Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Feb 20, 2020
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Edgar WrightRelease Date(s)
2004-2013 (September 10, 2019)Studio(s)
Rogue Pictures/Working Title/Focus Features (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: See Below
- Video Grade: See Below
- Audio Grade: See Below
- Extras Grade: A-
- Overall Grade: B+
Review
The lasting impact of Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy continues to have repercussive effects on comedy. Starting before the Judd Apatow wave of films dominated pop culture and ending after their reign had waned, the Cornetto films struck a perfect balance between paying homage to the filmmakers and genres of the past, but also crafting characters and universes that resonated beyond their satiric and reverential confines. Equally effective as horror (Shaun of the Dead), action thriller (Hot Fuzz), and sci-fi drama (The World’s End), they are in a class all their own, spawning many imitators in their wake. But none have come close to their quality of writing, acting, filmmaking, and most importantly, repeat value.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released each of the films in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy individually on 4K Ultra HD. Each film is also included in this 6-disc set on new UHD discs, along with the original Blu-rays and Digital Copies.
For my thoughts on each individual films, including the 4K audio and video quality, and the disc features, please check the review links below…
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
HOT FUZZ (2007)
THE WORLD’S END (2013)
In general, all three films appear to have been mastered using existing 2K Digital Intermediates—the same ones used for previous Blu-ray and DVD releases. That’s too bad, as the films would have benefitted from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives. However, there is at least a modest increase in detail and texturing. The colors show the greatest improvement thanks to the new High Dynamic Range grades (HDR10 and HDR10+ are available on each UHD disc). The audio has been upgraded with new object-based DTS-X encodes that really improve on the previous 5.1 DTS-HD mixes from Blu-ray, adding greater space, smoother movement, and more natural staging.
All of the great extras from every previous release of the films carry over here on Blu-ray, including all of the fantastic audio commentaries, but there’s nothing new added for this release. You do get Digital Copy codes for each film on a paper insert.
Universal’s debut of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy on UHD is’t perfect, but it’s still a nice package for a budget 4K release with decent picture quality, nicely improved audio, and quality extras. It’s highly recommended for the price.
- Tim Salmons
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