Groundhog Day 4K (1993) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX

Teamed with a relentlessly cheery producer and a smart-aleck cameraman, TV weatherman Phil Connors is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities. But on his way out of town, Phil is caught in a giant blizzard, which he failed to predict, and finds himself in small town hell. Just when things couldn't get worse, Phil wakes up the next morning to find it's Groundhog Day all over again... and again... and again.

Groundhog Day 4K (1993) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX Review
Groundhog Day was released back in 1993 and shot on film. Sony's 4K scan offers a delectable 2160p image, one that's beautifully filmic, nicely defined, sharp, and crisp. Grain retention is continuous and even, light but critically complimentary. It's a bit more harsh over the opening title sequence but settles in nicely for the duration thereafter. Textural qualities are highly impressive, particularly manmade environmental details around town. Pavement and brickwork, storefronts, booths and nicknacks in the diner, finely appointed wares in the bed and breakfast, every textural delight throughout the movie receives a healthy boost in crispness and definition over the previously released Blu-ray. Facial textures are nicely detailed and refined, lacking the absolute intensive sharpness of some UHD images but enjoying a perfectly balanced and toned, agreeably lifelike and filmic, presentation. Colors are pleasant. The HDR enhanced palette doesn't do much to alter the film's largely dreary, overcast, mildly washed out appearance. The chilly filtering not only compliments the film's location but also its tone, though certainly the overall palette finds a healthy boost in vibrance, depth, and stability. A few one-off elements sparkle. A blue screen in the studio at film's start and an orange fireball a little over an hour into the movie are highlights that show the subtle but critical boost in intensity and clarity high dynamic range brings to the film, even one that is otherwise somewhat bleak by design and dotted only by the occasional more warmly lit scene. Flesh tones match place and mood, appearing a little pasty and pale outdoors but finding creamier warmth inside. Black levels are deep with only mild push to excess brightness in spots. This may not be an absolute standout on the format, but Groundhog Day's UHD offers a satisfying increase in image stability, clarity, color, and cinematic bonafides over an aging 1080p Blu-ray. Another job very well done by Sony and another UHD that's a massive step forward from the previously released Blu-ray.

Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 2.0
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Thai: Dolby Digital Mono

Note: Polish and Russian VO, Spanish Castilian 5.1 and Latin American 2.0

Subtitles
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish