth going back into the frame. Some quick movement scenes, as in some of the fights and especially in some of the Motorball sequences, looked a bit blurry to me in the 3D presentation, especially toward the edges of the frame. Depth can also falter, at least somewhat, in the many dark sequences, especially in the latter half of the film. Perhaps surprisingly, there aren't that many "in your face" moments, aside from kind of fun if gimmicky moments in fights and/or Motorball.

4K UHD: The 4K UHD version of Alita: Battle Angel is almost a tale of two presentations, namely the live action elements and the computer rendered material. The former enjoys noticeable and substantial upticks in detail and fine detail in particular. A lot of admittedly mundane items like the grill on the tray Alita is on during "surgery" have impressive new delineation in the 4K presentation, and practical items like fibers on costumes are really very impressive looking throughout. Actual human actors, or at least their faces if they've been composited onto cyborg bodies, have substantial improvements in features like crags and pores. Even some of the CGI enjoys upticks in detail, as in the first close-up shot of Alita after her first surgery as she sleeps in her bed. But quite a bit of the other CGI actually looks more "cartoonish" in this 4K iteration, so much so that some may feel like they're actually watching an anime rather than an ostensible live action film. This "animated" and often somewhat soft looking aspect is evident from the first establishing scenes of Zalem hovering in the sky, and even extends to some shots of the trash heaps. Even some of the Motorball material looks like something out of an animated version of the story rather than live action. Perhaps surprisingly, I didn't see a huge difference in the palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, though there are some subtle changes. For example, Alita's bedroom has a slightly more orange-pink tone in this version and other elements like a purple feathered collar Chireen has in one scene looks considerably more saturated in 4K. There's one nice exception to this general rule, a purple infused love scene at circa 1:16:00 that has considerably more luster in the 4K presentation. I'd personally place the live action improvements here at close to 5.0 levels at least quite a bit of the time, but some of the CGI material gains little if any improvement in the 4K version, and in fact arguably looks more "cartoonish" in this version. As such, I'm splitting the difference in a manner of speaking by scoring this 4K version 4.0. It's often quite impressive, but there are some variances here that ardent videophiles may quibble with.

Alita: Battle Angel 4K + 3D Blu-ray, Audio Quality

   

I mentioned in our Alita: Battle Angel Blu-ray review how those who buy that version may be disappointed by the lack of a Dolby Atmos track, especially since Atmos gets a closing credit nod in the film, but that absence is remedied by the blisteringly effective Atmos track on this 4K UHD disc. I scored the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track a solid 5.0 on the 1080p Blu-ray release, but if I could I'd give this Atmos track a "6.0", as it is regularly impressive, offering all of the great immersion of the surround track on the "traditional" Blu-ray, while also promoting a nice new gamut of vertical information that is audible from the first scenes of trash being dumped from Zalem. Both fight scenes and perhaps especially the Motorball sequences benefit from the Atmos rendering, with fantastically exciting effects ping ponging through the soundstage and with clear wafting sounds that can often pan quite impressively. Fidelity is absolutely top notch throughout this rendering, and as with the 7.1 track, dynamic range is extremely wide.

As alluded to in the prelude to the video assessment, Fox follows their tradition of providing different specs for the different versions. The 3D version has the same DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track as is assessed in the Alita: Battle Angel Blu-ray review (and that's the only audio option on that particular disc).