The Nightmare Before Christmas
4K Ultra HD
Blu Ray
Lossless track reproduces nuanced sound, encapsulating Oregon's filming activities, Nightmare Before Christmas' deep themes and fair bonus features.
The color range is naturally reproduced, revealing sparkling delineation. Despite monochromatic tones, HDR adds nuanced and rich colors, particularly with vibrant reds and greens from the Christmas side. Disc-based films present better dimension and depth than streaming.
The lossless track delivers nuanced sound effects and music with indisputable fidelity. Immersed in a Broadway-esque musical experience through the 7.1 DTS-HD mix, it deviates from the previous TrueHD codec, manifesting an expansive surround experience aptly chosen.
This package includes Tim Burton's early films, with notable narrations and commentaries. Despite rich content, it lacks excitement for the 30th Anniversary of the featured film.
Determined to refresh Halloween Town, a caring but misguided character kidnaps Santa with help from tricky kids, and meticulously delivers gifts. This, alongside remarkable animation and soundtracks, are the driving forces that monumentalize this unique Disney creation.
Director: Henry Selick
Actors: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
Plot: Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Disc Release Date: 22 August 2023
all scores
- Video100
- Audio100
Perhaps surprisingly given the fact that so much of the film plays out in near monochromatic tones, HDR actually adds a good deal of nuance, actually from the get go where the orange tinged title credits...
Some regular readers of my reviews know I'm a bit of a musical theater nerd, and so I will say as much as I enjoy Danny Elfman's score (and I absolutely love it), it's not exactly a model of tight, Broadway-esque...
- Extra0
- Movie90
The 1080 disc in this package has the same supplements that are covered in both of the above linked reviews....
Due to the vagaries of my review queue, I've been watching some interesting documentaries on the history of the Disney studios, and also following up that watching with some background reading, and for...
- Total90
My home state of Oregon and especially my hometown of Portland (and environs) has enjoyed some significant filming activity over the course of the decades, but one of the most "keep Portland weird"-esque...
- Video100
- Audio80
While Halloween town sports some impeccable black levels, the better showcase comes from the Christmas side, the reds and greens gloriously rich, and the lights make full use of the HDR pass....
Enveloping is the easiest way to describe this 7.1 DTS-HD mix, the only change from the Blu-ray being the codec choice (it was TrueHD there)....
- Extra60
- Movie80
A commentary by Burton, Elfman, and director Henry Selik details all of the challenges the film brought with it....
Danny Elman’s soft, tender voice comes from a character that so clearly cares about doing the right thing for the right reasons, just in the wrong way....
- Total80
Nightmare Before Christmas explores identity, culture, and understanding in ways few films can or do....
- Video90
- Audio90
I’m not much of a fan of the streaming experience, it can be good, but there’s something about these films coming to disc that they feel more lively a better sense of dimension and depth than even what...
Much like Cinderella, they went for the more expansive surround experience, only in this case I’d argue it was the right choice....
- Extra60
- Movie90
What’s here is good but like a lot of the Mouse House catalog releases, not that exciting considering this film is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year....
One bad song or any fault in the incredible animation and this film would have fallen apart but those two are the magicians whose work held this film together and made it special....
- Total90
Bonus features are the same mix from the old “Sing-Along Edition” disc which was good, but not quite everything, and the lack of anything new is a bit of a bummer....
- Video100
- Audio94
The color range mates perfectly with the source material and are reproduced naturally, revealing subtle degrees of delineation that sparkle....
Fidelity is never in question as the lossless track capably reproduces the subtle nuance in both the sound effects and music....
- Extra60
- Movie80
Tim Burton’s Early Films: Frankenweenie: 1984 short film with new introduction by Tim Burton & Vincent Tim Burton’s Original Poem – Narrated by Christopher Lee...
Determined to shake things up in Halloween Town, he enlists the help of some mischievous trick-or-treaters to kidnap Santa Claus and takes over the job of delivering gifts to the children of the world...
- Total84
Fidelity is never in question as the lossless track capably reproduces the subtle nuance in both the sound effects and music....