IP Man 4K Ultra HD

Japanese occupation has brutally dismantled the once great city of Fushan. Defined by courage, one man stands for his people: Grandmaster "IP Man" (Donnie Yen),whose matchless fighting skills are revered all over China. He refuses to teach Wing Chun, his cherished martial arts style, to the invading Japanese soldiers, and is forced to fight for the honor of his country in a kill-or-be-killed showdown with General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi). Gary Reber)

Special feature include a making-of featurette (HD 18:33), deleted scenes (HD 03:19), trailers and upfront previews.

The 2.39:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, was photographed on Fuji Eterna film stock in Super 35 using the Arricam LT, Arriflex 35 BL4, Arriflex 435 Xtreme and Arriflex 535B camera systems and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format. The imagery is generally good despite some grain and noise conditions, but the color palette appears desaturated compared to what would be expected of a 4K Ultra HD presentation.. Colors appear acceptably saturated except for their dull grayish blue and black appearance during the Japanese occupation. Flesh tones appear weak. HDR contrast is faded as well with weak black levels and poor shadow delineation. However, resolution is excellent. Facial features are well defined such as skin pores, lines and hair, especially during closeups. Otherwise the imagery generally appears soft. Overall, the image presentation of the cinematography is compelling. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack features super hand-to-hand combat punches and other sound effects such as gunfire. Atmospherics sound mostly realistic with soundfield spaciousness. The orchestral score is sweeping and occupies a wide and deep soundstage that aggressively extends to the surrounds and height layer. At times, the music is comprised of deep sounding bass drums which add rhythmic segments. Foley sound effects are precise. The Cantonese and Japanese dialogue is clean and clear with clear white English subtitles.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of an aggressive extension of the orchestral score, Atmospherics and sound effect extend as well including firecrackers, wind, din fill, kung fu student grunts and subtle fight sounds, minor dialogue, Foley kicks, crowd sounds, machinery sounds in the cotton mill, and other sounds. This is a very effective height layer extension that nicely enhance the dimensional spatiality.

This a nicely crafted holosonic® spherical surround soundtrack presentation that delivers excellent realism and captivating cinematography. (Gary Reber)