The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Score: 88
from 6 reviewers
Review Date:
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes delivers compelling performances and an outstanding 4K UHD presentation, despite its narrative flaws.
Disc Release Date
True 4K
HDR10
Dolby Vision
Dolby Atmos
Dolby TrueHD
Video: 96
The 4K UHD presentation of *The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes* delivers stunning clarity and detailed texturing, enriched with HDR/Dolby Vision for enhanced color saturation and shadow detail, yielding an immersive and visually refined experience while maintaining the filmmakers' artistic intentions.
Audio: 94
The Dolby Atmos mix of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a meticulously crafted, highly immersive experience, featuring dynamic use of height channels, robust low-frequency effects, and clear dialogue, creating a rich and engaging soundstage that enhances both action and atmospheric elements.
Extra: 76
The 4K UHD edition offers a comprehensive eight-part documentary, expanded audio commentary, trailers, and other exclusive content, providing an in-depth look at the film's production process and more insights into the Hunger Games universe.
Movie: 65
While "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" offers a visually stunning 4K UHD Blu Ray experience with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, reviews reveal a divided reception. Critics appreciate the film's intricate production design and laud performances, particularly by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. However, the narrative's pacing issues and lack of suspense leave some wishing for the urgency and depth of the original series. The prequel delves into Coriolanus Snow's rise, adding historical context, yet falls short of fully engaging its audience or justifying its necessity.
Video: 96
The 4K UHD Blu-ray presentation of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" is an exceptional display of modern digital cinematography, with Jo Willems masterfully capturing the film in ARRIRAW at 4.5K using Arri Alexa Mini LF IMAX cameras and Arri Signature Prime spherical lenses. The ultra-sharp native 4K transfer, processed in HEVC/H.265 and emulating a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, delivers an unwaveringly crisp image throughout its runtime. The meticulously refined details are striking, from noticeable textures in costumes and foliage to the finely etched architectures and interiors. The encode benefits from Dolby Vision HDR, enhancing the contrast with deeply detailed blacks and radiant highlights, lending a realistic luminance to scenes such as sunlit forests, without sacrificing the integrity of shadow details.
The color accuracy in this Ultra HD rendering is remarkably enhanced, with primary colors appearing richer and more defined, while secondary hues maintain depth and vibrancy as intended by the filmmakers. Although the palette often adopts a subdued, dusty aesthetic to reflect the film’s dystopian theme, it maintains fidelity with increased saturation via HDR technology. Scenes range from almost sepia tones to cooler blue hues, emphasizing the stark thematic contrasts within the narrative. The high dynamic range (Dolby Vision and HDR10) on the 100 GB disc ensures color dynamics are vivid, yet natural, notably augmenting scenes with teal undertones or pronounced sepia in bombed-out sections.
In summary, the 4K video presentation of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" is consistently impressive, elevating fine detail discernment, establishing robust color reproduction, and ensuring clean, unobstructed visuals without intrusive digital grain. It provides a technically flawless visual experience that excels in resolution and dynamism, enhancing both wide panoramic shots and intricate close-ups seamlessly.
Audio: 94
The Dolby Atmos surround mix on the 4K UHD Blu-ray of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" is exemplary, making effective use of the platform to create an enveloping auditory experience. From the opening scenes in the war-torn urban environment to the climax in dense woods, the track constantly utilizes all channels to deliver atmospheric and discrete effects. The immersive sound design bolsters Michael Kamen's score and Rachel Zegler’s vocal performances, rendering dialogue with clarity and precision. Optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, along with other audio formats, round out the presentation.
Height channels are used extensively and effectively in this Dolby Atmos mix, contributing to a 3D spatial experience, especially noticeable during sequences like the rebel bombing in the arena or snakes being deployed from a hovercraft. The mix's dynamic range is commendable, moving seamlessly from subtle atmospheric details to high-intensity action scenes. The bass is robust and powerful, providing significant weight to explosion effects and combat scenes. This integration of rich tonality and expansive soundstage greatly enhances the viewing experience, making it both engaging and thrilling.
Overall, the audio presentation on this disc integrates brilliantly with the visual elements of the film, offering a consistently immersive Dolby Atmos experience. Its use of ambient environmental effects throughout the surround channels ensures a truly hemispheric soundfield, enhancing the action and dialogue alike. The inclusion of additional language tracks and descriptive audio options further add to its appeal. This release stands out as a stellar example of how to utilize modern sound design techniques to fully envelop the audience in the narrative world.
Extra: 76
The 4K UHD Blu-ray release of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" offers an impressive collection of supplemental features. The highlight is the comprehensive 2.5-hour, 8-part documentary "Predator or Prey: Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes", which delves deeply into various production aspects such as casting, music composition, and costume design, making it an invaluable resource for film enthusiasts. Additionally, there is an insightful audio commentary by producer-director Francis Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson, providing detailed reflections on the film's creation. The disc also features a complete performance of "The Hanging Tree" by Rachel Zegler, a letter to fans from author Suzanne Collins, and theatrical trailers exclusive to the 4K UHD disc. This array of extras enriches the viewing experience, making this release a notable addition to any collection.
Extras included in this disc:
- Audio Commentary: Conversation with Francis Lawrence and Nina Jacobson.
- Predator or Prey: Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes: Eight-part documentary covering various production aspects.
- The Hanging Tree: Audio of Rachel Zegler performing the song.
- A Letter to the Fans: Text frames featuring Suzanne Collins' message.
- Theatrical Trailers: Set of three promotional previews exclusive to 4K UHD.
Movie: 65
"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" intricately dives into the origins of Coriolanus Snow, set 64 years before the events of the original series. The narrative pivots around an 18-year-old Snow (Tom Blyth), grappling with the loss of his family's stature. As a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) in the 10th Hunger Games, Snow's journey unfolds amidst political machinations and personal turmoil. Snow's strategic mind and Lucy’s unexpected appeal captivate Panem's audience, outlining a delicate dance between ambition and morality. Despite its lengthy runtime of over two and a half hours, the film offers new perspectives on familiar themes and establishes the foundational elements that shaped the overarching dystopian world.
A prominent deviation from previous entries is the reduced emphasis on the arena, choosing to explore Snow’s psychological evolution. While this approach provides a contemplative energy, it occasionally dampens the film's pacing, contrasting sharply against action-driven sequences. The narrative’s episodic nature highlights key moments without delving deeply into their lasting impacts. The depiction of societal rebuilding post-conflict adds a compelling layer, enhanced by stellar performances from Blyth and Zegler. Viola Davis' portrayal of the menacing Dr. Gaul and Peter Dinklage as the visionary Casca Highbottom lend gravitas to the production, though some plot points, such as an abrupt bombing scene, lack sufficient context, detracting from a cohesive flow.
Musical interludes featuring Lucy Gray inject an unexpected but effective element, offering an almost surreal Appalachia-inspired ambiance. Despite mixed receptions, such divergences refresh the franchise with distinct tones and character nuances. While Blyth portrays Snow’s eventual descent into tyranny adeptly, some viewers may find the film’s drawn-out nature and lack of kinetic suspense undermine its potential. Ultimately, "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" serves as a meticulously detailed origin tale that enriches the lore of Panem, albeit with some pacing flaws, leaving room for more narratives from Suzanne Collins.
Total: 88
Review of "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" 4K UHD Blu-ray
"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes," based on Suzanne Collins' novel, serves as a prequel to the original Hunger Games films. This film provides intriguing insights into Panem's authoritarian history and burgeoning dystopia. Despite its narrative potentially overstaying its welcome with a near three-hour runtime, it manages to keep audiences somewhat engaged. The film is enhanced by first-rate performances from the cast, particularly Blynth, Dinklage, and Davis, and boasts outstanding production design that fully immerses viewers in its world.
On the technical front, the 4K UHD Blu-ray release by Lionsgate Home Entertainment is commendable, featuring a reference-quality Dolby Vision HDR presentation and an excellent Dolby Atmos soundtrack that elevates the viewing experience. The attention to both audio and visual detail ensures a crisp and dynamic encapsulation of the film’s atmospheric tension. The disc is supplemented with a fair array of extras, adding value for die-hard fans who crave behind-the-scenes insights and additional content.
While "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" may have its detractors due to questions unaddressed and a somewhat unessential feel compared to its predecessors, it nonetheless delivers substantial thematic content on fascistic evolution and societal manipulation through mass media. Overall, it may not measure up to the gravitas brought by Jennifer Lawrence in the previous films but still deserves recognition for its solid technical merits and involving performances.
is based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It’s a prequel to the events that occur in the original Hunger Games films. While it’s not wholly gratifying, narratively speaking, I found myself completely involved in its story and invested in its characters. It arrives on Blu-ray in this 4K/Blu-ray/Digital release from Lionsgate Home Entertainment featuring excellent overall audio/video, including a terrific Dolby Atmos listening track, and, a fair supplemental offering.
Blu-ray.com review by Jeffrey KauffmanRead review here
Video: 100
Captured at source resolutions of over 4K with Arri Alexas and presumably with a 4K DI (the IMDb has no information as of the writing of this review, but there are some other online data aggregators stating...
Audio: 100
From the opening moments of a wartorn urban environment to some of the late third act sylvan material featuring Coriolanus and Lucy, all of the surround channels are frequently abuzz with ambient environmental...
Extras: 100
Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (HD; 2:30:43) is a really in depth eight part documentary that covers things like production design, casting and post production aspects....
Movie: 60
There's no "arena" for "games" as the film opens, but a desolate landscape littered with corpses may still evoke memories of the first four Hunger Games films, albeit in this case the dead seem to be adults,...
Total: 80
While I'm sure even diehard fans of the franchise may have some quibbles with this prequel, they will probably find enough here to warrant checking this out, and the general technical excellence of the...
Blu-ray Authority review by Matt Brighton and Matt MaloufRead review here
Video: 100
Detail is spot on and we see some of the “antiquated” technology as compared to the first three films....
Audio: 100
Offering a more atmospheric and encompassing mix, this is a welcome change from the standard mix from before and it’s a nice inclusion to have....
Extras: 60
Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes – The obligatory eight-part “documentary” that’s broken down into more digestible segments that cover the basis of the film....
Movie: 0
I am not saying the later films were more optimistic, but the world here is certainly a darker one with many forced into things they don’t agree with....
Total: 80
I can appreciate that it doesn’t just repeat what we’ve seen already, but there’s also a feeling of redundancy....
The Digital Bits review by Bill HuntRead review here
Video: 95
For its release on Ultra HD, the film’s 4K source has been graded for high dynamic range (in both Dolby Vision and HDR10) and encoded on a 100 GB disc....
Audio: 95
Movement is smooth and effortless, and the height channels are used to great effect to enhance the scale of interior spaces, particularly in the Capitol’s cavernous halls and arenas....
Extras: 90
Jacobson has been working on this film franchise since the very beginning, and Lawrence nearly so, which means they have lots of insights to share on the series and on the production of this film in particular....
Movie: 80
Sixty-four years before the events depicted in The Hunger Games (2012), and ten years after the first Hunger Games was established by the Capitol of Panem to remind its twelve subservient Districts of...
Total: 90
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes may not have performed as strongly at the box office as its predecessors, but it’s a well made and credibly-produced prequel that delivers nearly everything...
High-Def DigestRead review here
Video: 100
Shot entirely on the Arri Alexa camera system, the freshly-minted, native 4K transfer is razor sharp from start to finish, showing clean, distinct lines along the various buildings and the furniture....
Audio: 80
Extras: 60
"The Hanging Tree" (HD, 3 min) is an audio recording of Rachel Zegler singing the song while the film's logo sits in the middle of the screen....
Movie: 40
However, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is terribly boring and episodic because Snow is mind-numbingly bland and basic, failing at every turn to arouse our curiosity or interest, yet director Francis...
Total: 80
With a healthy collection of supplements to boot, the overall UHD package is a case of "bad flick, good disc" and is reluctantly Recommended for those looking for new demo material....
AVSForum review by Ralph PottsRead review here
Video: 92
The increase in resolution is apparent, especially wide-angle shots, which look simply terrific....
Audio: 96
In listening to the Dolby Atmos surround mix I found it to be of the active variety that makes effective use of the platform....
Extras: 70
Disc 1: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc 2: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Blu-ray • Audio Commentary with Producer-Director Francis Lawrence...
Movie: 70
With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he's assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from the impoverished District 12....
Total: 82
While it’s not wholly gratifying, narratively speaking, I found myself completely involved in its story and invested in its characters....
Why So Blu?Read review here
Video: 100
Colors look faded and dusty as a dystopian world should, and details are sharp for the duration of the film!Depth: Interiors and exteriors are rife with items to take in....
Audio: 100
From the punishing bass to the active height channels to the excellent dialogue placement, there is nothing but raves to be said about this mix!Height: Whether it’s a drone flying in water or snakes unleashing...
Extras: 80
Making The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a 2 and a half hour, 8-part documentary that gives you everything you need to know about the making of the film....
Movie: 80
This film rather deftly sets Snow up first as an ambitious, kind and determined mentor to Lucy Gray, then a player on both sides of the Hunger Games lines, and finally, as a would-be evil doer looking...
Total: 80
I did not expect to connect to this film as much as I did, and I can only hope there is a follow up....
Director: Francis Lawrence
Actors: Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis
PlotIn a dystopian future, the once prosperous nation of Panem is recovering from the devastation of war. The Capitol, looking to reassert its dominance over the 12 districts, conceives the 10th Hunger Games, a televised event where selected youths, known as "tributes," are forced to fight to the death in a controlled arena. Amidst this grim backdrop, young Coriolanus Snow, a member of an influential but declining Capitol family, sees an opportunity to regain his family's lost prestige. He is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from impoverished District 12, whose singing ability and charismatic personality captivate the entire nation. Faced with the harsh realities of the Games and the capriciousness of Capitol society, Snow's ambitions and motivations begin to evolve.
As Snow navigates the treacherous political landscape surrounding the Hunger Games, he forms a complex bond with Lucy Gray. Their journey reveals the deep inequalities and brutalities of Panem, prompting Snow to manipulate the games and the public's perceptions for their advantage. This relationship, built on a mix of mutual dependence and manipulation, lays the groundwork for the events that will ultimately shape the future of Panem. Through their experiences, the narrative explores themes of power, loyalty, and rebellion, setting the stage for the transformative rebellions that would come to define the nation's history.
Writers: Michael Lesslie, Michael Arndt, Suzanne Collins
Release Date: 17 Nov 2023
Runtime: 157 min
Rating: PG-13
Country: United States, Canada
Language: English