Rocky 4K UHD Review (Patreon)

Video

Dressed in Dolby Vision for this release, Rocky's latest mastering gives the movie some fight, pun intended. This isn't an overwhelming boost to either brightness or contrast, but subtle. Stadium lights certainly have their heft renewed and boxing shorts glisten, but the rest is almost indifferent to the HDR pass.

Rocky looks every bit the '70s in color terms, leaving flesh tones flattened and primaries typically subdued. It's not immediately striking, but pure '70s in earth tones, slightly fading to keep the aesthetic. The finale, with red ropes, flag shorts, and more, really amps up the intensity. It's fantastic. Certain color grading changes do impact the legacy look, including cooler tones where warmer tones used to reside. Those who notice will only be those who saw Rocky dozens of times, but that's also everybody, so...

Pleasing gains in resolution make a limited jump from the prior "Mastered in 4K" Blu-ray. Facial definition isn't a stand out, but the rotting streets and locker rooms show tremendous texture. Plus, Rocky is completely unfiltered, natural, and pure.

Audio

Note an error on Rocky's first pressing - the mono track is actually a stereo downmix.

The main track utilizes a DTS-HD 5.1 upmix that's respectful to the source. Mostly, the track stays in the center, leaving Bill Conti's unforgettable music to swell into the stereos and rears. Any slight strain to fidelity sounds normal. Dialog doesn't suffer any faults, while the music comes through brilliantly full. The stadium during the finale livens up the mixing for some stellar surround work considering the source.