A Look at the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 2

4K has been around for a little while now. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that I upgraded my home entertainment system. And then, I realized what 4K really brings to the table.

So it’s no surprise that so many distributors are rushing to bring 4K versions of some of the biggest hits and classics to the 4K format. Columbia Classics has upped the game by bringing a superb collection of six of their classic and highly praised films together in a box set in 4K for the first time ever.

The films included in this collection are Anatomy of a Murder, Oliver, Taxi Driver, Stripes, Sense and Sensibility, The Social Network. As you can see it is a wide-ranging genre and timespan of films with something for everybody.

Here’s a rundown of what you get.

Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume

Anatomy of a Murder

A riveting courtroom drama that is often attributed to Alfred Hitchcock, but actually direct by Otto Preminger, Anatomy of a Murder was nominated for seven Academy Awards and stars James Steward as a small-town lawyer up against a big-city prosecutor (played George C. Scott). The film takes a riveting look at what appears to be a slam dunk case and turns everything on its head with brilliant performances from a top tier cast

ANATOMY OF A MURDER Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with HDR10, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • NEW: Commentary with Film Historian Foster Hirsch
  • Gary Giddins Interview
  • Pat Kirkham Interview
  • Foster Hirsch Interview
  • Excerpt from Firing Line Featuring Otto Preminger
  • Theatrical Trailer

OLIVER!

Oliver! Is another Oscar winner and a musical version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. The story centers around a young orphan. Surrounded by a cast of criminals and thieves, he goes on a quest for love and happiness and escape from his world. It’s a great film for the entire family!

OLIVER! Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with HDR10, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 2-Channel Surround DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • 2-Channel Surround DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • NEW: Commentary with Film Historian Steven C. Smith
  • NEW: Jack Wild Screen Test
  • Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
  • Meeting Oliver!
  • Meeting Fagin!
  • The Locations of Oliver!
  • Sing-Alongs
  • Dance-Alongs
  • Theatrical Trailers

TAXI DRIVER

“You talkin’ to me?” That’s right, the iconic De Niro film is about a cab driver whose loneliness and depressions drive him to madness and obsession with saving a young prostitute from her life. He goes to extreme violent means to save her.

Again, top-level direction from Martin Scorsese and acting from De Niro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Peter Boyle. A must-see but not as family-friendly as Oliver!

TAXI DRIVER Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, restored from the original camera negative
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • NEW:20th Anniversary Re-Release Trailer
  • Making Taxi DriverDocumentary
  • Storyboard to Film Comparisons with Martin Scorsese Introduction
  • Animated Photo Galleries
  • Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
    • 40-Minute Taxi DriverQ&A featuring Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster and Many More Recorded Live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival
    • Commentary with Director Martin Scorsese and Writer Paul Schrader Recorded by the Criterion Collection
    • Commentaries by Writer Paul Schrader and by Professor Robert Kolker
    • Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver
    • Influence and Appreciation: A Martin Scorsese Tribute
    • Producing Taxi Driver
    • God’s Lonely Man
    • Taxi DriverStories
    • Travis’ New York
    • Travis’ New York Locations
    • Theatrical Trailer

STRIPES

Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and John Candy star in this cold-war era comedy. Two slackers (Murray and Ramis) joined the army for a lack of any other options in life. Once there, they continue to slack and con their way through boot camp. After graduation they manage to steal a top-secret vehicle and enter Soviet territory, nearly starting an international disaster. Stripes is one of the most iconic comedies of all time.

STRIPES Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Both Theatrical & Extended versions presented in 4K resolution with HDR10, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio (for both versions)
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio (for both versions)
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio (Theatrical version only)
    • Special Features:
  • NEW:40 Years of Stripes With Bill & Ivan – a two-part on-camera reunion between star Bill Murray and director Ivan Reitman, discussing their careers, memories from set, a tribute to the cast, as well as a special guest appearance from cinematographer Bill Butler
  • NEW: Theatrical Trailer
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Both Theatrical & Extended versions presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K masters
    • 1 DTS-HD Master Audio (for both versions)
    • Mono DTS-HD Master Audio (Theatrical version only)
  • Special Features:
    • Commentary with Ivan Reitman and Dan Goldberg (Extended version only)
    • NEW: 11 Additional Deleted & Extended Scenes
    • NEW: 1983 TV Version of the film (in standard definition)
    • Deleted & Extended Scenes from the Extended version of the film
    • Stars and StripesDocumentary

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

Based on the Jane Austen’s classic novel, Sense and Sensibility tells of the Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor (Emma Thompson) and passionate Marianne (Kate Winslet), whose chances at marriage seem doomed by their family’s sudden loss of fortune. Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant and Greg Wise co-star as the well-intentioned suitors who are trapped by the strict rules of society and the conflicting laws of desire.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with HDR10, restored from the original camera negative
    • Dolby Atmos English audio
    • 0 DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition, sourced from the 4K master
    • 0 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • NEW:25th Anniversary Reunion: Back to Barton Cottage – an expansive on-camera reunion featuring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Greg Wise, Imelda Staunton, Imogen Stubbs, Myriam Francois, producer Lindsay Doran, and director Ang Lee
  • Emma Thompson & Producer Lindsay Doran’s Audio Commentary
  • Director Ang Lee & Co-Producer James Schamus’s Audio Commentary
  • Adapting Austen Featurette
  • A Sense of Character Featurette
  • A Very Quiet Man Featurette
  • Locating the World of Sense and SensibilityFeaturette
  • Elegance & Simplicity: The Wardrobe of Sense and SensibilityFeaturette
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Theatrical & International Trailers

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Directed by David Fincher, this superbly crafted film chronicles the formation of Facebook and the battles over ownership that followed upon the website’s unforeseen success. Jesse Eisenberg plays a perfect Mark Zuckerberg and is joined by Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The real story of this film is the race for greed and credit at the cost of friendship and relationships. It always plays as ironic to me that the very thing meant to bring people together tore so many apart.  

THE SOCIAL NETWORK Disc Breakdown

  • 4K Ultra HD Includes:
    • Feature presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
    • Unrated Dolby Atmos English audio
    • Unrated 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Theatrical 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Feature:
  • NEW: Theatrical Trailers
  • Feature Blu-ray Includes:
    • Feature presented in high definition
    • Theatrical 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
    • Special Features:
  • Audio Commentary with David Fincher
  • Audio Commentary with Aaron Sorkin & Cast
  • Special Feature Blu-ray Includes:
  • How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook?
  • David Fincher and Jeff Cronenweth on the Visuals
  • Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter and Ren Klyce on Post
  • Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and David Fincher on the Score
  • Ruby Skye VIP Room: Multi-Angle Scene Breakdown
  • In the Hall of the Mountain King: Reznor’s First Draft
  • Swarmatron

 

Short Films

In addition to these classics, there is also a bonus disc of short films.

EXCLUSIVE BONUS DISC INCLUDES:

  • 20 short films from the Columbia Pictures library, presented in high definition:
    • Umpa
    • The Three Stooges: Disorder In The Court
    • Charley Chase: Man Bites Lovebug
    • Color Rhapsodies: The Little Match Girl (Academy Award® nominee, 1937, Best Short Subject, Cartoons)
    • Charley Chase: The Sap Takes A Wrap
    • Color Rhapsodies: Dog, Cat and Canary (Academy Award® nominee, 1944, Best Short Subject, Cartoons)
    • The Ragtime Bear
    • The Wonder Gloves
    • Georgie and the Dragon
    • Madeline (Academy Award® nominee, 1952, Best Short Subject, Cartoons)
    • Pete Hothead
    • The Tell-Tale Heart (Academy Award® nominee, 1953, Best Short Subject, Cartoons)
    • When Magoo Flew (Academy Award® winner, 1954, Best Short Subject, Cartoons)
    • The Man on the Flying Trapeze
    • Christopher Crumpet’s Playmate
    • Stage Door Magoo
    • April in Portugal
    • The Chubbchubbs! (Academy Award® winner, 2002, Best Short Film, Animated)
    • The Early Hatchling Gets The Worm
    • Puppy!: A Hotel TransylvaniaShort

Overall, this collection is a superb addition to any film lover’s own collection. The 4K transfer has been superbly done.

The original films have clearly been scanned, cleaned, and then upgraded to 4K. From a 1950’s era film to the 2000’s you really appreciate the work that went into these films.

With minimal interference and artifacts, you have never seen the movies like this before. I have seen Stripes about a thousand times before but never noticed some of the very detailed things before. They simply just were not there.

The sounds are also well-done. In older films, there is usually an audible crackling and hissing that is missing from this version. It’s been given a digital makeover that really makes the films more enjoyable than they ever have been before. It’s a collection any movie lover will want to have.

Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 2 is available Tuesday, October 12th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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