ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (November 2022): Criterion have released Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" 4K UHD. It is described as a "4K digital master, approved by director Jane Campion, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack". The transfer has Dolby Vision HDR. Included is a Blu-ray with a 1080P transfer and supplements. We have compared a few captures below. The image quality is, as you may have anticipated, exceptional and the 4K produces superior visuals - mostly in terms of contrast, more realistic, balanced colors and detail. Your system's capabilities will reflect this disparity to scaled degrees. This is a gorgeous film experience and the high resolution does advance the, already spectacular, image to another level. 

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: 40 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: Escape From Alcatraz (software uniformly simulated HDR), I, the Jury (no HDR), Casablanca (software uniformly simulated HDR), In the Mood For Love (NO HDR applied to disc), The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blow Out (software uniformly simulated HDR), Night of the Living Dead (NO HDR applied to disc), Lost Highway (software uniformly simulated HDR), Videodrome (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), It Happened One Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Mummy (1932)(software uniformly simulated HDR), Creature From the Black Lagoon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Bride of Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Amityville Horror  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The War of the Worlds (1953) (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Incredible Melting Man  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Event Horizon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Get Carter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Killing (software uniformly simulated HDR), Killer's Kiss (software uniformly simulated HDR), Out of Sight (software uniformly simulated HDR), Raging Bull (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shaft (1971),  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Double Indemnity (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Untouchables (software uniformly simulated HDR),  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).

On their 4K UHD Criterion use a Dolby Atmos soundtrack in the original English language. "The Power of the Dog" western genre sounds - cows, horses, a train etc.. The audio effects are actually quite immersive. The film's music is very supportive with a score credited to Jonny Greenwood - the group Radiohead’s lead guitarist - notable for composing for films We Need to Talk About Kevin, Norwegian Wood and Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, Licorice Pizza, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread and The Master. It sounds as strong as the video and includes a audio descriptive track option. The disc offers optional English (SDH) subtitles - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide. The second disc Blu-ray is Region 'A" / 'B'.

On the 4K UHD disc is only the 2160P feature film with a second disc Blu-ray, having a 1080P transfer of the film and the package supplements. In a 2021, 17-minute, interview director Jane Campion discusses the making of The Power of the Dog. It also features footage from the film's production. Also included is a, 24-minute, 2021 program that includes interviews with director Campion; producer Tanya Seghatchian; actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee; cinematographer Ari Wegner; film editor Peter Sciberras; costume designer Kirsty Cameron; makeup artist Noriko Watanabe; and supervising sound editor Robert Mackenzie. We also get a new 1/4 hour interview, conducted by Criterion, with novelist Annie Proulx who talks about The Power of the Dog and the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage on which it was based. For 14-minutes director Jane Campion and composer Jonny Greenwood discuss collaborating on the music for The Power of the Dog. Lastly, for almost 1/2 hour director Campion, producer Tanya Seghatchian, cinematographer Ari Wegner, and actor Kirsten Dunst are joined by filmmaker Tamara Jenkins to discuss working together to make The Power of the Dog, in this 2021 program. There is a trailer and a liner notes booklet with an essay by film critic Amy Taubin.

We love Jane Campion at DVDBeaver (of course, The Piano, but if you haven't seen Top of the Lake, with Elisabeth Moss, An Angel at My Table and Sweetie - you should!) She wrote and directed this touching revisionist Western film - a psychological drama based on Thomas Savage's 1967 novel. The Power of the Dog had a limited theatrical release and was set to stream worldwide on Netflix in December, 2021. It had 12 Oscar nominations. Cumberbatch, Dunst, Plemons, and Smit-McPhee are all excellent. Wow - quite the experience. The Criterion's 4K UHD release allows you to see The Power of the Dog in all its visual, and audio, glory in the comfort of your home theater. Plus there are important extras. Our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze