Cop/Police movies available on 4K Blu-ray, ranked by transfer quality.
dir. Martin Brest
S-Tier Paramount 4K. Eddie Murphy in Detroit. Paramount's 80s comedy catalog on 4K has been reliable.
Paramount Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Cathy Yan
Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord.
Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Guy Hamilton
S-Tier StudioCanal 4K. Agatha Christie with Peter Ustinov as Poirot. StudioCanal's Christie releases have been consistently good.
StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Joel Coen
S-Tier Shout Factory 4K. The Coens' Midwest crime film. Shout Factory's transfer has been praised.
Shout! Factory · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Bill Paxton
S-Tier Lionsgate 4K. Bill Paxton's directorial debut. Southern Gothic horror with a strong transfer.
Lionsgate
dir. Ridley Scott
S-Tier Universal 4K. Hopkins as Lecter in Florence. Universal's catalog 4K.
dir. Akira Kurosawa
S-Tier Criterion 4K. Kurosawa's procedural thriller. The split-screen compositions look great.
Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.
dir. Rose Glass
S-Tier Plaion Pictures 4K. Rose Glass' crime romance with Kristen Stewart. A24 released the 4K after the Blu-ray had already shipped, which annoyed people who bought the Blu-ray a week earlier. One of the better A24 4K releases. The Rose Glass commentary is the draw for people who liked Saint Maud.
Plaion Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Alan Parker
S-Tier Capelight Pictures 4K. Alan Parker's civil rights thriller with Gene Hackman. Capelight's German mediabook release is the only 4K option, which means importing. The picture quality is reported as great. A Criterion release would make sense for this film, given how many directors people keep requesting for the collection.
Capelight Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Kathryn Bigelow
S-Tier ICON 4K. Kathryn Bigelow's surf-heist film with Keanu and Swayze. The Best Buy steelbook is well-liked, and there's also a French Amazon import steelbook. One person blind-bought the 4K and it became one of their favorite action films.
ICON · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
S-Tier 88 Films 4K. Jackie Chan's third Police Story with Michelle Yeoh. 88 Films released a standalone for people who already own the Criterion PS1-2 set. There are actually 8 films in the broader Police Story franchise, which surprises people.
88 Films
dir. Irvin Kershner
Shout Factory's 4K is a massive upgrade over the old Blu-ray. The steelbook artwork is polarizing, with Robo's face getting roasted in the comments, and most people recommending the standard 4K release instead. Region availability is limited to US and Canada, which frustrated international collectors. The slipcovers for RoboCop 2 and 3 line up nicely on a shelf, even though 3 is still Blu-ray only.
dir. Fritz Lang
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
dir. Walter Hill
For the past four years, San Francisco cop Jack Cates has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the Ice Man. Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond, who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day.
dir. Werner Herzog
A-Tier Kino Lorber 4K. Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage in New Orleans. Kino's been giving Herzog's catalog the 4K treatment.
Kino Lorber · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Tony Scott
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
dir. Michael Mann
Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin.
dir. John Woo
A-Tier Kino Lorber 4K. Travolta and Cage swap faces. Kino got this from Paramount's catalog.
dir. Larry Cohen
A-Tier Blue Underground 4K. Larry Cohen's NYC genre film. Blue Underground has been bringing their catalog to 4K.
Blue Underground · 4K + Blu-ray
Mann's downtown LA shootout still sounds like no other scene in the format. A-Tier Warner disc that gets cited in every debate about the best 90s action transfers.
Warner Bros.
dir. Rian Johnson
A-Tier Lionsgate 4K. Rian Johnson's murder mystery with Daniel Craig's southern accent. The steelbook had a famous Easter egg slipcover that reveals plot details when flipped backwards, and it caused near-panic when it first released. The steelbook's distressed design means scratches and dents blend right in. Reprints are available through Lionsgate for around $71 USD plus shipping.
Lionsgate · 4K + Blu-ray
A-Tier Criterion 4K. Melville's heist film, with the final safe-cracking sequence being the showcase. Often described as a time capsule of 70s France that happens to also be a solid thriller.
dir. Richard Donner
A-Tier Warner Bros. 4K. WB is doing the first Lethal Weapon solo in 4K, and everyone is waiting for the inevitable quadrilogy box set before buying in. The original Blu-ray was rough, so this remaster with Atmos is a real upgrade. The steelbook is $29.99 USD on GRUV, and the standard edition art actually looks better than the steel.
Warner Bros. · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Jonathan Demme
A-Tier Cinematographe 4K. Jonathan Demme's 1988 mob comedy with Michelle Pfeiffer. VS released this under their Cinematographe label, and first impressions are positive.
Cinématographe · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Anthony Waller
When a mute makeup/special effects artist working on a low-budget slasher film gets locked in a dilapidated Moscow movie studio late one night, she thinks she witnesses the making of a snuff film. Thus begins a night of terror.
dir. Jackie Chan
Eureka A-Tier 4K. Part of the Police Story trilogy set that collectors say is worth the upgrade. The theatrical cut transfer is a real improvement over previous releases.
Eureka Entertainment · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. John Irvin
A-Tier StudioCanal 4K. Arnold's underrated 1986 action film. The StudioCanal steelbook is nice-looking, and people keep asking for Commando, a T2 remaster, and more Arnold on 4K. The previous StudioCanal Blu-ray looked bad, so the 4K is a real step up.
The StudioCanal steelbook has great embossing and showed up in European sales for around 15 EUR. Region B locked on the Blu-ray side, which annoyed a few Region A collectors who wanted the full package. Purely a fun 80s action night pick.
Eagle Pictures
dir. José Padilha
Shout Factory A-Tier 4K, part of the same wave as RoboCop 2, Matinee, and Species II. The 2014 remake still gets dismissed by fans of the original, but Shout's transfer is strong enough that some people are revisiting it.
Shout! Factory · Steelbook
dir. Joe Carnahan
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
dir. Martin Scorsese
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
dir. David Zucker
When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
dir. William Friedkin
When his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.
Germany Capelight · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Sidney Lumet
Pacino disappearing into the role is the thing everyone mentions after watching. People who saw the 35mm print say the 4K captures that same quality. The C-Tier rating from Kino stings for a film this good. Collectors recommend pairing it with Prince of the City, same director, similar territory, arguably even better.
Shout Factory shipped this before some preorders even processed. The subtitle translation is worth reading up on before buying, since the Cantonese street slang doesn't translate neatly and different releases handle the dialogue differently. Arrow Video has a limited edition coming and most boutique collectors are holding out for it.
dir. Edgar Wright
D-Tier Universal 4K. The D-Tier rating has people confused because Edgar Wright's films are so visually precise. Multiple collectors have said the 4K actually looks worse than the Blu-ray, and the hope is Universal gives it the Shaun of the Dead treatment for the 20th anniversary in 2027.
Universal Pictures · Blu-ray
dir. Charles Band
The 4K exists, but the consensus is rough. The Blu-ray actually rates higher than the 4K on bestblurays. Most of the problems are baked into the source material, a sub-500K production shot on film short ends with cheap equipment. 101 Films put out a UK limited edition with a solid extras package, same transfer though. People buy Trancers because the movie is genuinely great, not for the picture quality.
101 Films · Limited Edition
dir. Mario Bava
International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them.
Eureka Entertainment · Limited Edition
dir. Ron Shelton
Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
dir. Uwe Boll
Bill Williamson is back, alive and well and doing a recon mission around D.C. This time he wants to cause a major population disruption within the USA which result in devastating consequences reverberating throughout the world. His new mission this time to bring down The President of the United States and his Secret Service detail. Bill brings with him all the freak-in havoc and acidity of the previous 2 movies.
dir. Craig R. Baxley
Joe Huff is a tough, loner cop with a flair for infiltrating dangerous biker gangs. The FBI blackmail Huff into an undercover operation that entails infiltrating The Brotherhood – a powerful Mississippi biker gang linked in the murder of government officials as well as dealing drugs with the mafia.
dir. James Glickenhaus
88 Films 4K. The American-produced Chan film where Hollywood hadn't figured out how to use him yet. Interesting as a curiosity, and the 88 Films disc is a solid presentation of a weird film.
88 Films · Limited Edition
