ADDITION: Shout! Factory 4K UHD (April 2024): Shout! Factory have released Potsy Ponciroli's "Old Henry" to 4K UHD. The 4K UHD package comes with a second disc Blu-ray with the feature and same extras. The HDR is quite generous and the 2160P looks much better than the included Blu-ray and its lower resolution presentation. The black levels and contrast take highly pleasing turn showcasing the Tennessee countryside and open spaces in a glorious 2.66:1 aspect ratio. This was shot on HD has there is no texture and quite a bit of uncomfortable softness - which may have been reflecting the period - but when called upon the detail rises in close-ups and colors have depth and balance. It, predictably looked much better than on streaming - bit there is a shade of teal infiltration.    

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: 50 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 recently: To Die For (software uniformly simulated HDR), Snapshot (software uniformly simulated HDR), Phase IV (software uniformly simulated HDR), Burial Ground (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dark Water (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (software uniformly simulated HDR,) The Wages of Fear  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Roaring Twenties (software uniformly simulated HDR), Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection (software uniformly simulated HDR), Scarlet Street (software uniformly simulated HDR), eXistenZ (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (no HDR), Lone Star  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Knew Too Much (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rope (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frenzy (software uniformly simulated HDR), American Graffiti (software uniformly simulated HDR), East End Hustle (software uniformly simulated HDR), Three Days of the Condor (software uniformly simulated HDR), Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fascination (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lips of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Others (no HDR), It Came From Outer Space (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD and Blu-ray, Shout! Factory offer the option of DTS-HD Master tracks (24-bit) in either 5.1 surround or 2.0 channel stereo - in the original English language. "Old Henry" is filled with punctuating gun violence plus a couple of nasty beatings and horses. They carry intensity and depth in the lossless. Crisp separations exist. The score was by Jordan Lehning (Make-Out With Violence) plus has Eddie Montgomery performing My Son. The audio transfer is flawless. Shout! Factory include optional English (SDH) subtitles on the region FREE 4K UHD disc and Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

There are the same extras on the 4K UHD and on the Blu-ray - only a short featurette with much of the cast admitting that this was their first western, comments about the genre and the production. There is also a trailer.

I'm a little late to the party - I caught "Old Henry" on Netflix - watched it twice and decided I had to have it on physical media. The same thing happened to me with I Think We're Alone Now. I consider both highly rewatchable, but there is no accounting for my odd taste. I really enjoyed the authentic, precise, dialogue in Old Henry which reminded me of a favorite aspect of Bone Tomahawk. I'm a huge fan of talented Tim Blake Nelson (The Coen's O Brother, Where Art Thou, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) who I find an exceptional character actor. Nelson spent half a year researching Henry's body language and 1900-era diction. He also spent another six months working on the 100-page screenplay with Ponciroli and a couple of months physically preparing his body to comfortably handle a gun, ride a horse, and express the physicality of a, turn of the last century, farmer. The National Board of Review selected Old Henry in its annual list of the Top Ten Independent Films of the year. It is a wonderful old-fashioned western, with Father-Son conflicts, a historical anti-hero, and desirable genre tropes with gunfight realism. There are some echoes of Shane, and, of course, "Buster Scruggs". I loved it way out of proportion. Shout! Factory's 4K UHD release has the film in 2160P, a second disc Blu-ray, and brief cast interview snippets. Catch it on Netflix if you get the chance - perhaps you will appreciate it as much as I do. A keeper. 

Gary Tooze