The 4K UHD edition of John Carpenter's The Thing is reviewed HERE

The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Arrow Blu-ray - October 17': The new Arrow Blu-ray is advertised as a 'Brand new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative, supervised and approved by director John Carpenter and director of photography Dean Cundey".

I have been sent a screener disc that I assume to be the complete consumer 4K disc. I don't have the book, lobby cards etc. I've compared a few scenes on my system between the Shout! Factory and the Arrow. The Arrow does look superior in-motion. It appears as though the Shout! Factory is horizontally compressed when compared to both the Arrow and the old Universal. Comparisons have value, as now - beside each other - the Shout! Factory can look brittle and thin. The 4K-restored image has the thicker, more film-like, richer appearance we've come to appreciate from that high-level of restoration-transfer. I wanted to state my video preference before doing more extensive tests with the rest of the package (audio, extras.) I wouldn't only go by sharpness, or perceived sharpness - it doesn't tell the entire story.

I'll return with more comments after I have gone through the entire disc, including some audio comparisons and enjoying the new commentary. Stay tuned...

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ADDITION: Shout! Factory Blu-ray - September 16': The new Blu-ray 'Collector's Edition' of John Carpenter's The Thing is from a 2K scan of the inter-positive supervised and approved by director of photography Dean Cundey. I think it looks excellent - a shade blue at times - not as blue as the original DVD tended to look though. The image is brighter, shows more detail (you can see make-up in close-ups), much more depth and has more information in the frame. Colors cool from the Universal DVD and flesh tones looks more accurate. I own a black and white Husky and the newer 1080P looks more like her coat than any of the other representations. Just say'in. It is housed on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Most likely the best the film will look unless it goes 4K restored one day.

In regards to the audio, Shout! Factory state that a 4.1 track was created from the original 70MM Six Track Dolby Stereo soundtrack. There are actually three robust DTS-HD Master options available. The 4.1, a 5.1 surround and a simple 2.0 channel stereo - all in 24-bit. I watched with the 4.1 and it sounded fabulous. Very crisp, even and plenty of seething depth in the effects. The relentless and hauntingly steady beat of the impressive score by Ennio Morricone (A Bullet for the General, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) also sounds chilling in the 4.1 option. Very impressive. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles in Shout! Factory's region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

The Thing has a huge following and Shout! Factory have generously stacked this Collector's Edition double Blu-ray set with a massive amount of supplements - starting with an optional audio commentary with director of photography Dean Cundey as well as the previous commentary by director John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell. Cundey is good and gives a fresh perspective - lots of interesting tidbits. The feature Blu-ray also has some trailers, TV and Radio spots plus a stills gallery with behind-the-scenes photos, posters and lobby cards.
 
On the second Blu-ray disc, totally holding more extras, there are plenty of new featurettes - courtesy of Shout! Factory and Red Shirt productions. Requiem for a Shape Shifter, is a 1/2 hour interview with John Carpenter in conversation with Mick Garris. “The Men of Outpost 31” spends over 50-minutes chatting with Keith David, Thomas Waites, Peter Maloney, and others about how they remember the production and working with Carpenter. “Assembling and Assimilation” is an 11-minute interview with editor Todd Ramsay. “Behind the Chameleon” has over 25-minutes worth of interviews with visual effects artists Peter Kuran and Susan Turner, special make-up effects artist Rob Burman, and Brian Wade and others. “Sounds from the Cold” is a 14 hour interview with supervising sound editor David Lewis Yewdall and special sound effects designer Alan Howarth. “Between the Lines” spends over 15-minutes with novelization author Alan Dean Foster. “John Carpenter’s The Thing: Terror Takes Shape” is an extensive 1-hour 25-minute documentary on the making of THE THING featuring interviews with John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, special effects make-up designer Rob Bottin, legendary matte artist Albert Whitlock, and members of the cast and crew. It is presented her in SD resolution, as are 5-minutes of Outtakes, vintage featurettes from the electronic press kit featuring interviews with John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, and Rob Bottin, “The Making of a Chilling Tale” and “The Making of THE THING” from 1982. There are other extras including a look at The Art of Mike Ploog and 54-minutes with the annotated production archive – Production Art and Storyboards, Location Scouting, Special Make-up Effects, Post Production. Perhaps superfluous but there is the Network TV Broadcast version of THE THING in poor quality SD.

This is a complete Blu-ray package and fans will want it for the improved a/v and the massive extras.  Thankfully it didn't include a book or action figures etc. keeping the price reasonable for the fans. 40% OFF Amazon Pre-order at the writing of this review. Go for it...

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ADDITION: Universal Blu-ray - September 08': NOTE: I'll try to be brief here. Firstly, the new Blu-ray (taking up 21.3 Gig of disc space for the feature) doesn't appear to dynamically advance upon the 2006 HD edition. In comparison to the older SD-DVDs this 1080P transfer obviously looks superior. But how much? I suspect those willing to indulge would be sensitive to the artifacts present on the 04' Collector's Edition. I judge the newest SD-DVD to still be marginally boosted (far less than the first release though) and overall the high-definition transfer is demonstratively smoother with, expectantly, a greater level of detail. There is still some residual weakness but the film is over 25 years old now. Hopefully the clickable Blu-ray captures below will give you an idea of the competence of the new 1080P transfer.

NOTE: I not positive but strongly suspect this is a region-free Blu-ray.

Audio too - has a healthy boost to a DTS HD master track and it is best at demonstrating the metronomic bass of Ennio Morricone resonating score - which is absolutely perfect for Carpenter's The Thing. Top marks for the audio of this Blu-ray which sets the tone and mood very adeptly.

Extras: only the commentary survives from the SD-DVDs but you do get the U Control 'picture-in-picture' (interactive cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes footage - much previously seen on the SD supplements). This is good for those keen on indulging in that Blu-ray-unique option.

So buy? It probably boils down to how much you like the film. I always thought 82' version of The Thing was a decent sci-fi horror and Carpenter expands on some of the original film's themes and brings some new elements of distrust and paranoia into the narrative. Yeah, I was sold - liked it in my younger days and it's carried over reasonably well into my adult years. The Blu-ray and film are far from perfection, but it's a great way to spend a late Friday night - let me tell you.  

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ON THE SD-DVDs: Disregarding the various degrees of cropping, the new anamorphic Region 1 DVD has the best image. They have, however, left off the music only audio track that was an option on the first NTSC edition. The new Region 1 version has better color balance, subtitles and contrast while the Region 2 counterpart is slightly hazy (why not anamorphic?). As usual the PAL edition offers multiple DUBs and subtitle options not available in the Region 1. We recommend the new NTSC version for its improved and superior image.

- Gary Tooze