Blazing Saddles 4K Ultra HD

In a hilarious assault on good taste, "Blazing Saddles" stars Cleavon Little as an unlikely sheriff and Gene Wilder as the wacko Waco Kid fighting for land in the sleepy town of Rock Ridge. Cleavon's efforts to tame the town overflows with sight gags and something to offend almost anyone! No doubt, Brooks had loads of fun creating this politically incorrect film! (Gary Reber)

Special features include scene specific commentary by Director Mel Books, the featurettes "Inappropriate Inspiration: the Blazing Saddles Effect" (HD 21:08), "Blaze Of Glory: Mel Brooks' Wild Wild West" (HD 29:39) and "Back In The Saddle" (HD 28:23), additional scenes (HD 09:41) and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.35:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on 35 mm film stock in anamorphic Panavision® using the Panavision PSR R-200 camera system and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format remastered from the original negative. The picture is gorgeous from the first frame to the last. Film grain is virtually absent, which leads to assumption that some noise reduction was performed before encoding. The color palette is perfectly saturated with hues that are fabulously rich and warm, and vivid throughout. Yet the imagery exhibits naturalness with a wonderful production and controlled lighting. Numerous colors pop such as Lili's bight red outfit or the sheriff's maroon outfit. The outdoor scenes are real settings and realistic. Flesh tones are perfectly natural and healthy. HDR contrast is superb. Black levels are deep and solid with excellent definition. Shadow delineation is revealing of detail. White levels are brightly illuminated. The imagery is exceptionally sharp and clear throughout, which enhances the sense of dimensionality in the western landscapes and the City of Rock Ridge, and during the wild finale scene when the action spills out into Burbank Studios to invade adjoining sound stages and the Warner studios' commissary. Resolution is superb with fine detail exhibited in closeup and medium capture, such as facial features, clothing fabrics and objects. Facial features such as complexions, skin pores, lines, hair and beard stubble are nicely detailed. This is such a fabulous restoration of one of the great comedic classics and is without question the reference standard. Viewers will be absolutely thrilled. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is an exceptional experience. Sound quality is crystal clear with excellent fidelity, as if it was produced today. Atmospherics sound realistic. Sound effects, such as gunfire and explosions and galloping horses sound exciting. The music is fabulous in its presentation starting with the Count Basie Orchestra welcoming the new Rock Ridge sheriff and throughout with the brass and orchestral/choral orchestrations. Imaging is terrific with a wide and deep sound stage that extends aggressively to the surrounds to envelop the soundfield. Dialogue is intelligible throughout with excellent spatial integration.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of an extension of the music to the heigh layer as well as light dialogue, a church bell, meeting applause, campfire farts, explosions, ruckus in the studio commissary and numerous other sonics. Initially released in mono, this is a remarkable transformation into an Immersive Sound dimensional soundtrack that truly enhances the comedic experience.

This is a wonderful holosonic® spherical surround soundtrack that delivers superb fidelity, dynamics and soundfield dimensionality that will thrill fans. (Gary Reber)