ADDITION: Sony 4K UHD (October 2021): Sony have released a second Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection. Volume One, now out-of-print, had Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Strangelove, Gandhi, A League of Their Own and Jerry Maguire. Volume Two has Anatomy of a Murder, Oliver!, Taxi Driver, Stripes, Sense and Sensibility and The Social Network.

Okay, I am having some trouble with this capture representation. It has happened a couple times in the past. My below captures are not the best facsimile of the 4K UHD image. I can't replicate it to a satisfactory level. We've done pour best. My simulated HDR, for a standard monitor - not an HDR-compatible display, has added some low level edge-enhancement that can make it look more flat than it actually is. The actual image has far brighter whites - this is almost distracting on my system they are so pronounced in certain scenes. The actual image actually has a occasional softness that doesn't appear consistent. I think this is similar to the previous digital editions (some compared below) - even the 2000 1.33 Columbia DVD and the Criterion 2012 Blu-ray (compared HERE.) But I don't know if it is inherent in the print/source or a factor of the 3840 X 2160 transfer. The 4K UHD presentation on my system is shockingly rich with deep black levels and, almost glowing, whites. For the most part it is rife with grain textures and detail (ex. Stewart's jacket) vastly improve. I have a 60" OLED and it looked remarkably impressive, but I am not discounting some digitization... but I don't know. Just being honest - perhaps another reviewer can better identify that potential. I suspect most viewers will find this a dramatic improvement in contrast - which is a function of detail. The extensive grain seems healthy.   

NOTE: This package has thirteen discs - six 4K UHDs of the feature films and six original feature Blu-rays (and supplements) plus a bonus Blu-ray of featuring 20 acclaimed short films from the studio's library. For Anatomy of a Murder the Blu-ray included is new (2021) - see captures sample below - as evidenced by the M2TS dates:

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: 60 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: 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 Helsining (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).

On their 4K UHD, Sony offer a 24-bit 7.1 Atmos bump - if you are fortunate enough to have a setup that allows for Dolby Atmos, (identified as 7.1 Dolby True HD for those without - see below*.) It sounds strong even if the film doesn't have extensive requirements of separation. There is also 16-bit 5.1 surround bump - DTS-HD Master and same encode of a dual-mono channel. These latter two were also on Criterion's Blu-ray but they were 24-bit with their mono being LPCM 1.0 channel. While still lossless, effective and adding the original audio, Sony didn't think to update either of these latter audio transfers, especially the dual-mono, to 24-bit. This is similar to the Taxi Driver 4K UHD. So in this category, I would give the purists edge to the Criterion Blu-ray but it was cool to hear the wonderful , memorable, jazz score by Duke Ellington (also cameo as a piano duet partner) in 24-bit Atmos. There are four foreign language DUBs (French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.) Majority a court-room drama effects are minimal. Sony add optional English, English (SDH) and many foreign-language subtitle options on the Region FREE 4K UHD disc with similar subtitles and DUBs on their included Region FREE Blu-ray produced in 2021.

NOTE: Appreciated are that the discs are in standard cases (with slipcases) - far more practical than Universal's 4K UHD boxset packaging. Except the thirteen bonus discs is in a paper sleeve in the back of the included 80-page book.

Sony's 4K UHD release of Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder" is an enticing one. No doubt in advance of previous digital editions with the curious 4K UHD image transfer, that is easily the best ever for your home theatre - even with y suspicions. Lacking 24-bit mono may be a minor issue for some, but the Atmos rendering may appeal to others. The interviews etc. are good - if repeated from the Criterion Blu-ray - but the (new, I presume) Foster Hirsch commentary is of notable value if only accessible on the included, new, Sony Blu-ray. Anatomy of a Murder is a classic psychological courtroom thriller with poetic realism (devoid of passionate closing arguments). What a cast; James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, George C. Scott, Orson Bean, Murray Hamilton, Ken Lynch etc. It rarely gets better than this for the sub-genre of legal machinations. Beautifully rewatchable and now looking better than ever. Another reason, along with Taxi Driver, to obtain the second Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection.      

Gary Tooze