Sword and Sorcery movies available on 4K Blu-ray, ranked by transfer quality.
dir. Sam Raimi
S-Tier Scream Factory 4K. Four cuts of the film on four discs. The theatrical, director's cut, international cut, and television version are all included.
Scream Factory · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. John Milius
S-Tier Arrow Video 4K. Schwarzenegger swinging a sword. Arrow's release with multiple editions is what collectors are buying.
Arrow Video · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Richard Fleischer
S-Tier Arrow Video 4K. Schwarzenegger sequel. Same Arrow treatment as the first Conan.
dir. John Boorman
A VHS-to-4K comparison post made the rounds and the transfer quality gap is staggering. The comments turned into a meditation on how 4K is the last physical format and we lucked out that it's the best one.
dir. Russell Mulcahy
40th Anniversary Collector's Edition 4K announced for June in the UK. Early looks suggest it's a repackage of the existing release with identical extras, just new physical packaging. The video transfer is apparently strong but the audio has problems, with one owner saying it sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a trash can.
StudioCanal / Lionsgate · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. John McTiernan
A-Tier Sony Pictures 4K. Coppola's Dracula with Gary Oldman. A small horror collection staple.
Sony Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Robert Eggers
Universal S-Tier 4K. Eggers went full Viking saga and the transfer is reference quality. The night raid sequence in Dolby Vision is one of the most visually intense things in the format. People keep putting this in their top reference disc lists.
Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Jon M. Chu
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
dir. Matthew Robbins
A-Tier Paramount 4K. The dragon effects are still effective and the matte paintings have a tactile quality that CGI has never matched. A practical effects showcase.
Paramount Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
dir. Kenny Ortega
A-Tier Disney 4K. The spell book steelbook is the one people love, with embossing on the front and stapled spine edges that make it look like an actual book. Hamilton Book has had this for around $12 USD, which is hard to beat for a disc that gets pulled out every October.
Walt Disney Studios · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Jake Kasdan
As the gang return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.
dir. Rob Marshall
A-Tier Disney 4K. Fourth Pirates film. Minimal collector interest around the 4K.
dir. David F. Sandberg
A boy is given the ability to become an adult superhero in times of need with a single magic word.
dir. Peter Jackson
Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit enjoying his quiet life, is swept into an epic quest by Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves who seek to reclaim their mountain home from Smaug, the dragon.
Warner Bros. · 4K + Blu-ray
Following Smaug's attack on Laketown, Bilbo and the dwarves try to defend Erebor's mountain of treasure from others who claim it: the men of the ruined Laketown and the elves of Mirkwood. Meanwhile an army of Orcs led by Azog the Defiler is marching on Erebor, fueled by the rise of the dark lord Sauron. Dwarves, elves and men must unite, and the hope for Middle-Earth falls into Bilbo's hands.
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
dir. Jon Turteltaub
Criterion A-Tier 4K. Nicolas Cage Disney fantasy film that's in the catalog without generating much active conversation. The Criterion presentation is what you'd expect from the label.
Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray
dir. Victor Fleming
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.
dir. Terry Gilliam
Young history buff Kevin can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former employees of the Supreme Being, they've purloined a map charting all of the holes in the fabric of time and are using it to steal treasures from different historical eras. Taking Kevin with them, they variously drop in on Napoleon, Robin Hood and King Agamemnon before the Supreme Being catches up with them.
dir. Ron Howard
Disney A-Tier 4K steelbook with a December 10 street date. Warwick Davis still turns up at conventions and there's a real fanbase here, bigger than the cult-film label suggests.
dir. David Yates
Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one capable of putting a stop to him is the wizard he once called his closest friend, Albus Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore will need to seek help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
Mary Poppins returns to the Banks family and helps them evade grave dangers by taking them on magical, musical adventures.
dir. Daisuke Nishio
In order to wish for immortality and avenge his father, Garlic Jr. collects the dragon balls, kidnapping Goku's son Gohan in the process. Goku, Kami, Piccolo, and Krillin unite to rescue Gohan and save the world from being sucked into a dead zone.
dir. Yasuhito Kikuchi
Sony Steelbook. The top comment calls it a disappointment and recommends a different director's work instead. Series fans will buy it.
Sony Pictures · Steelbook
dir. John C. Broderick
The mighty warrior, Kain, crosses the barren wastelands of the planet Ura, where two arch enemies, Zeg and the evil degenerate Balcaz, fight incessantly for control of the village's only well. Kain sees his opportunity and announces that his sword is for hire... but his eyes stay clearly on the beautiful captive sorceress Naja, and his newly awakened purpose.
dir. Héctor Olivera
Simon, son of the king, must flee when the empire is overthrown by the evil Shurka. Schooled in the arts of magic, he must find the Ring of Magic and the Sword of Power and defeat the wizard who killed his father. He is joined in his quest by the swordmaster Kor, his faithful protector Gulfax, and the Forest Wizard Hurla.
