Doctor Sleep 4K Ultra HD

In "Doctor Sleep," Dan Torrance (McGregor), still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel, fights to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra (Curran), a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the "shine." Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose The Hat (Ferguson) and her followers, The True Knot, who feed of the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death with Rose. Abra's innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before––at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the featurettes "Return To The Overlook" (HD 14:59), "The Making Of Doctor Sheep: New Vision" (HD 13:57) and "From Shining To Sleep" (HD 04:56); and a movies Anywhere digital code.

The 1.85:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10/Dolby Vision picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa 65 camera system and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. The picture is a combination of outer world stylization and naturalness in interior and outdoor settings. Image detail and textures are quite appealing, with a substantial amount of depth. Color fidelity follows the production design and generally is natural in hues, but can also appear stylized. Colors tend to not be exaggerated and often are earthy in hue. Fleshtones are naturally rendered and appear so in various settings. The wide color gamut is evident and exhibits nuanced hue shadings, which enhances realism. HDR contrast is excellent with natural black levels, revealing and deep shadow delineation, and lighting highlights that enhance realism. Resolution is stylized with a generally soft focus to create the appearance of atmospherics. This soft focus applies to closeups as well, though, not always. WOW! segments are from 47:30 to 48:05, 49:46 to 55:07, 01:17:02 to 01:20:00 and 01:36:58 to 01:40:34.

This is a very creative visual experience and often very natural in appearance. It is compelling and engrossing, and one that completely engages the viewer. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. included a Digital Code of the Director's Cut in 4K but not on an actual disc. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack was remixed specifically for the home theatre environment. Deep, extended sub-25 Hz bass energizes much of the soundtrack with particular energy delivered by the .1 LFE channel. This is a soundtrack that is strong on atmosphere. Atmospherics are superb and enrich the various environments with realism. Sound effects are often powerful and directionalized. All manner of sound effects create dramatic effects, such as roaring sounds, gunfire, vehicles, road noise, a vehicle crash, the dying disintegration of True Knots, distorted wind sounds and all manner of spooky sonics. The orchestral score utilizes synthesizers and creates a very spooky emotional feel. The music is a perfect complement to the horrific story. The music occupies a wide and deep soundstage with extension to the four surrounds, which completely engulfs the soundfield. Dialogue is rendered both normally and with reverberation to create a spooky effect and as well at times is directionalized.

The Immersive Sound element is prominently comprised of a strong extension of the music throughout. Sound effects include a segment of music and dialogue from "Casablanca," wind and clinging sounds, some dialogue extension, a synthesizer bass beat, haunting group voices, small group applause, forest breezes and directionalized bird chirping, eerie sounds and voices, choral effects, panned beating sounds, powerful swoosh sounds, a girl's voice, echo'd gunfire and other eerie and ambience sound effects. This is a very effective height layer experience that effectively enhances dimension.

This is a fantastic soundtrack that develops dynamics and spookiness, with occasional sudden scares, as it steadily builds with strong directionalization and holosonic® spatial dimensionality, delivering a reference-quality experience. (Gary Reber)