Captain Phillips – 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook Review
Commissions Earned
Film Title: Captain Phillips (2013)
Release Date: 2024
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 134 minutes
Region Coding: Region Free
Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Audio Formats: Dolby Atmos & DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
High Dynamic Range: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Version Reviewed: 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook
Release Date: 7/16/24
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, David Warshofsky, Corey Johnson
Jump to Sections:
Movie | Video | Audio | Bonus | Closing | Screenshots
Full 4K Tech Specs found at the bottom
click to view a 4K Screenshot
The Movie
“Captain Phillips” was a 2013 film directed by Paul Greengrass, best known for directing the films “News of the World” (2020), “Jason Bourne” (2016), “Green Zone” (2010), “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), “United 93” (2006), “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004), “Bloody Sunday” (2002), and “The Theory of Flight” (1998).
The screenplay was written by Billy Ray, based upon a true story from the book “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea” by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty. Screenwriter Billy Ray is best known for his work writing on the screenplays for the films “Richard Jewel” (2019), “Terminator: Dark Fate” (2019), “Gemini Man” (2019), “Overlord” (2018), “The Hunger Games” (2012), “State of Play” (2009), and “Flightplan” (2005). Ray also directed and co-wrote the films “Secret in Their Eyes” (2015), “Breach” (2007), and “Shattered Glass” (2003).
The story is based on a hijacking that took place on the “Maersk Alabama” cargo ship in the Somalian seas back in 2009. The ship was boarded by Somalian pirates who then took the merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) hostage. The cargo vessel was unarmed, so the captain and crew had no defense aside from using the hoses on the side to fire at the approaching boat.
One of the Somalian pirates who is in charge during this incident is a man named “Abduwali Muse” (Barkhad Abdi). He speaks both English and Somali languages and uses that ability to communicate with the crew of the Maersk Alabama over the radio. As the captain holds down things on the bridge, his crew leaves and seeks safety on other parts of the ship that they can lock. This leaves our protagonist (“Captain Phillips”) and a few other members of his immediate crew at gunpoint in the hands of the Somalian pirates. They search around the ship some with the captain but eventually end up taking him hostage when they attempt to escape using the vessel’s lifeboat.
What follows is one extreme negotiation between the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge and the pirates. All the while, Captain Phillips is being held prisoner and the pirates are threatening him constantly. I won’t discuss anything more, to avoid dishing out any “spoilers.” Let’s just say the film from the perspective of the Somalian pirates, as director Paul Greengrass said, is about the struggle. There’s also a struggle to negotiate to get Captain Phillips back from the Navy’s perspective. Plus, the obvious struggle that Captain Phillips himself went through during captivity.
Movie Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Video Quality
“Captain Phillips” on 4K UHD Blu-ray is presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range.
This movie was shot on 16mm and 35mm film, HD 1080p and 2.8K digital using a large variety of cameras. The cameras used included Aaton Penelope, Aayon XTR Prod, Arri Alexa, Arricam LT, Arriflex 235, Arriflex 435, Beautmont VisitaVision, Canon EOS C300, and GoPro HD Hero in the VisitaVision cinematographic process. The movie has received a 4K master of the original 4K digital intermediate master format.
Next, let me get technical, for a bit, regarding the 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc itself here. This release uses a BD-100 (100 gigabytes) disc, 88.48 gigabytes total, and 80.7 gigabytes itself for the film. Based on my observations via my 4K UHD Blu-ray player, this seems to run anywhere from peaks at around 80.8 Mbps, to roughly around 61.6 Mbps and then dips down as low as 46.4 Mbps. According to info on the PC side, this seems to have an overall video bitrate of 60.3 Mb/s average.
In comparison to the original 2014 Blu-ray Disc release, this 4K version offers a very nice improvement in terms of detail — especially during facial close-up shots. The color palette is very vibrant, flesh tones are much more accurate, and the black level is solid. All of this comes thanks to the addition of the high dynamic range.
Some of the darker scenes (around 56 minutes in) don’t necessarily look as nice as the rest of the film and come with a lot of digital noise (or perhaps film grain) due to lighting conditions. It’s because this movie was shot on a large variety of cameras and formats on film and digitally that it’s hard to say this offers a consistent amount of detail and amount of film grain or digital noise. Regardless of being from a wide variety of different sources, it sure does have its moments. The most memorable shots are those iconic close-up shots of Tom Hanks and the daytime shots at sea. There’s some definite beauty found in those shots, and they also help build a sense of suspense throughout.
The majority of the film looks great in 4K resolution and it comes across as very impressive in its debut to the 4K UHD Blu-ray format. This proves to be worthy of an impressive 4.5 rating for video quality.
Video Quality Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)
click to view a 4K Screenshot
Audio Quality
“Captain Phillips” arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray with a new Dolby Atmos sound mix as well as the original theatrical mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround. Both mixes feature Dolby TrueHD (Digital) 7.1/5.1 and DTS 5.1 cores for those unable to decode the immersive audio format. I opted for the Atmos sound mix here, so that’s what I’ll be covering. However, I did give the 5.1 lossless mix a listen and I’ll briefly cover it at the end of this section.
The film starts very dialogue-driven, delivered distinctly via the center channel speaker. It doesn’t take long before you’ll be hearing some very fitting use of the height channels for the sounds of planes flying above and such during a scene at an airport. The front channels get used nicely for sound effects and music, along with the rear channels, already 4 minutes into the film there’s a decent amount of bass to be felt at times via the subwoofer.
You can tell early on that this mix is about to get somewhat intense and that’s when things shift to a Somalian street with the gang recruiting for their pirating. The sounds of men and boys shouting in the background make for effective use of the height channels along with eventual sound effects as they ready up the boats. That’s when the original musical score starts to make things come together through primarily the front and rear channel speakers. The music gets a nice amount of LFE and will make things feel all the more exciting in terms of pace.
Things continue to be as impressive in terms of height and rear channel usage as we transition back over to the boat (still in port) that our protagonist is the Captain of. However, when we are on the Captain’s bridge of the ship you’ll hear things feeling ever so slightly subdued but still coming across as effective sound effects throughout the speakers. Henry Jackman’s original music score here really starts to give you a tease of what to expect and truly starts to get things feeling more intense at around 12 minutes or so in. It sets the mood and a foreboding feeling continues. Once you get onboard the Somalian boat, you’ll hear the sounds of the radio coming through the front and height channels.
The Dolby Atmos mix is well diverse. It can get really loud and intense when it needs to, but it does its job of capturing the quieter atmosphere at times while the American crew is working with their boat. That’s not to say that this boat can’t be loud, as it is very much at times. The height channels here, get one hell of a lot of action when they need to and there’s an excellent amount of oomph to back up the action. This is a near-perfect Atmos mix for this type of film. It does the film justice from start to finish. Especially when the Navy gets involved. Sure, it doesn’t start too intense but has its moments throughout. It’s not always supposed to be about just being loud all the time for the sake of being loud with a sound mix and this is the proof. Even the lossless 5.1 mix still strikes me as remarkable, in its very own way. That being said, this 4K UHD Blu-ray earns itself a very impressive 4.75 star rating for audio quality.
Audio Quality Rating: 4.75 (out of 5)
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Bonus Materials
A Digital Copy of the film in 4K resolution is included (via paper insert) which is compatible with Movies Anywhere. That means you can use it across online video services such as VUDU, AppleTV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, and even on smart TVs from television makers such as LG & VIZIO. On Movies Anywhere, the movie is in 4K with HDR10 and 5.1 surround sound — lacking Dolby Atmos. On AppleTV, it’s in 4K with Dolby Vision with 5.1 surround sound — again lacking Atmos. Finally, on VUDU it’s in 4K with Dolby Vision and features Dolby Atmos sound. The digital copy includes the extras on AppleTV’s iTunes Extras as well as on Movies Anywhere via Features. So, it’s a bit of a mix of tech specs and extras across the streaming platform services. You may have to watch it on one and go find the extras later on another if you’re not experiencing this on physical media.
Bonus materials included on the 4K UHD Blu-ray are listed below.
- Audio Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass
- Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes, 27 seconds – HD) includes 5.1 surround sound.
A Blu-ray Disc of the film is included. It features a 1080p HD video presentation in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. NOTE: This Blu-ray is Region Free (A/B/C) and was sourced from the new 4K master.
Bonus materials included on the Blu-ray Disc are presented in HD (high definition) video quality with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. The bonus materials included on the Blu-ray are listed below.
- Audio Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass
- “Capturing Captain Phillips“ (58 minutes, 16 seconds total – HD) is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the film. It includes a “play all” function. Things start with and include real-life news footage regarding the 2009 hijacking incident when it first caught the attention of the world. You get interviews here with Paul Greengrass (director), the real Captain Richard Phillips, Gregory Goodman (executive producer), Tom Hanks (“Captain Phillips”), Michael Chernus (“Shane Murphy”), Corey Johnson (“Ken Quinn”), Yul Vazquez (“Captain Frank Castellano”), Barry Ackroyd (cinematographer), David Warshofsky (“Mike Perry”), Chris Mulkey (“John Cronan”), Michael Bonner (co-producer), Barkhad Abdi (“Muse”), Faysal Ahmed (“Najee”), and Billy Ray (screenwriter). There’s some excellent on-set footage in Kalkara, Malta shot during the production in 2012 as well as onboard the boat used to double as the “Maesrk Alabama” docked and out at sea on other boats. The featurette itself is split into three parts, listed below:
- ”Embarkation” (20 minutes, 23 seconds – HD)
- ”Full Ahead” (24 minutes, 42 seconds – HD)
- ”Stand Fast” (13 minutes, 35 seconds – HD)
Overall, the bonus materials prove to be pretty lengthy (nearly 59 minutes) and are certainly worthwhile. The director’s audio commentary also is worth checking out, after you’ve seen the film, as it is included on both the 4K and Blu-ray discs. You get the theatrical trailer on the 4K disc as well. Lastly, there’s a digital copy included.
Bonus Materials Rating: 3 (out of 5)
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Closing Thoughts
“Captain Phillips” was not your typical bio-pic action/crime drama. It came at you with a true story that is sure to get a reaction out of almost anyone with a heart. Tom Hanks in this performance shows some of his diversity in his acting skills with both courage and a deeply moving amount of vulnerability, sure to make you emotional. You also get a great performance from the actor Barkhad Abdi who portrays the main Somalian pirate, which earned him an Academy Award nomination back in 2014 for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.” The film ended up being nominated for a total of six Academy awards that year, including the categories “Best Motion Picture of the Year,” “Best Achievement in Film Editing,” “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing,” and “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.”
In terms of video quality, this comes from a large variety of sources of both 16mm and 35mm film as well as digital. The fact it only has received a 2K digital intermediate master seems to be holding it back a tad bit at times, but it still proves to have its share of impressive shots and an overall nice 4K video presentation. Some darker scenes don’t look quite as good as you’d hope for them to, but it’s forgivable.
In terms of audio quality, this offers up one very fitting Dolby Atmos sound mix that makes great use of the height channel speakers all throughout. There’s a great amount of real channel presence as well as LFE to be felt via the subwoofer. Dialogue is delivered distinctly spot-on from the center channel speaker all throughout. It may not be constantly loud but the Atmos mix certainly does the film justice and will very likely leave you impressed.
The bonus materials give you a 3-part behind-the-scenes featurette, from the original Blu-ray release, that totals up to roughly an hour in length, which will likely leave you pleased. Plus, you get director audio commentary on both the 4K and Blu-ray discs, the trailer with 5.1 sound on the 4K disc, and a digital copy of the film.
Overall, “Captain Phillips” on 4K UHD Blu-ray, via this limited edition SteelBook, proves to be a Recommended title for those who enjoy a great film with phenomenal acting and brilliant direction. Sony has put together quite a nice 4K physical media release here that movie fans will want to have in their collection.
In terms of 4K UHD Blu-ray release, this gets:
4.5 (out of 5) for video quality
4.75 (out of 5) for audio quality
3 (out of 5) for bonus materials
Overall Verdict:
Recommended
Available As:
2024 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook Release
Available at: Amazon | Walmart
Commissions Earned
4K UHD Blu-ray Screenshots:
4K UHD Blu-ray Technical Specifications:
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Exact Runtime(s): 2:14:04
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos (with a Doubly TrueHD 7.1 core), English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with a DTS 5.1 core), English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (with a DTS 2.0 Stereo core)
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish
Subtitles: English Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portugues, Spanish, Swedish, That, Turkish
HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Disc Size: BD-100
Disc Use: 88.48GB total / 80.7GB for the film
Video Bitrate: 60.3 Mb/s