4K and Blu-ray movie reviews: ‘The Gentlemen’ and Paramount Presents

Guy Ritchie’s wry gangster thriller from early this year arrives on ultra-high definition home theaters screens in The Gentlemen (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 113 minutes, $29.99).

The clever tale of crime lord Michael ’Mickey’ Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) plays out as he grows weary of his marijuana empire. He looks for a quick sale from kingpin Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong) before England legitimately goes to pot. However, life in the criminal universe is never that simple.

The more complex action often focuses on rivals attempting to infiltrate Mickey’s empire as the deal stays in play.

The narrative gets revealed by private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) as he attempts to sell compromising information to Mickey’s second-in-command Raymond Smith (Charlie Hunnam) or decides to deliver the goods to jilted tabloid news owner Big Dave (Eddie Marsan) looking to bring the cannabis king down.

Mr. Richie delivers a winner, weaving a satisfying group of criminal vignettes together packed with jazzy banter and retorts and using his well-seasoned ensemble cast of characters to present a complete story with a satisfying climax of thuggery.

4K in action: Viewers get a reference quality presentation culled from a 4K digital intermediate that often highlights the somewhat grizzled cast of character actors interacting in often drab and dreary settings.

That means lots of examination of actors’ faces during dialogue heavy scenes down to nearly every length, thickness and texture of beards, skin tones of near every race of manly men, age lines embedded like maps of a veteran actor’s life, hair styles with too much or too little product sheen or sweat, and lots of greasy foreheads.

Additionally, cinematographer Alan Stewart offers a wide swath of lighting options during the film that are immaculately captured via the ultra-high definition format as deep blacks, toned whites and rich color nuances from high dynamic range enhancements expose natural lifelike moments throughout. 

Location lighting variations to appreciate include an evening with characters’ barbequing, a drive along a cloudy countryside, a close-quarters combat scene in a harshly lit deli, a dimly illuminated mansion sitting room packed with wall-to-wall antique paintings, a slum apartment barely lit by open windows and a boxing gym flooded by florescent light.

Best extras: A stunning lack of bonus content on the 4K or Blu-ray discs only offers a 5-minute promotional featurette on what makes a Guy Ritchie film, a 3-minute look at some of the amusing witticisms spouted by characters and a less-than-a-minute’s homage to references made in the illegal cannabis business.

Despite the glorious 4K presentation, that lack of bonus content cements the film as a rental and not worthy of adding a physical copy to a home theater library.

Paramount Presents

One of the leaders of home entertainment celebrates its catalog of popular movies from the last century with a selection of Blu-ray, high definition releases culled from new 4K transfers.

Each boasts new extras with segments from film historian Leonard Maltin and new packaging offering a foldout cover of the original movie poster and some vintage photos found on the insert of the plastic case.

Here’s a brief look at some of the classic films now currently available.

King Creole (Rated PG, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 116 minutes, $29.99) — Elvis Presley plays misunderstood bad boy but also talented nightclub singer Danny Fisher who refuses to play New Orleans’ mobster Maxie Field’s club and, as they say in 1958 music biz, let the singing, hip shaking and lip curling begin.

Presley is joined by Walter Matthau (“The Odd Couple”) as Maxie, Carolyne Jones (“The Addams Family”) as Maxie’s moll (infatuated with Danny) and Dean Jagger (“White Christmas”) as his struggling father,

Perhaps Presley’s finest acting performance, the film also features the icon belting out some great tunes (heard in a Dolby TrueHD sound mix no less) including “Trouble,” “Dixieland Rock” and “King Creole.”

Released for the first time in high definition, the black-and-white, classic looks crystal clear in a satisfying screen-filling presentation. Extras include 6 minutes about the production from Mr. Maltin.

To Catch a Thief (Rated PG, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 113 minutes, $29.98) — Retired cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) lives the high life on the French Riviera until an impersonator threatens to drag him back into his criminal past. With hindrance and help from newfound admirer, sassy American heiress Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly) and Lloyds of London insurance agent H.H. Hughson (John Williams), the trio attempt to (yeah, I’ll type it)  catch a thief.

The eye-popping classic from 1955 arrives via high definition to take advantage of its Technicolor and screen-engorging VistaVision roots and deliver one of Hitchcock’s most colorful, panoramic and oddly romantic if not slightly ribald movies.

Extras include 7 minutes mainly on Hitchcock from Mr. Maltin, 6 minutes on the star power of Grant and Kelly and an optional commentary track with Hitchcock historian Drew Casper.

The professor delivers an education on the film as he discusses the first time helicopter tracking shots of a car chase were used and specifics on the VistaVision process to name just a few of interesting topics covered.

What’s missing is slew of featurettes from the 2012 Blu-ray release that, unfortunately, makes this “To Catch a Thief” not the most definitive version for home theater connoisseurs.