Deep Impact is now available in 4k UHD, a marked improvement over the prior Blu-ray release, but doesn't overly impress with the UHD transfer. Despite this, fans of the film shouldn't hesitate to pick this up, as it is the best it has looked on home video format.
“What would you do if you discovered an enormous comet will collide with Earth and all humanity could be annihilated? Emmy winner Mimi Leder (“E.R.”) directs an all-star cast featuring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Leelee Sobieski, Blair Underwood, Maximilian Schell and Morgan Freeman in a unique and dynamic fusion of large-scale excitement with touching human-scale storylines. DEEP IMPACT on 4k Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 is a must-have action-adventure for your collection.”
Throughout the years there always seems to be competing franchises or variations of the same theme when it comes to storytelling, but the late 90s seemed to get a little out of hand when it came to disaster films. In 1997 there was Volcano and Dante’s Peak, then the next year, Armageddon and Deep Impact. What the public fascination about the end of the world was could be a many number of factors such as Y2K or prophecies about the end of the world during the new millennium. Whatever the method of world ending destruction, audiences had their pick, and as far as meteor/comet disaster films, Deep Impact is one of the go-to films.
Despite the similar world ending scenarios, Deep Impact and Armageddon are quite different. The latter of course directed by Michael Bay, he certainly has a way with action that makes this film the more pop-corn driven, mindless action blockbuster. At times that can be very entertaining, and I won’t go as far to say Armageddon has no emotion or substance, because it does, but I’ve always been partial to Deep Impact because of the exploration of the different storylines about people from all different walks of life and their reaction to coming to terms with their impending annihilation. While the other film primarily focuses on the crew sent to the meteor to drill, the mission to blow up the comet is only a small portion of Deep Impact, leaving room for emotional storylines that are very impactful, especially Téa Leoni’s character reconnecting with her father and the touching moment at the end on the beach, one of the most memorable scenes of the film.
Video
Deep Impact is presented in 2160p Ultra High-Definition Widescreen 2.39:1 featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10. While this certainly is an upgrade from the Blu-ray release, I was hardly impressed by the overall look of the UHD transfer. Colors are much more vibrant and life-like, thanks to the dynamic meta-data of the Dolby Vision, with grain kept at a manageable and film-like level, but the overall sharpness and detail I would have expected from UHD just wasn’t there. With some of the issues plaguing the previous Blu-ray release, however, this is a major improvement and should be a welcome release for fans of this film.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, which is the same as the previous Blu-ray release. Although this track does sound very impressive, with a large range and depth that provides a very immersive experience, I believe this could have benefitted from an upgraded Atmos track that would have made the end sequence of the film that much better.
Special Features
No new extras on this release, but include everything from the prior release, located on the Blu-ray disc. These are:
- Commentary by Director Mimi Leder and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar
- Preparing for The End
- Making an Impact
- Creating the Perfect Traffic Jam
- Parting Thoughts
- Photo Gallery
This Deep Impact UHD release by Paramount is a welcomed replacement for the prior Blu-ray. Personally, I was hoping for a bit more impressiveness on the visual side of things, but this transfer still looks better than it has in a long time. If you’re a fan of this film, this is one to pick up, and is out now.
