{"id":29046,"date":"2024-07-25T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T07:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=29046"},"modified":"2024-07-25T00:01:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T07:01:21","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-and-blu-ray-review-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=29046","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Review: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This title is available as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release or a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Arrow Video on July 30th.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s unusual to review a picture like this in a Blasts from\nThe Past! section. While this reviewer is an enthusiast of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.<\/em>,\nit is less than a decade old. In fact, the picture received a seemingly fine\nBlu-ray from Warner Bros. not long after its brief theatrical run. How much\nbetter could the picture really look? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, as a fan of the film and an owner of the aforementioned\nstudio-released Blu-ray, I can confirm that this latest release from Arrow\nVideo is an upgrade. It also comes with a few new bonuses that are of interest\nand, for those who appreciate the title, it is worth picking up whether you have\n4K Ultra HD capabilities or want to opt for a Blu-ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man from U.N.C.L.E.<\/em> is spy caper that is something of\na love letter to the Dr. No<\/em> era of espionage thrillers; it\nkeeps the Cold War setting and production design, all the while holding its\ntongue firmly in cheek. Thanks to some inspired casting and stylish visuals,\ndirector Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes<\/em>, Sherlock Holmes: Game of\nShadows<\/em>) manages to pull it all off. It\u2019s a wonderfully fun throwback that\nwill keep any viewer amused and entertained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based upon the 60s television series that Bond author Ian\nFleming assisted in creating, the plot follows a suave American super-spy named\nNapoleon Solo (Henry Cavill). After a messy run in with the hulking KGB agent\nIllya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), the two learn that their respective governments\nhave teamed them up to stop a nefarious plot that could threaten the entire\nworld. Naturally, they don\u2019t get along, but are instructed to work through any\ndifferences to accomplish their immediate goal, at which point they can turn on\none another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The material is ripe for comic banter and the two leads do\nan excellent job. They\u2019re constantly at each other\u2019s throats, trading some\nhumorous jabs (verbally and otherwise) throughout the early parts of the film. Whether\none is watching the other struggle with nasty opponents while sipping on wine,\nor the two are arguing over how to deal with a captured suspect, the end result\nis witty and entertaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cavill sells a difficult and in some respects typical spy\ncharacter. The heroic Solo possesses a flippant sense of humor (even when\nantagonists are getting the better of him) and charm with the ladies, not to\nmention confidence that exudes levels approaching smarminess. It could have\ngone wrong very easily, but the actor keeps the figure charismatic and avoids coming\nacross as grating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Hammer is a scene-stealer as Kuryakin, a tough guy with daddy issues that doesn\u2019t have a way with words and struggles with his own violent impulses (often in the most inappropriate of environments, including high society functions). He also appears to have feelings for Gaby (Alicia Vikander), the woman they\u2019re escorting on the mission. In the end, there\u2019s a lot more depth and drama there than anticipated. This role is fascinating and entertaining to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And of course, it\u2019s all nice to look at visually. The 60s\nfashions and production design pop and Ritchie captures the various chases with\nenergetic and exciting camera moves (not to mention a few tried and true\ntechniques like split-screen). It actually evokes a bit of nostalgia for the\nespionage thrillers of old. The action is delirious as well, from an escape over\nthe Berlin Wall to a boat chase and the climactic battle. The movie is full of\ngreat 60s music as well, adding to the stylized vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, the picture on the Warner Bros. Blu-ray was decent, but there is a sharper, more impressive image on 4K Ultra HD (and even on the Blu-ray) that can’t be denied. For this reviewer, what stood out early on in the film is the scene set in a bathroom. The sequence looks slightly soft and muted on the 2015 disc, but is strikingly detailed and crisp on the Arrow upgrade (with the green stalls really popping). Sometimes it\u2019s the little conversation scenes with period backgrounds that really reveal an improvement and that\u2019s certainly clear in this case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Of course, you\u2019ll also get all the previously released bonus\nmaterial that was present on the original Blu-ray, including material like featurettes\nshowing how the 60s look of the film was recreated, as well as five archival bits\nexploring the making of the film, some bite-sized promo pieces going behind the\nscenes on the film set, as well as the theatrical trailer and image gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s plenty of new material as well. This includes a new interview with co-writer and producer Lionel Wigram about the project\u2019s long and fascinating development. The release also contains a discussion with co-star Luca Calvani (who plays an antagonist in the movie) and a featurette on the original series and how it influences this remake. My personal favorite is a look at Guy Ritchie\u2019s career and films that goes over his beginnings and notes his visual storytelling style and connections between several of his films. It\u2019s a very interesting bonus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a film historian commentary track. Unfortunately, the speakers are more interested in the original series than this adaptation and spend the first 45 minutes waxing about the show. Most of the latter half is more on point, going into fascinating detail about how many people tried to get this picture made before Ritchie. The list of directors previously attached included Ritchie\u2019s friend Matthew Vaughn, as well as Steven Soderbergh (who was planning on shooting the film with George Clooney in the lead). It\u2019s remarkable to listen to how this project was relegated to development hell for over a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that wasn\u2019t enough, you\u2019ll also get a double-sided\nfold-out poster, featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare\nCreative and an illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing on the movie, and\na reprinted article from CODEX Magazine on the film’s striking cinematography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s unfortunate that The Man from U.N.C.L.E.<\/em> wasn\u2019t properly\npromoted. US critics had trouble getting on its wavelength and at the time it\ndidn\u2019t fare particularly well at the box office. That\u2019s a shame, as it was such\na fun gem that also works as a brilliant intro and set-up for more adventures. It\nmay have taken almost a decade, but at least audiences have begun to catch up\nwith the picture and turned it into a cult item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrow Video has once again done a great service on the new 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray image. I was skeptical going in, but they have made it look even more impressive than it did only a decade ago. There are also some new, enjoyable extras that add more background to the history of the production. If you enjoy the movie as much as I do, then you really should pick up this edition. It is the best the film has looked since watching it at a press screening all those years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This title is available as a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD release or a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Arrow Video on July 30th. It\u2019s unusual to review a picture like this in a Blasts from The Past! section. While this reviewer is an enthusiast of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., it is less than a decade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":29055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[184,697,1046,1808,1836,3275,4595,4660,7073,9076,15922,18907,21498,21499,21500,21501,21504,22825,23989],"class_list":["post-29046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-184","tag-action","tag-alicia-vikander","tag-armie-hammer","tag-arrow-video","tag-bond","tag-cold-war","tag-comedy","tag-espionage","tag-henry-cavill","tag-period","tag-spy","tag-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e","tag-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e-4k-ultra-hd","tag-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e-4k-ultra-hd-disc-review","tag-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e-blu-ray-review","tag-the-man-from-uncle","tag-thriller","tag-warner-bros"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29046\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}