The obvious draw of 4K UHD video is pristine image quality taken to a level that should well exceed 1080p which was well beyond previous resolution iterations, SD especially. This was literally my first look at a 4K video on my relatively modest home setup, but it was indeed impressive. Understandably, the difference in ‘wow factor’ from 4K to 1080p compared to like 1080p to 480p is not as stark, yet at least, but it’s noticeable in both a good and potentially bad way just as we saw some 1080p imagery take on a lot of grain and artifacting when compared to SD.
That said, specifically with this Humpback Whales release, the image quality holds up really well and it’s a visual treat to be sure. Ewan McGregor’s narration along with the fascinating underwater footage tells a story about these whales and their near-extinction just several decades ago. Thankfully in the late 70s, many countries united to ban whaling in no small part due to the study of the whales’ eerie, yet somehow soothing “songs.” This helped lead to an understanding that, you know what, whales are not just large dumb fish that can be killed at whim for resources or sport. It’s hard to believe that it took so long for people to come around to that understanding, but, thankfully today it appears that the gigantic and amazing humpback whales are making a strong comeback in their numbers.
The documentary itself is fairly short at just forty minutes, but within it you’re treated to the splendid imagery and a good amount of information on whales themselves. The Shout! release offers a considerable value — not only are you getting the 4K UHD version, but also a 3D Blu-ray and standard 2D Blu-ray disc, too. It certainly covers the bases as far as formats go and makes a disc purchase much more interesting given that you get all of that in one go.
In terms of presentation quality, I did not look at the 3D Blu-ray version, but I can say that the 4K and 2D Blu-ray versions were quite good. The menu was a little cheesy, but, in terms of image and sound quality, it’s great. The 4K version has a HDR and SDR playback option as well, although I did not spend much time comparing the two closely. Suffice it to say that you should be pleased with the presentation quality all around here, and while it may not be the best 4K material you have going in your budding library, it does make for some good demo material.
Extra features are scant, but that’s not too surprising given the nature of this release. Fortunately, what is offered here is definitely worth watching. You get a seventeen minute making of feature that pulls the curtain back on how the underwater footage was captured and for a very casual fan of cinematography and the like as myself, it’s interesting and worth checking out.
With that, let’s head to the summary…
