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

ADDITION: Sony 4K UHD (April 2020): Sony transferred David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai to 4K UHD. There are differences from the included 2010 Blu-ray (which is actually the same as the compared 2010 Blu-ray HERE - see the VoB files date HERE). The new 4K UHD has HDR applied and the resulting image shows breathtaking contrast as compared to the 1080P. The 2.55:1 transfer, occasionally shows more information in the frame on the edges - but it is not substantial. The Bridge on the River Kwai 4K UHD can also look slightly horizontally compressed - just like the 2010 Blu-ray. In-motion neither of these are noticeable or impinging on the consistent presentations, imo. The contrast on the 4K UHD of The Bridge on the River Kwai is... stunning. Brighter daylight scenes and darker interiors. Skin tones improve and there is more depth. The grain is so rich and textured (see the 'flag' capture) and while detail remains modest - the overall look is a significant jump over BD. The 4K UHD has about 2.5 X the bitrate of the Blu-ray for this 2 3/4 hour masterpiece.

I was asked a question in Twitter over a year ago - about the best 4K UHD transfer I had seen. My response was that I was most impressed with... <drum roll>...  The Bridge on the River Kwai  - stating that I thought it was one of the biggest jumps over the previous digital editions. Unfortunately, our simulation captures don't do justice to this improved contrast. Trust me - it is fabulous - like watching the film for the first time.  

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: 55 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures for Patrons are available HERE.

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

If you are fortunate enough to have a setup that allows for Dolby Atmos or Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Sony's 4K UHD track has select moments with much of the film having subtle, but noticeable, jungle sounds (birds, etc.) The robustness of the audio transfer can be intense with the effects (minimal guns, explosions, train etc.) and the impacting score by Malcolm Arnold (The Holly and the Ivy The Captain's Paradise, Tunes of Glory, No Highway in the Sky, Island in the Sun, Stolen Face, Hobson's Choice, Suddenly, Last Summer) plus the, always inspiring  'Colonel Bogey March'. There is a delicate balance with the audio, maintaining plenty of background separations. There are multiple optional foreign language DUBs and subtitle options including English and English (SDH) and as with all 4K UHD discs, this Sony package is Region 'Free' (Blu-ray too!) playable worldwide.