Crimson Peak appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie delivered fine Dolby Vision visuals.
Sharpness looked strong. Virtually no softness emerged, as the film remained tight and concise.
No issues with shimmering or jaggies emerged, and I noticed no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to appear.
Given the movie’s genre and period setting, I hoped it’d go for an unusual palette, but instead, I found the typical teal and amber/orange. The film tossed in some reds as well, but orange/amber and teal ruled the day.
Those choices continue to leave me cold, but the 4K reproduced them as the filmmakers intended. HDR gave the tones added emphasis and punch.
Blacks looked deep and rich, while low-light shots offered nice clarity. Whites and contrast received a nice jolt from HDR. This became a consistently terrific presentation.
Peak came with a DTS-X soundtrack that downconverted to DTS-HD MA 7.1 on my system. With plenty of creepy scenes, the mix often opened up to give us active information.
These used the various speakers to create an involving, effective sense of these situations and circumstances. The elements meshed together well and moved in a satisfying manner.
Audio quality also pleased. Music was peppy and full, while dialogue sounded accurate and concise.
Effects demonstrated good clarity and range, with fine low-end response as necessary. This wasn’t quite a demo-worthy track, but it fared well.
How did the Arrow 2024 4K UHD compare to the original Universal Blu-ray from 2016? Both came with identical DTS-X audio.
Though apparently taken from a 2K master, the 4K UHD’s Dolby Vision image nonetheless showed a mild boost in sharpness, and HDR gave blacks and colors extra depth. As good as the BD looked, the 4K topped it.
Note that Arrow produced their own Blu-ray in 2019. I never saw that release, but I strongly suspect it looked and sounded very similar to the 2016 Universal BD.
The 4K includes extras from the Universal disc as well as those added to the Arrow release. Also on the 2016 BD, we start with an audio commentary from co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro.
In his running, screen-specific chat, he discusses story/character areas, themes, cast and performances, sets and production design, music, effects, elements that make this a personal tale, inspirations and influences, and genre reflections.
As I mentioned in the body of my review, I tend to respect del Toro’s movies more than I enjoy them, and this excellent commentary reminds me why I feel that way. Del Toro relates his work in such detailed, thoughtful terms that I can't help but wish I got more out of his films. In any case, del Toro offers an insightful, fascinating chat about Crimson Peak.
Five Deleted Scenes take up a total of four minutes, 24 seconds. We find “The Park” (0:58), “Thomas’ Presentation” (0:53), “Father Consoles Daughter” (0:47), “Thomas Sees a Ghost” (0:46) and “Lucille at the Piano” (1:02).
As one might expect from such short clips, these don’t add much. We get a little more exposition and character tidbits, but none of these seem significant.
Under Allerdale Hall, we get four short pieces. We locate “The Gothic Corridor” (4:06), “The Scullery” (4:24), “The Red Clay Mines” (5:18) and “The Limbo Fog Set” (5:42).
In these, we hear from del Toro and actors Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Jessica Chastain. We get notes about sets and production design. Much of the information echoes thoughts found in the commentary, but behind the scenes footage adds to these clips.
A number of featurettes follow. A Primer on Gothic Romance runs five minutes, 36 seconds and includes notes from del Toro, Hiddleston, Wasikowska, Chastain and actors Charlie Hunnam and Jim Beaver.
As implied by the title, “Primer” gives us a quick overview of this film’s genre. It brings a nice synopsis.
During the seven-minute, 53-second The Light and Dark of Crimson Peak, we hear from del Toro, Hunnam, Wasikowska, Chastain, Hiddleston, Beaver, set decorator Shane Vieau, costume designer Kate Hawley, and production designer Tom Sanders.
“Dark” looks at the use of colors, visual design and lighting. This turns into a useful examination of those areas.
Next comes Hand Tailored Gothic. The eight-minute, 58-second shows features del Toro, Hawley, Wasikowska, Chastain, Hiddleston and producer Jon Jashni.
As the title implies, “Gothic” looks at costume design. It offers another informative piece.
A Living Thing lasts 12 minutes, 11 seconds and gives us info from del Toro, Sanders, Hiddleston, Jashni, Hunnam, Vieau, producer Thomas Tull, and supervising art director Brandt Gordon, and key scenic Cameron Brooke.
“Thing” examines the mansion set used in the film and brings us good insights about that subject.
With Beware of Crimson Peak, we find a seven-minute, 51-second segment with Hiddleston. The actor takes us on a tour of the mansion set. This allows us to see some details and the show expands on the info from “Living Thing”.
Crimson Phantoms goes for seven minutes, two seconds and features Chastain, del Toro, Wasikowska, Hiddleston, Hunnam, and makeup effects artist supervisors David Marti and Montse Ribe. “Phantoms” focuses on the design and execution of the film’s ghosts. As with its predecessors, it forms a tight overview.
All the above-discussed materials appeared on the 2016 Universal Blu-ray. From here we go into extras added to the 2019 Arrow BD and featured here.
The House Is Alive offers a 50-minute documentary. It provides notes from Chastain, del Toro, Wasikowska, Hiddleston, Beaver, Hunnam, Gordon, Vieau, Tull, Sanders, Jashni, Brooke, and producer Callum Greene.
This program covers the movie's genre, story, characters and themes, visual/set design and creation, costumes, locations, various effects, and the depiction of violence. "Alive" offers a pretty good overview, but I can't claim it brings a lot of new information after all the prior extras.
Next comes An Interview with Guillermo del Toro. It spans eight minutes, 35 seconds.
Conducted in Spanish, the filmmaker chats about story/characters, themes and genre, and various production details. Nothing new pops up here, but del Toro remains engaging nonetheless.
Crimson Peak and the Tradition of Gothic Romance runs 17 minutes, 36 seconds. It brings notes from critic/historian Kim Newman.
“Tradition” offers Newman's take on genre topics/history as well as del Toro's approach to these areas. Newman provides useful perspective.
After this we get Violence and Beauty in Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic Fairy Tale Films. It fills 23 minutes, 36 seconds with info from historian/critic Kat Ellinger.
As expected, "Violence" discusses the history of the genre as well as aspects of del Toro's filmography and connections among Peak and de Toro flicks such as Devil's Backbone. We find another solid overview.
In addition to two trailers and two TV spots, we conclude with two Image Galleries: “Production Stills” (18) and “Behind the Scenes” (17). Both seem mediocre.
Guillermo del Toro displays his usual visual flair with Crimson Peak but he fails to create an interesting story or characters. This leaves us with an attractive film that lacks much drama or intrigue. The 4K UHD delivers strong picture and audio as well as an informative set of supplements. I respect the artistry of Peak but the end result leaves me cold, even if this 4K makes it look better than ever.
To rate this film visit the Blu-ray review of CRIMSON PEAK
