ADDITION: Paramount 4K UHD (May 2022): Paramount bring Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables" to 4K UHD. The package does not include a second disc Blu-ray. This has a level of HDR applied. We can get pretty spoiled by 2160P resolution - often it's like rediscovering the film. This looks fairly passive to me. It's on a dual-layered disc with a modest (for the format) bitrate in the mid 40 Mbps. The textures are quite fine - often less-perceptible. I was a shade underwhelmed - the outdoor Canadian border sequences is quite fetching but this entire image wasn't meant to ever look crisp and tight. I found the grain did not bring out the film-like qualities of the film to its highest degree. Yes, it advances upon Blu-ray and certain sequences are visually impressive - kudos to Stephen H. Burum's cinematography. The contrast, with brighter whites and darker black levels, is pleasing - never demonstrative. Depth exists but is not the norm. I think I need to live with this image appreciate it further. It certainly looks better than any home theatre rending I have seen of The Untouchables.       

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 88 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: For a Few Dollars More (no HDR), Saboteur (software uniformly simulated HDR), Marnie (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shadow of a Doubt (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Fistful of Dollars (no HDR), In the Heat of the Night (no HDR), Jack Reacher (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish II (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Apartment (no HDR), The Proposition (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nightmare Alley (2021) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Godfather (software uniformly simulated HDR), Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

If you are fortunate enough to have a setup that allows for Dolby Atmos or Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Paramount's 4K UHD track handles the effects (guns, truck for the failed liquor raid, horses etc.) with ease exporting some appealing separations and imposing depth. The tense, pulsing and memorable score is by iconic Ennio Morricone (For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, Violent City, Grand Slam Revolver, The Great Silence, Who Saw Her Die?, The Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Fifth Cord, Luna, Danger Diabolik, Two Mules For Sister Sara, A Bullet for the General, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, The French Conspiracy, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) and is a huge part of the viewing experience making a dark foreboding presence throughout with intense punchy piano chords running on variations including the 'Strength of the Righteous' theme. It sounds fabulous - a notable bass upgrade. Of course there is also Vesti la giubba aria from opera "Pagliacci" performed by Mario Del Monaco as Capone (De Niro) sheds tears. It sounds beautiful. There are a host of European and a Japanese language DUBs as well as plenty of foreign subtitle options plus English and English (SDH.) Like all 4K UHD discs this is region FREE.

As stated there is no second disc Blu-ray. The 4K UHD extras have nothing new. We get the same supplements that also appeared on the 2004 SD Special Edition and 2008 Blu-ray. There is no commentary, but it has Laurent Bouzereau's 2004 documentaries with interviews with cast / director and producer, making-of including background on production plus a detailed breakdown of several of the major set pieces, including the Potemkin train station shootout. There is "The Men" featurette and a trailer. The package has a leaflet for a downloadable digital version.

Paramount's 4K UHD release of Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables" may not have as compelling a video (it does appear restrained) as some may have desired but it is easily the best to-date and the Atmos audio will surely please pumping out Morricone's memorable score. I suppose an opportunity lost not to have included new supplements and/or a commentary. The film has lodged itself into modern culture lore with extensively repeatable dialogue - notably from Connery; "They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue." "Do you know what a blood oath is, Mr. Ness?" "Isn't that just like a wop. Brings a knife to a gun fight." etc.. An amusing story about casting in The Untouchables from the Metro UK newspaper (HERE); "De Palma met with Bob Hoskins to discuss the role in case De Niro, the director's first choice for the part, turned it down. When De Niro took the part, De Palma mailed Hoskins a check for his contracted fee of $200,000 with a "Thank You" note, which prompted Hoskins to call up De Palma and ask him if there were any more movies he didn't want him to be in". "The Untouchables" is such a rewatchable film. Fans who 'must have' Paramount's 4K UHD know who they are. "You got it?" - "Yeah, I got it" and I will be keeping it.

Gary Tooze