The Criterion 4K UHD of Don't Look Now is reviewed HERE

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective disc.

ADDITION: Studio Canal 4K UHD (July 2019): Don't Look Now has had a 2019 restoration and was destined for a 4K UHD home theatre release. It is advertised as "For the 2019 restoration of DON'T LOOK NOW, STUDIOCANAL went back to the original camera negative which was scanned at 4K resolution in 16bit and created the following: 4K DCP, UHD version and a new HD version which were produced with the same high technological standards as today's biggest international film releases. The restoration and new UHD version was colour graded and approved in London by the BAFTA Award-winning cinematographer, Anthony B Richmond." The major attributes of the 3840 X 2160 resolution are the richness of the colors (in my viewing I found Sutherland's blue coat and the daughter's red raincoat particularly remarkable in there penetrating depth), the wonderful textured grain support and these are both accomplished by the stratospheric bitrate - the highest we have ever seen (almost 90 mbps) - approaching 4X that of the Criterion Blu-ray. Roeg's films can be predominantly visual and Don't Look Now is absolutely mesmerizing in 4K UHD. The video is as rich and film-like as I have seen all year. 'Perfect' seems inadequate with the contrast reaching the appearance of 'original density'. It looks as if you are seeing the very first theatrical viewing.  

The 4-disc digi-pak package also comes with a Blu-ray from the 2019 restoration, a BD bonus disc and the Pino Donnagio soundtrack CD. It contains 5 artcards, poster, booklet etc. (see image below). The 3-disc steelbook, loses the CD, but has newly commissioned artwork by Jeremy Enecio containing UHD, Blu-ray Feature, and Blu-ray bonus disc with brand new extras.

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 (warmth 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 variance. 

NOTE: 25 more full resolution (3840 X 2160) captures for Patrons are available HERE.

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: 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).

The audio is offered in a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono in the original English (24-bit). As Roeg's mentions in the commentary, it was by chance that Pino Donaggio (Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Body Double, Blow Out, Carrie, Raising Cain) was able to do the score as he was teaching in Venice at the time. It is used sparingly in the film, but subtly present at times in a 'free-form' expression. The music has Emidio Remigi and Vito Pallavicini's Salvatore, Lu Primmo Ammore + I Colori di Dicembre written by Donaggio. It is flat but has some bass depth. There are optional English and German subtitles and as with all 4K UHD discs, this is Region 'Free' playable worldwide. 

There are extras on the 4K UHD disc. A fabulous new appreciation of the film is presented in the 42-minute Pass the Warning: Taking A Look Back at Nic Roeg's Masterpiece. It has Brad Bird, David Cronenberg, Danny Boyle and others giving personal insight into how they value Roeg's films. Director of photography Tony Richmond and Alan Scott (screenplay) are prominent and it's an excellent video piece. A Kaleidoscope of meaning: Colour in Don't Look Now runs 1/4 hour has Professor Sarah Steel of Bristol University and Dr Keith M. Jones from the University of East Anglia who look at color having composition qualities. It can be a bit dry and cerebral but is fascinating for those keen on the depth of Roeg's cinema. There is a 6-minute 4k Restoration featurette and the previous audio commentary with Nic Roeg, hosted by Adam Smith. Roeg is soft-spoken and makes some keen points on the production, censorship, critical reaction etc. - there are interspersed gaps. The included Blu-ray of extras has interviews (Boyle, Richmond, Scott, Sutherland - Q+A, Donnagio), image gallery of behind the scenes photos etc. and an image of the 4-disc package is show below. Some may opt for the CD-less 4K UHD steelbook which has haunting artwork by Jeremy Enecio but the same Blu-ray and supplements.

Don't Look Now is such a deep film experience that you can get something new out of each time you view it. It's parental bereavement issues, mystery and horror elements and so underplayed at time that it keeps you at a very high level of suspense. As the extras can testify Roeg's 'language of color' is brilliant and unique - remaining an integral part of the narrative. The 4K UHD image is out-of-this-world and there are new highly valuable extras. It couldn't happen to a more relevant film. This is one of my absolute favorite 4K UHD packages to date. I imagine all the greatest cinema getting this overwhelming treatment - Antonioni, Bresson, more stylistic Giallo (of which, Don't Look Now does have links) etc. etc.. Home theater aficionados are truly living in the best of times. 

Gary Tooze

***

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - January 2015': In short, the Criterion colors are a bit darker and richer, more blue where the Optimum is more green-ish and the US Blu-ray has a bit less in formation in the frame. The Criterion is not as robust with a lower bitrate but I saw some supported grain textures and no untoward artifacts. The Criterion looks very good on my system.

Criterion use a linear PCM, authentic, mono track at 1152 kbps. It sounds the same as the Optimum to my ears with the score by Pino Donaggio (Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Body Double) very supported in lossless. Criterion also include optional English subtitles on their region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

We don't have the Roeg commentary found on the Optimum but Criterion include a new 3/4 of an hour conversation between editor Graeme Clifford and film writer and historian Bobbie O’Steen recorded by Criterion in November 2014. They talk about working with director Nicolas Roeg and the innovative cutting style used for the film. “Don’t Look Now,” Looking Back, is a 20-minute 2002 documentary featuring Roeg, Clifford, and cinematographer Anthony Richmond - also found on the Optimum Blu-ray - as is Death in Venice, a, 17-minute, 2006 interview with composer Pino Donaggio who discusses writing music for Don't Look Now. Something Interesting, is a new 1/2 hour piece on the writing and making of the film, featuring recent interviews with Richmond, actors Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, and co-screenwriter Allan Scott discuss Nicolas Roeg and the writing and shooting of Don't Look Now. Nicolas Roeg: The Enigma of Film, is another new piece on Roeg’s style, featuring recent interviews with filmmakers Danny Boyle and Steven Soderbergh who discuss his influence on their careers. It runs almost 15-minutes. There is a 47-minute Q&A with Roeg from 2003 at London’s Ciné Lumière hosted by film writer Paul Ryan. It followed a screening of Don't Look Now. There is a trailer and the package contains a liner notes booklet with an essay by film critic David Thompson.

Solid package of another addictive Roeg film. Criterion add some new extras and supply a wonderful 1080P presentation. Absolutely recommended!

***

ADDITION: Optimum - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - July 11': Plenty of positives here with Optimum's 'Special Edition' Blu-ray of Roeg's masterful Don't Look Now. It is notably brighter, with more vibrant colors and significantly more in formation in the frame. The dual-layered 1080P handles the textures so much better than the DVDs where it often came off as noise. There is a lot of soft-focus shots in Don't Look Now but the hi-def transfer doesn't export this as inferior - or less detailed. Overall this looks quite good and I was very curious to see how the new format would handle this film and Tony Richmond's cinematography. I'd declare it a big success - visually - and is director-approved.

The audio is in faithful stereo via a linear PCM Audio track at 2304 kbps. Some of the creepier moments benefit from the lossless audio transfer. Pino Donaggio's score seems all the more mysterious and dark. There are optional English subtitles (see sample below) on the region 'B'-locked disc.

Supplement have all the extras of the 2006 Optimum SE DVD - but add even more. Retained is the informative audio commentary by Roeg, the 7-minute introduction by Alan Jones, the 20-minute Looking Back featurette and the 'Death in Venice' interview with composer Pino Donaggio. The trailer also stays. What is new are over an hour's worth of additional interviews with Danny Boyle (15:10 in 576i PAL - as are all video extras), Donald Sutherland (23:14), Screenwriter/Producer Alan Scott (14:31) and cinematographer Tony Richmond (23:48), plus a delightful 5-minute 'Compressed Version' of Don't Look Now by Danny Boyle for BAFTA Tribute.

I'd say this is another in a long list of Region 'B'-locked discs that make consideration for a region FREE Blu-ray player all the more pressing for region 'A'-locked audiences. Don't Look Now is dramatically more impacting in 1080P and this Optimum package is one of their best. It gave me a memorable viewing presentation. We give this a resolute recommendation.

***

ON THE DVD: Henrik Sylow on the Optimum
The transfer of Optimum is stunning. No visible artefacts, sharp details, strong - original palette - colours. It is however slightly more overscanned than the previous R2, by apprx. 1%. Compared to both the Warner R2 and the Paramount R1, it stands out an improvement in all departments.

The sound is, as on the other versions, the original 2.0 Mono track. Nothing to be said about it.

What makes the Optimum even better is its additional features. While it ports Warners featurette, it has an added introduction by critic Alan Jones, an interview with composer Pino Donnagio (produced by Blue Underground for Optimum) and an audio commentary by Roeg and critic John Smith, where Roeg ranges between anecdotes and reflections upon influences and production.

Gary Tooze on the Warner and Paramount
Some really bad color manipulation has gone on with one of these DVDs. Looking solely at skin tones I would suggest that the Region 1 Paramount disc is the culprit for the more obvious altering. They both look to have the negligible differences in sharpness and contrast levels with both leaning a shade towards the NTSC version. The Paramount is cropped on the top and left edges more than we would appreciate - less so for the Warner on the bottom and right. The Paramount offers a French DUB option along with the original English audio. The Warner audio has some audio distortion and is less polished than the Paramount. The Warner offers no subtitles where the NTSC gives an English/French choice. Extras go the way of the PAL edition as the Paramount offers only a trailer. Overall the NTSC has badly altered the colors to such an extent that we are going with the Warner-PAL for the image. With the Warner audio problem, we feel overall the Paramount is the version to buy, regardless of its flaws (color and lack of extras).