Editor’s Note: The film portion of this review is by Tim Salmons. The disc review portion is by Bill Hunt.] for the first time here such problems may not register as strongly. While this transfer's visual shortcomings might normally warrant a slightly lower easy to tell that something's missing. Besides for the format's standard Achilles heels including banding and posterization (both of which can be seen Warner’s The Batman arrives on 4K Ultra HD as a 3-disc set. The first two discs include the film itself in 4K on UHD and HD on regular Blu-ray with no special features, while the third disc is a Blu-ray dedicated to them. Those features include…

The Batman Coming to Blu-ray Next Month With Plenty of Extras

But what an atmosphere it is. The Batman shows instant promise during an opening sequence that's among the finest in franchise Even so, The Batman is an often captivating film that, to its considerable credit, does a fine job integrating viewers into new but familiarhis attraction to the project, what he brought to the table, how he selected his cast, how he influenced the design of Gotham City, and the film's eventual reception. Never at a loss for words, the eccentric director is a joy to listen to. Fans will find this is a great place to start when they begin digging into the anthology. essentially zero compression artifacts or banding... but the latter could be spotted during a few fleeting moments, such as high-beam

Batman Blu-ray Review | High Def Digest The Batman Blu-ray Review | High Def Digest

In all, the content adds up to nearly two hours worth of material and it’s all refreshing, not quite in-depth yet still interesting because each piece is focused—getting right to the heart of the film’s concepts. There are featurettes on the fight choreography and its in-universe thematic origins, as well as the casting of the lead actors (and the hiring of Giacchino). Each member of the Rogues Gallery and their unique motivations is explored in dedicated segments. Batman’s new ride and its insane/bespoke engineering is examined, as are a couple of the key action set pieces, and each character’s iconic costume and equipment. The best of the lot is Vengeance in the Making, which is a thoughtful 53-minute “making of” documentary that examines the actual production effort. It starts with the first day of filming, including camera tests of the actors in their costumes, then takes us behind the scenes. We learn about the origins of the film and Reeves’ involvement, the various sources of inspiration he drew upon, the way the director and his team have justified their choices and reenvisioned the characters, and the effort though which they’ve tried to present a new cinematic take on the material. Everyone you’d wish to hear from gets a chance to speak and share their insights. And we see the filmmakers struggling with COVID production shutdowns too, which made an already difficult task almost Herculean. The disc also includes a pair of good deleted scenes, one featuring Barry Keoghan as Joker and the other an extra bit of character-building with Penguin in the nightclub. What’s great here is that there’s no fluff, no filler, no marketing pablum. It would be nice to have galleries of concept artwork, but you do get to see lots of that art in the featurettes. Trailers and an audio commentary would have elevated these extras to the next level (Reeves does comment on the deleted scenes), but make no mistake—this is very good special feature content. And of course, you also get a Digital Copy code on a paper insert. [Editor’s Note: There IS a director’s commentary available, though irritatingly it’s only on the iTunes Digital version.] and chemicals spill from broken vats with superior placement and movement. A car chase in chapter 22 offers more of the same, with some Deleted Scenes with Director’s Commentary– Two scenes, running around 8 minutes, are shown with optional director’s commentary by Reeves. Given the running-time of the movie, these were wisely cut.The Batman is anything but an extremely colorful film. Its palette runs muted and stray primaries stand out strongly against the darkness, but The Batman was captured digitally in a variety of formats (at 4.5 and 6K) by cinematographer Greig Fraser ( Dune, Rogue One, Zero Dark Thirty) using Arri Alexa LF, Mini LF, and Sony CineAlta Venice cameras with a host of Arri, Cook, and Canon anamorphic lenses. The film was finished as a native 4K Digital Intermediate at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. For its release on Ultra HD, that source has been graded for high dynamic range (both Dolby Vision and HDR10 options are included). The result is a highly cinematic yet moody image, definitely one that lives and breathes in the darkness. So it’s truly surprising how much detail is visible in the 4K presentation—a genuine credit to Frasier’s photography. The HDR adds pleasing subtleties to the color palette, and strongly benefits both shadows and brightly-bold highlights alike, resulting in a remarkably deep and dimensional looking image. And those with Dolby Vision capable displays will be glad to have them. Simply put, this is a gorgeous and beautifully-textured presentation, delivered in reference-quality 4K. place in Wayne Manor. The warm woods and natural lighting during the day contribute to a healthy skin glow on the UHD whereas the older Blu-ray Batman's final stretch, which again aims for a Se7en-like coda after a perceived early resolution to the Riddler saga before lurching