Platoon 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

This is terrible. Awful. Ridiculous. While Shout's issued a number of high-grade 4K masters (including Deer Hunter), Platoon is an inexcusable mess. Using an outdated master from MGM, a true 4K scan this is not. Possibly, it's HD only. Resolution lags, leaving everything soft and murky. Noise reduction keeps a waxy appearance intact on all surfaces. Detailed? Not in the slightest.

Some grain remains, mostly in darker areas. However, black crush sucks most of that away. The rest looks wholly digital, as if Platoon were scrubbed then layered digitally with artificial grain.

The Dolby Vision pass helps a little. Not much, but it's something. Sun blazes over the imagery, contrast lifted and bold. While this doesn't help the shadows, Platoon shows some benefit on the format. Earth tones dominate, mostly greens, barely expanded over the Blu-ray.

Audio

A naturally extended DTS-HD 5.1 surround track mirrors the older Blu-ray offering. Rains and storms swell into the rears. Helicopters easily pan between channels. Gunfire takes positions as needed. There's also an uncompressed stereo mix for purists, which also brings striking separation.

Clear fidelity ages Platoon little. Dialog sounds excellent in clarity. The only miss is the range, stuck in the middle, wholly flat, minus any drop into the LFE when action turns heavy.