Across the Universe 4K (2007) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX

A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. Star-crossed lovers, Jude and Lucy, along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" and "Mr. Kite" as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.

Across the Universe 4K (2007) Ultra HD 2160p REMUX Review
Across the Universe makes the leap to the UHD format with another hugely impressive 2160p/HDR-enhanced presentation from Sony. The upgrade to color and clarity, to richness and vitality, to filmic standout over the previously released Blu-ray, which came out way back in the Blu-ray format's infancy in early 2008, is evident right off the bat. The picture retains its inherent grain structure and reveals it with very light and very complimentary evenness and stability. Textural wonders abound, including brick, metal, and pavement at the ship yards seen early in the film and later, in the States, beautifully revealing many tangibly textured urban environments, college campus buildings, worn woods in barrooms, and other complex elements. Each and every surface reveals practically impeccable texturing, reach-out-and-touch complexity where even the flat 2D surface seems to come to life with depth and dimensionality and an innate sharpness that is becoming the calling card of these wondrous and wonderfully organic shot-on-film native 4K transfers. Likewise, skin textures and clothing lines and density are wonderfully accurate and complex. The HDR-enhanced color palette doesn't appear to fundamentally alter the movie's tonal complexion, but it is a rather dark and dim image. The film plays with a noticeably golden hue about it, which is reflected in skin tones, but the essential colors are pleasantly detailed and deeply saturated, including green grasses, a yellow taxi cab during Jo-Jo's arrival, storefronts around the city, and various costumes. Black levels are absorbingly deep. Print wear is essentially nonexistent and other source or encode shortcomings are practically nil. This is a fantastic UHD release from Sony.
Across the Universe features a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack that delivers the movie's musical numbers with impressive efficiency, clarity, and spacing. The film is, of course, heavily reliant on music to construct narrative, support tone, define characters, and create emotion, and the Atmos track is up to the challenge of presenting lyrics with abundant detail and instrumentals with seamless clarity and full-stage saturation. Musical balance is precise even as it's fluid and flowing. Speakers largely disappear in favor of a pleasantly organic stage immersion that takes full advantage of every speaker with even some modest overhead support. The top end carries a few good effects, some more intense, some more complimentary, but as with the music the sense of environmental precision and full-stage saturation is remarkable, particularly as every element seems so finely positioned and placed and organic. Dialogue, certainly prominent but equally sharing time with music and lyrics, is healthy, enjoying natural front-center positioning and fine prioritization.