Once Upon A Time in Hollywood – 4K UHD Blu-ray Review
Commissions Earned
Film Title: Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
Release Date: 2019
Rating: R
Runtime: 161 minutes
Region Coding: Region Free
Studio: Sony
Audio Format: DTS-HD MA 7.1
High Dynamic Range: HDR10
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Version Reviewed: 4K UHD Blu-ray
Release Date: 12/10/19
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Julia Butters, Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, Austin Butler, Damian Lewis, Bruce Dern, Nicholas Hammond, Maya Hawke, Mikey Madison, Harley Quinn Smith, Mike Moh, Michael Madsen, Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell
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Movie | Video | Audio | Bonus | Closing | Screenshots
Full 4K Tech Specs found at the bottom
The Movie
“Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” was a 2019 film and the ninth motion picture written and directed by the legendary modern filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino’s eight previous other films (that he wrote & directed) include The Hateful Eight (2015), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Death Proof (2007), Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004), Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), Jackie Brown (1997), Pulp Fiction (1994), and Reservoir Dogs (1992).
Yes, that’s technically nine films but you have to factor in that Kill Bill is split into two volumes – unless you want to count Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2011) cut of the two volumes together. From his humble beginnings, working notably as a clerk at a VHS rental store in (Knoxville) Tennessee, Tarantino made his way into being a great filmmaker of modern cinema with his first (major) film in 1992. He would become a well-known filmmaker after 1994 with his second film which received 7 Oscar (Academy Award) nominations and 1 win (for best writing directly for the screen). Ever since 1994, Quentin Tarantino has been one of the most talked-about and praised modern directors in some time, and rightfully so.
So, with his now ninth major motion picture, Tarantino has decided here to depict Hollywood in the year 1969, an infamous time, tell a story through a love letter to the town using a fictional actor and his stuntman. Woven into their story is the real-life story of actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her famous director husband Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha). Yes, this does involve the murders that took place at the couple’s home, which was orchestrated by Charles Manson and then was acted out by members of the Manson family. However, this doesn’t focus on that element as much as you might expect and instead focuses more on the time period, the characters, and even on the late actress Sharon Tate – someone that Tarantino admits to being a fan of. So, it’s not only a love letter to the town (Hollywood) but it’s also one to Tate as well, in ways.
Our two fictional protagonists here in the film, aside from the real Sharon Tate, include an actor named “Rick Dalton” (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his friend/stuntman “Cliff Booth” (Brad Pitt). As we are first introduced to the guys they are being interviewed on the set of a TV show that Rick has become famous for being the lead actor on.
Meanwhile, across town at an airport, Tate and her husband Roman Polanski just are arriving back to Los Angeles. The couple jumps into Polanski’s roadster sports car and speeds off to their home on Cielo Drive, where they live right next door to our lead protagonist – Rick Dalton. This builds a connection that will link the two stories and such, in a great storytelling formula that Tarantino has become known for being a true master. I won’t go into anything here that would be considered “spoilers” of any sort, so don’t worry about that.
Let’s move on a bit further into the story here involving Rick Dalton and his friend Cliff Booth. Rick was a big star a few years back where he worked with Cliff being his stunt man on a TV western called “Bounty Law” as well as even starred in a few motion pictures. His acting lately has left him playing smaller parts and usually the bad guy. He’s not at the point of his career that he used to be and it takes a bit for him to realize that.
So, let’s just say that the connection between these fictional characters that live next door to Tate and Polanski will come together during the end of things. I won’t even go into any further detail here regarding the ending of this film to avoid ruining it for anyone. I’ll end by saying that this is truly one of my favorite films that Quentin Tarantino has made (to date) and he continues to amaze with more and more with each. No lying at all here, I believe this film to not only be a love letter to the late sixties era of filmmaking and the Hollywood location itself but also a respectable homage to the late Sharon Tate. I think this is one masterpiece of a motion picture that is nearly 3 hours in length when hours seem to pass quicker than you’d think. Why? Because as the old expression goes: time flies when you’re having fun. P.S. Don’t forget to watch all of the credits.
Movie Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Video Quality
This comes to a 4K UHD Blu-ray presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio, just as it was shown during its theatrical run. In its 4K debut, “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” gets just the HDR10 form of High Dynamic Range included in this release. That seems a tad bit odd, to me, considering that IMDb and other sources state that this film received Dolby Vision for theatres capable during its original run.
The movie was shot on film, primarily 35mm film but also on 16mm film, and even one scene (a home footage shot) was shot on Super 8 (8mm) film. The multiple shifts of aspect ratio source material are left framed here in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, with source material in a 4×3 aspect ratio such as 1.33:1 getting framed black bars to the top, bottom, and sides in a widescreen aspect. The director of photography (Robert Richardson) and director (Tarantino) made the choice to not only use a lot of different types of analog (film) source material but also chose to use a lot of cameras like the Arriflex 435, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2, Aaton A-Minima, and even older Bolex cameras. It should finally be noted that this movie received a 4K Digital Intermediate master.
Now lastly, before I judge the overall 4K presentation let me get this out of the way. Some may (including myself) argue that this should have received a Dolby Vision form of HDR on the physical 4K release, which I can agree with, but it is very much worth noting that the 4K digital version (you get with this) on Apple’s iTunes service includes Dolby Vision.
There’s an obvious amount of film grain that is even more visible here on the 4K with HDR helping to show it off on some of the Black & White source material – such as the “Bounty Law“ TV show (as seen here, here, and here in screenshots). I also love that even though this received a 4K digital scan and master that they’ve left in some tiny little film characteristics such as the occasional spot of dirt or such. It’s nothing that seems to ever get excessive but something that adds a very authentic touch to this overall film and its fictional television shows and films.
The amount of detail found here in close-ups is really impressive for a 35mm film source (for the majority of the film) and even the sheer amount of detail you see on a massive level of the recreation of 1969 Hollywood Boulevard is absolutely beautiful in 4K. There are a lot of benefits this has visually over its 1080p HD Blu-ray Disc counterpart. The color palette here can be pretty vibrant at times, many thanks to the 1969-era signage, decor, clothing (costumes), and especially the cars. Speaking of the color, I think that with the addition of high dynamic range here we get a more accurate representation of the whole film itself, as well as seemingly more accurate flesh tones. Also, with HDR, you get some deeper darker blacks on color which works very nicely with the already solid black level it had from its 4K master.
I’ve watched it [this film] now going on three occasions physically on 4K, as I’ve been taking my time and deciding my ratings for this review, and I have to say this is visually perfect – for now. It could benefit someday from getting Dolby Vision added as a form of HDR to the next 4K physical release of the film. Still, with that being said, this is a great visual presentation that might not pop as much as other modern films on 4K but still manages to deliver and overall, most importantly, do the film the justice that it deserves.
Video Quality Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Audio Quality
Audio here is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround, as opposed to the DTS-HD MA 5.1 found on the Blu-ray release. That (again), to me, seems a bit odd considering that IMDb and other sources state that this film received a Dolby Atmos mix for theaters capable during its original run. It also seems a bit silly that this version gets a 7.1 mix and the Blu-ray doesn’t. Regardless, we don’t get an immersive (height channel-based) audio mix here but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to do the film justice. I’ve heard 5.1 lossless mixes hold up, some that were even a decade in age, on 4K UHD Blu-ray releases. This mix in both 7.1 (as found here) and 5.1 (as found on Blu-ray) lossless configurations proves to be very impressive, well more specifically downright amazing. I’ll get more to the praise later, but let’s first focus on what makes this 7.1 mix so very impressive.
From the very opening of the film, you’ll hear the sound of a turntable about to play a song, when its needle (or stylus) is running along the grooves of a vinyl record and hitting the occasional bits of dirt or such. This sound is very fitting, not only for the 1969 time period depicted in the film but also for the film’s soundtrack which is comprised mostly of songs that come from vinyl sources being played on a Los Angeles radio station (KHJ) or from vinyl sources in general. There’s a scene in the film where a record (on the soundtrack) is specifically being played on a turntable. So, this type of approach to the opening of the film is beyond fitting and the musical theme of the radio station playing throughout the whole film is something that you’ll get used to in the AM mono sound sources of KHJ radio broadcasts.
I’ll go as far as to say that the music in this film is a character of its own as well as the glue that helps tie the whole piece together, as in most of Tarantino’s films. This one is just a bit cooler because of the fact it takes a lot of original radio broadcasts, not just songs on vinyl as you’d typically find on a Tarantino soundtrack. This is all very important because the 7.1 surround sound mix here gets to use a wide rear channel field to let the music surround you throughout the film. Sound effects get some occasional use of the rear channel speakers as well as even dialogue. Yes, dialogue can at times be delivered entirely from the rear channels in some scenes where the actors speaking are behind what’s being watched or filmed. It’s very fitting and comes across as very unique in terms of sound design and overall presentation.
On the front side of things, it’s safe to say that dialogue, always key in a Tarantino film, is delivered very distinctly from the center channel speaker primarily throughout the film. The front left and right channels get used primarily for the film’s amazing music and obviously for sound effects throughout. It’s one very impressive 7.1 lossless surround mix here for a film and it seems to do an epic film such as this justice. This mix, in my own honest opinion, is perfect in terms of sound quality. I do wish we had received a Dolby Atmos mix, especially since it did receive one for the theatrical release, but then again I am very pleased with what we get from this DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix.
Audio Quality Rating: 5 (out of 5)
Bonus Materials
Bonus materials physically included in this release include:
- A Digital Copy of the film via Movies Anywhere is included, which is compatible with services like Apple’s iTunes and VUDU. Here you get a paper insert inside the packaging that contains a code you put in at the URL listed. This will be redeemed as a 4K version of the film on services like iTunes and VUDU.
- A Blu-ray Disc of the film is included. It features a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound mix and a bit more bonus materials than found on the 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc, listed further below.
Apple iTunes Digital Exclusive:
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“In Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and His Cast” (8:03 – HD) is great. The cast members interviewed here include Brad Pitt (Cliff Booth), Leonardo DiCaprio (Rick Dalton), and Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate). This seems to be exclusive to Apple and its iTunes digital platform, as Tarantino mentions them right at the end when saying goodbye.
The 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc has some bonus materials here and they are ALL presented in 4K Ultra HD video quality with HDR10 form of High Dynamic Range and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. These include:
- Additional Scenes (25:00 – 4K) are scenes that were shown during the extended cut theatrical run of the film. These, totaling up to over 25 minutes in length, are great and add a lot to the story with what is essentially a reel of deleted and/or extended scenes. It’s a shame we can’t watch the film in some extended cut entirely with these scenes thrown in where they were intended (shown). That would be awesome to have the option to do that, but the one thing I’m realizing here seeing these in their intended aspect ratios like 1.33:1 is the film could have deserved an option to let the aspect ratios shift during the film. For instance, the movie starts in a very tiny black pillar frame to achieve a 1.33:1 (4×3) aspect ratio when in the 2.39:1 widescreen aspect ratio that the film uses. If you had a shifting aspect ratio option those scenes would fill up a much larger part of the screen in their full correct aspect framing. That’s something not included here but it would be nice to see on future releases of the film. The seven additional scenes included here are as follows:
- Old Chattanooga Beer Commercial, Circa 1969
- Red Apple Commercial, Circa 1969
- Hullabaloo – Rick Dalton Sings “Green Door”
- “Bounty Law”
- “Lancer” – The Meeting of Two Brothers
- Charlie Talks to Paul Barabuta And Waves to Cliff
- Rick Dalton and Sam Wanamaker Talk on Set
- Scene Selections and Music Selections take you directly to specific scenes and musical numbers in the film. There are a total of 30 scene selections and 26 musical selections.
The Blu-ray Disc is where the rest of the bonus materials are primarily found which are ALL presented in HD video with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound – unless otherwise noted below. These include:
- Additional Scenes (25:00 – HD) are identical to those mentioned above.
- Five Blu-ray Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Pieces include:
- “Quentin Tarantino’s Love Letter to Hollywood” (5:00 – HD) includes interviews with Brad Pitt (Cliff Booth), Nicholas Hammond (Sam Wanamaker), Georgia Kacandes (executive producer), David Heyman (producer), Luke Perry (Scott Lancer), Shannon McIntosh (producer), Quentin Tarantino (writer/director), Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate), Leonardo DiCaprio (Rick Dalton), Kurt Russell (Randy Miller), and Robert Richardson (director of photography). Tarantino discusses here how the KHJ AM radio station became a good basis of what would be the soundtrack for the film with its music, commercials, and DJ dialogue.
- “Rob Richardson – For the Love of Film” (4:34 – HD) is a focus piece by Quentin Tarantino (writer/director) along with the film’s cast and crew members discussing the director of photography Bob Richardson. There is some great on-set footage here as well as interviews with Shannon McIntosh (producer), Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate), and David Heyman (producer). It is very fun to hear Richardson discuss how Tarantino initially wasn’t sure if he wanted to do the film in either 70mm or 35mm, then how they settled on 35mm primarily, and all the sources they chose to use like Super 8mm and 16mm with some different aspect ratios along the way. They shot this all, fittingly, on film. Hence, for the love of the film as a subtitle.
- “Shop Talk – The Cars of 1969” (5:58 – HD) is self-explanatory in terms of what this featurette focuses on. This includes interviews with Shannon McIntosh (producer), Brad Pitt (Cliff Booth), Barbara Ling (producer designer), Steven Butcher (picture car coordinator), Leonard Jefferson (picture car captain), and David Heyman (producer). This includes some great on set and behind-the-scenes footage as well. Let that be duly noted, as short as the featurette might be: it offers up a very informative visual bit of info, of sorts, for the fans wanting to see how things looked during the filming.
- “Restoring Hollywood – The Production Design of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood“ (9:18 – HD) thankfully is one of the longest featurettes and that’s great because this is one huge aspect of the film that really interested me. I mean, how did they do all of this and make modern Hollywood look like the 1969 period with all the buildings, signage, billboards, cards, and whatnot?! You’ll get to find out here with a lot of behind-the-scenes on-set footage that also comes with interviews from Quentin Tarantino (writer/director), Shannon McIntosh (producer), Barbara Ling (production designer), Leonardo DiCaprio (Rick Dalton), Brad Pitt (Cliff Booth), Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate), Rick Schuler (supervising location manager), Luke Perry (Scott Lancer), David Heyman (producer), and Dakota Fanning (Squeaky). This is just amazing and a real treat. This proves to be one of my favorite featurettes on the whole set of extras, getting to see what all of Hollywood Boulevard they restored for this to look like 1969 just for temporary filming. You’ll learn here that even Starbucks cooperated with the production to put up vintage signage for the purpose of filming!
- “The Fashion of 1969” (6:37 – HD) is another very important area of focus here in terms of the making of the film with its costumes. This featurette offers up some behind-the-scenes footage as well as interviews with Margot Robbie (Sharon Tate), Arianne Phillips (costume designer), Leonardo DiCaprio (Rick Dalton), Brad Pitt (Cliff Booth), David Heyman (producer), Luke Perry (Scott Lancer), Timothy Olyphant (Johnny Lancer), and Nicholas Hammond (Sam Wanamaker).
- Scene Selections and Music Selections take you directly to specific scenes and musical numbers in the film. There are a total of 30 scene selections and 26 musical selections. Here on the Blu-ray, the music selections look a bit like 30 choices you’d make on a small jukebox. On the 4K they’re pages and pages of choices. I actually dig the Blu-ray menu better for this reason. You also can make bookmarks on the Blu-ray, unlike with the 4K. However, it is worth noting that both formats will let you resume the film from where you left off if you’d like.
Overall the bonus materials here are a tad bit short, sure, but you get the 25 minutes of additional scenes actually in 4K with HDR presented on the 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc itself, as well as on the included Blu-ray Disc along with its five featurettes. With the iTunes Digital exclusive featurette factored in, this works for me and is more than I expected we would get – adding up to just over an hour in length. Tarantino doing hours of extras and an audio commentary was not something I expected, even for this film – as personal as it seems to him.
Let’s hope someday they do make some new extras, on some sort of anniversary or such. However, short or not, the extras work for the film. It is just enough info to provide you with as well as reward you with the 25 minutes of additional scenes that are finished, not your typical rough deleted scenes or such. Lastly, speaking of those additional scenes and things I wish this had (in terms of bonus), I do wish we could watch those cut together with the film itself though, as an additional version of the film.
Bonus Materials Rating: 3.25 (out of 5)
Closing Thoughts
“Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” is a masterpiece of filmmaking that pays its respect to filmmaking and those who were and still are a large part of it: actors and stunt people. The film may not play out as much as some may want or have expected it to about the Manson family. That’s their own choice to gripe about that aspect of things, but that’s not my feeling at all after seeing this film probably a total of six times now. I find that the fictional character of Rick Dalton that Tarantino created and Leonardo DiCaprio breathed life into being one of the most memorable characters in cinema history and already a modern legend of sorts. The very same can be said about his friend Cliff Booth and what life Brad Pitt breathed into that stuntman character. Both of these were so vital to this film playing out as (no doubt) its writer and director had wanted.
It’s just such a great film filled with some great performances from Margot Robbie (obviously) as Sharon Tate, as well as Al Pacino, Timothy Olyphant, Emile Hirsch (as Jay Sebring), Nicholas Hammond, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, and so many other supporting cast members – namely Kurt Russell in his small part. This movie is sure as hell to get nominated for some Academy Awards and you can trust me on that. It’s also filled with some amazing cinematography and music that you’ll get to see and hear in a damn perfect manner thanks to its 4K with HDR10 visuals and 7.1 lossless surround sound mix.
In terms of extras (bonus), you’ll get to see those 25 minutes of additional scenes (here on the 4K disc) actually in 4K with HDR10. That’s very cool and you even get to see them in their correct aspect ratios. The five featurettes are only contained on the Blu-ray Disc, which totals up to about 32 minutes in length for those. Plus, you get an iTunes Digital exclusive featurette (8 minutes long) for those who are smart enough to be able to access (find) it. Add all of that up, 25 minutes of additional scenes, 32 minutes of HD extras on the Blu-ray (physically), and lastly 8 minutes of a featurette that’s a digital exclusive to get just a little over an hour of extras. That’s not too bad and is sure to leave any fan of this film pleased – to some level anyway.
In terms of 4K UHD Blu-ray release, this gets:
5 (out of 5) for video quality
5 (out of 5) for audio quality
3.25 (out of 5) for bonus materials
Overall Verdict:
Very Highly Recommended
Available As:
4K UHD Blu-ray Screenshots:
Collector’s Edition Packaging:
4K UHD Blu-ray Technical Specifications:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Exact Runtime: 2:41:29
Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (with a DTS 5.1 core), Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English, Czech, French, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai
Subtitles: English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Thai
HDR: HDR10
Disc Size: BD-100
Disc Use: 90.3GB total / 80.1GB for the film