Gremlins [4K Ultra-HD] [1984] [Blu-ray] [2019]

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There is nothing overly graphic about it, but it’s partially a children’s horror/comedy and partially a young adult horror/comedy. Billy (Zach Galligan) along with a young Corey Feldman have sweet moments with the cute Mogwai named Gizmo, such as watching classic old movies on television, but one of the best set pieces has Billy’s mother Lynne (Frances Lee McCain) battling several tiny green beasties on her own, armed with only a blender, a microwave, and other kitchen items. This 4K image is overall darker, and I noticed a few spots of crush, but as a whole it provides a substantial upgrade for fans.

I am a bit disappointed they didn’t opt for giving this movie a Dolby Atmos mix, especially considering the original score composed by the late legendary Jerry Goldsmith.Audio is also available in French, German, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Latin Spanish, Czech voice-over, Hungarian, and Russian 5. Gremlins Behind-The-Scenes Featurette (06:21): This was put together when “Gremlins” was being shot, so it is not a modern special feature. Still, there’s surprising rich color palate like in the opening credits or the use of the colors red and green. Randall tells his wife and son “Billy Peltzer” ( Zach Galligan) there are three strict rules he must follow to take care of the Mogwai.

Commentary with Joe Dante, Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, and Howie Mandel: If you are looking to hear from the actors and how they approached this project, this is the right commentary track to listen to as they tell some great stories.It’s 1984 and I remember the furore regarding the release of tonight’s feature, that had Barry ‘and why not’ Norman’s review stating his own reservations. Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, and Corey Feldman co-star, with Howie Mandel providing the “voice” for Gizmo. His music here carries a lovely 80's vibe with it of course but also his melodies are very infectious and have an indelible earworm element to them as you are likely to be humming his tunes anywhere at any time plus they just plain stay in your head in general.

At startup, viewers are taken to a generic static screen with the usual options along the bottom and music playing in the background. All of the visual imperfections found occasionally on the original Blu-ray have now been cleaned up (seen via screenshots comparisons). In terms of video quality on this 4K UHD Blu-ray release, it is a presentation that does come across solid and pretty impressive with the amount of newfound detail. It is not a scary film at all, but it is a film which knows what it is trying to accomplish for audiences. This film perhaps could have benefited much if it had received an atmospheric object-based mix, but that’s not the case.The beautiful original music by composer Jerry Goldsmith proves to get a very nice amount of rear channel presence and comes with a decent amount of bass from the subwoofer. Perhaps the most useful such visual cue is Forbidden Planet, with its conceit of monsters from the id.