Review: Marvel Studios’ Black Panther on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray
Hi everyone!
We received the film Black Panther in 4K, which also includes a standard Blu-ray with the 1080p HD movie and a decent amount of bonus features. The film will be available digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD™ and Movies Anywhere on May 8 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on May 15.The 4k disc only includes the movie and there are are a few very short digital exclusives. Currently, Black Panther is the highest grossing film of the year, so I am not going to talk as much about the film itself as the bonus features. The 4K does look terrific. From Disney: Through the 4K Cinematic Universe Edition of “Black Panther,” fans will experience the exhilarating adventure in stunning 4K Ultra HD with next-generation high dynamic range (HDR) visuals and Dolby Atmos immersive audio.
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Here are the bonus features and a little about each. There is also Audio Commentary by director Ryan Coogler and production designer Hannah Beachler and I haven’t watched that yet.
Exclusive Preview of Ant Man & Wasp: This is the the Marvel movie I personally have been looking forward to most this year. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Douglas are interviewed with some footage I have not seen anywhere else.
Marvel Studios the First Ten Years: Connecting the Universe: There are now ten years of the newer Marvel films begining with Iron Man, and this connects the various films through the years.
Featurettes:
Crowning of a New King: Producer Kevin Feige says that in Captain America: Civil War that it was very satisfying to have audiences react to the Black Panther character in the way they did. The movie was rooted in Earth, unlike films like The Avengers: Infinity War. Some history of The Black Panther is discussed, including his origins in the 60s. Feige says bringing it to the screen 50 years later is “incredibly exciting for us”.
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The Hidden Kingdom Revealed: Filmmakers, actors, costume designers and other talent talk about how they wanted to make Wakanda seem real, building the sets of Wakanda to feel like it could be a genuine place. They combined different regions of Africa for the costumes, and languages are discussed as well.
The Warriors Within: This bonus feature is about the strong women of Wakanda, which includes warriors and advisors. Executive producer Nate Moore says that the Dora Milajae are like Navy Seals in Black Panther mythology. This is a really nice bonus feature celebrating women. Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia says that if she and T’Challa were on Facebook, their status would be “It’s complicated”. Nyong’o says she connected with Nakia’s independence and free spirit.
Wakanda Revealed: Exploring the Technology: Feige talks about how Wakanda is more technologically advanced than anywhere on the planet, which of course is based on vibranium (first seen in Captain America: The First Avenger – Captain American’s shield is vibranium). The segment shows how clothes and weapons are made from it.
Gag Reel: I am not a fan of most modern gag reels, so this was just okay for me – but it clocks in at about a minute and a half, so it doesn’t take much time either.
From Page to Screen: A Roundtable Discussion: Writer Don McGregor (he originated the Black Panther comic) talks with filmmakers of Black Panther about the origins of the comic and what a progressive thinker Stan Lee was. Executive producer Nate Moore, writer of Black Panther Comics Ta-Nehisi Coates and director Ryan Coogler are among those talking about the history and the movie.
There are also a couple of deleted scenes for a total of a few minutes each. I wish the bonus features were a little more plentiful, but they aren’t bad either.
Mousesteps grade for the bonus features: B
Mousesteps grade for Black Panther: A-
DISC SPECIFICATIONS (applies to film content only):
Product SKUs: 4K Cinematic Universe Edition (4K UHD+Blu-ray+Digital), Multi-Screen Edition (Blu-ray+Digital), Digital UHD, HD, SD, HD Bundle (“Black Panther”+”Captain America: Civil War”), DVD and On-Demand
Feature Run Time: Approximately 134 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Aspect Ratio: 2.39
Audio: UHD BD: English Dolby Atmos, English 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, Latin Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital
Blu-ray: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital
DVD: English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital
UHD Digital: English Dolby Atmos (some platforms), English 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus (some platforms), English 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital
HD Digital: English 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus (some platforms), English 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, Latin Spanish 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital
SD Digital: English 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, Latin Spanish 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, French & Spanish
Captions: English
“BLACK PANTHER” CAST & CREW:
“Black Panther” stars Chadwick Boseman (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Get on Up”), Michael B. Jordan (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”), Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “12 Years a Slave”), Danai Gurira (“The Walking Dead,” “All Eyez on Me”), Martin Freeman (“The Hobbit” trilogy, “Sherlock”), Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out,” “Sicario”), Letitia Wright (“Urban Hymn,” “Glasgow Girls”), Winston Duke (“Person of Interest, “Modern Family”), with Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett (“American Horror Story,” “London Has Fallen”), with Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Lee Daniels’ “The Butler”) and Andy Serkis (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).
Ryan Coogler (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with Joe Robert Cole (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”). Kevin Feige is producer with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore, Jeffrey Chernov and Stan Lee serving as executive producers.