Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 4K Blu-ray 2010 REMUX UHD

As Harry races against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, he uncovers the existence of the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows. For more about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 4K download and the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 4K Blu-ray release download, see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 4K Blu-ray Review published by Michael Reuben on April 11, 2017 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.

According to the best available information, Warner's 2160p, HEVC/H.265-encoded UHD presentation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has been sourced from a 2K digital intermediate, which limits the prospect that the format's superior resolution will reveal additional detail. Still, the HDR encoding provides subtle but noticeable improvements over the standard Blu-ray, courtesy of enhanced contrast, black levels and highlights. Deathly Hallows: Part 1 continues the dark, shadowy and desaturated visual style evident in all four of director David Yates's entries in the Potter series, which remained a consistent trend despite the involvement of three different cinematographers—Slawomir Idziak for The Order of the Phoenix, Bruno Delbonnel for The Half-Blood Prince and Eduardo Serra for The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2. Unlike in Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, the UHD's creators do not seem to have accentuated the pervasive darkness in their rendering of Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Indeed, a number of sequences are actually a touch brighter with HDR encoding, e.g., the Dursleys' departure from Privet Drive and Harry's farewell to No. 4, or the rocky seaside heights where Harry and Hermione hunker down to consider their options after escaping their pursuers.

However, the most noticeable benefits of HDR in Deathly Hallows: Part 1 appear in its darkest sequences, courtesy of improved contrast and highlights. The entire early sequence at Malfoy Manor, which begins with Snape's teleported arrival and concludes with Valdemort feeding Charity Burbage to his snake, is rendered newly vivid by the UHD's ability to clearly delineate between separate areas of darkness. The shot of future puppet minister Pius agreeing with Valdemort while the snake Nagini watches him from the right of frame is noticeably more menacing, and the recurrent closeups on Snape are more affecting with the heightened contrast separating his pale features from their frame of jet-black hair. (Snape's reactions—or lack thereof—are critical to the scene.)

Another good example occurs later in the film, when Harry dives beneath the icy surface of a frozen pond to retrieve the Sword of Gryffindor. The Horcrux around Harry's neck hinders his effort, pulling him back, and Harry's struggles in the dark water are clearer, and the movements of the Horcrux necklace are more readily visible, with the benefits of HDR.

Except for eruptions of magic, colors on the UHD remain muted and desaturated, though not to the extent seen in The Half-Blood Prince. For this entry in the series, the UHD colorist appears to have hewed to the palette originally established on the Blu-ray of Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

[System calibrated using a Klein K10-A Colorimeter with a custom profile created with a Colorimetry Research CR250 Spectraradiometer, powered by SpectracCal CalMAN 2016 5.7, using the Samsung Reference 2016 UHD HDR Blu-ray test disc authored by Florian Friedrich from AV Top in Munich, Germany. Calibration performed by Kevin Miller of ISFTV.]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 4K Blu-ray, Audio Quality 5.0 of 5
Previous releases of The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 contained a 5.1 soundtrack encoded in DTS-HD MA, but the UHD arrives with a DTS:X soundtrack that, on audio systems not yet equipped to decode that format, should play as DTS-HD MA 7.1. Kenneth Brown's review gave the mix highest marks, noting "the ungodly dissonance that opens the film", "the raging storm that gives way to the end credits", a bevy of surround effects that "turn[ ] forest chases and Horcrux battles into enveloping show-stoppers" and "thunderous elements [that] put the LFE channel through its paces and deliver the sonic goods, time and time again". Ken's audio score of 5 leaves me no room for increase, but the DTS:X encoding does indeed surpass its predecessor in numerous respects.

Start with that opening dissonance, as the Warner logo advances toward the camera, rusting, cracking and disintegrating as it goes. In DTS:X, the crackling and warping sounds are finer and more realistic, which makes them even more unsettling, and they move from front to back with increased precision. Harry's escape from Privet drive on Hagrid's flying scooter—a bravura combination of aerial acrobatics and demolition derby—is newly energized, from the overhead takeoffs passing Mad-Eye Moody to the flock of Death Eaters that attack Harry and his allies, with multiple flying objects precisely localized in an enveloping three-dimensional space. The multi-directional elevators in the Ministry of Magic clank and rattle more expansively, and Ron's explosive diversion to cover his entry into Dolores Umbridge's office is similarly expanded, with multiple jangles and pulses positioned throughout the listening room. When the Horcrux necklace is opened, Voldemort's voice darts deftly through the speaker array, as the dark wizard mounts his psychological attack against Ron (the 5.1 mix makes it a more generalized presence). None of these enhancements come at the expense of dialogue intelligibility or the reproduction of Alexandre Desplat's score.

It should be noted that "object-based" sound formats are designed to be adaptive, and DTS:X in particular touts its ability to adjust to a wide variety of speaker configurations. Still, the degree to which the new mix produces audible benefits in the home theater will no doubt vary depending on individual sound systems and speaker arrays. For reference, I listened to The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on a 7.1.2 speaker configuration, consisting of front left, right and center, and two each of side, rear and "height" speakers, plus subwoofer.