A recent article from BGR highlights five standout 4K Blu-ray releases ideal for viewers with new televisions, emphasizing high-quality restorations and bonus features. The recommendations span classics from Citizen Kane to modern trilogies, offering reliable physical media alternatives to streaming. Published on December 19, 2025, the list prioritizes discs with Dolby Vision and extensive extras for cinephiles.
The article, titled '5 Best 4K Blu-Ray Movies To Watch On Your New TV,' argues that 4K Blu-ray discs provide superior quality over streaming, avoiding issues like color banding and subscription barriers. It focuses on editions that use original negatives or high-quality prints, enhanced with modern technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Starting with Citizen Kane, the Criterion Collection edition includes a 4K UHD disc, standard Blu-ray, and bonus content like audio commentaries from Orson Welles scholars, interviews with Joseph Cotten and Robert Wise, and a 1991 BBC documentary titled 'The Complete Citizen Kane.' However, the paper sleeves for discs have drawn criticism for potential damage over time.
Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, released for the film's 40th anniversary, features a restoration from the original negative with Dolby Vision. This three-disc set includes the Hearts of Darkness documentary on production challenges and a Q&A with Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Soderbergh. Some buyers expressed disappointment with the specific cut included.
The Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition captures the film's original grain structure effectively in 4K. Extras cover the making-of documentary, post-production refinements, the movie's legacy in action and horror genres, storyboards, production photos, and marketing materials. Reports note occasional playback freezing on some discs.
For epic fantasy, the Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy offers 4K versions of the theatrical and extended editions, remastered by Peter Jackson's Park Road Post Production. The set is praised for its closeness to theatrical visuals, though some viewers miss the original grain, and isolated cases of corrupted discs were mentioned.
Finally, Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 bundles six films: His Girl Friday, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Kramer vs. Kramer, Starman, Sleepless in Seattle, and Punch-Drunk Love. It provides 4K and Blu-ray discs with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, an 80-page booklet, and over 30 hours of special features. Complaints include discs arriving loose in cases.
Selection criteria emphasized painstaking restorations, modern enhancements, and substantial extras to build a lasting collection.
