Here’s a look at a pair of movies debuting on the ultra-high definition disc format featuring hostile extraterrestrials on Earth.
Signs (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 106 minutes, $45.99) — Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan’s science fiction horror masterpiece from 2002 invades home entertainment screens in the 4K disc format for the first time and is guaranteed to send shivers up the spines of those who believe that we are not alone in the universe.
The redemptive human drama finds former priest Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) not dealing well with the death of his wife after a freak car accident.
Abandoning the church, he lives on a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his young daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin), asthmatic son Morgan (Rory Culkin) and former minor league baseball-playing brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix).
Surrounded by a cornfield, things start to get creepy for the family when they find crop circle signs on their land and a trusted dog attempts to attack Bo.
Things get worse for not just the Hesses, but the world as it is revealed that a potential full-blown extraterrestrial attack on the Earth may be unfolding.
Mr. Gibson and Mr. Phoenix deliver one of their better heartfelt performances and complements the complexities of the characters and nail-biting narrative.
With the original camera negative used for the remaster, the ultra-high definition visuals shines within a screen filling presentation.
Most impressive is detail of nighttime scenes with Graham walking through the cornfields meeting some unexpected visitors, harrowing flashlight lit moments in a basement with the family under attack and a sunny outdoor setting with Morgan pointing a baby monitor to the very blue sky.
Best extras: Alas, instead of any new retrospective on the movie, viewers get only the previously released digital goodies found on the Blu-ray disc that include a thorough, hourlong, six-part documentary on the making of the film and a short about an alien attack shot by the director as a youngster (complete with an introduction by Mr. Shyamalan).
Cowboys and Aliens (Kino Lorber, rated PG-13, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 118 minutes, $39.95) — Director Jon Favreau’s star-studded, sci-fi Western from 2011 was a rare box-office miscue for the acclaimed filmmaker, and the movie now debuts in the 4K disc format in an underwhelming package for home theater aficionados.
Adapted from Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s graphic novel from 2006, the story takes viewers into the 1870s and introduces injured outlaw Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), suffering from amnesia and wearing a large metallic gauntlet.
He gets medical help when brought into the town of Absolution and learns that a wealthy cattle baron, Col. Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), controls the area with an iron fist and allows his petulant son Percy (Paul Dano) to intimidate and bully citizens.
Percy gets arrested for shooting a man after a confrontation with Jake, and the colonel shows up with his armed minions to get his son out of the pokie.
As a heated stand-off plays out, extraterrestrial ships attack the town and abduct some of the citizens including Percy. The colonel, Jake, a mysterious woman (Olivia Wilde), key townsfolk and eventually a group of Indians and outlaws band together to go after the aliens and rescue the captives.
A formidable cast tries its best to sell the story led by Mr. Ford and Mr. Craig, of course, but also featuring Sam Rockwell as bar owner Doc, Keith Carradine as Sheriff John Taggart, Walton Goggins as a former associate of Jake and Clancy Brown as preacher Meacham.
What could have played out as just a mediocre Western with some pointed action scenes gets that fantastically muddled twist of an alien invasion sub plot starring some creepy, ugly and ferocious bipedal creatures causing violent mayhem.
“Cowboys and Aliens” never lived up to its summer blockbuster potential, even with oversight from executive producer Steven Spielberg. Still, viewers should stick with the slightly lumbering narrative for an evening of entertainment.
The outdoor, very panoramic scenes of the Southwest captured by cinematographer Matthew Libatique offer some beautiful visual bite to the 4K release that, unfortunately, cannot be viewed in any high dynamic range modes. It is simply an upscale from the 2K digital intermediate with no remastering.
The release is also underwhelming in that viewers can only watch the included extended cut of the film (roughly 16 minutes of extra graphic violence) only in the high definition format on the Blu-ray disc and not brought over to the 4K disc.
Best extras: Uncharacteristically, Kino Lorber offers no new digital goodies and only includes the three best extras culled from the 2011 Universal Studios high definition version of the film.
Still, the collection is pretty impressive led by an entertaining optional commentary track with the director followed up with a six-part, 40-minute overview of the production.
Also, and pretty cool, is 80-minute of interviews with Mr. Favreau talking first solo with Mr. Craig, Mr. Ford, Ms. Wilde and screenwriter Damon Lindelof; and then with writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci; and producers Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.
The sometimes curmudgeonly Mr. Ford actually sits down for a whole 20-minute one-on-one with the director with plenty of genuine laughs, which is a pretty impressive accomplishment for Mr. Favreau.
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