Gran Turismo Blu-ray review

Nov 06, 2023- Permalink

Gran Turismo is based on the true story of a gamer who becomes a race car driver. Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), a marketing exec at Nissan’s motorsport division, Nismo, pitches the idea of training the top players of the Gran Turismo racing game to be real drivers. The training is put in the hands of former driver Jack Salter (David Harbour). Teen Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) is one of the gamers who shows the most promise and makes the jump from racing on a TV to racing on asphalt. It’d be unbelievable if it wasn’t true. The cast also includes Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released it on both 4K and Blu-ray. I was given an opportunity to check out the Blu-Ray.

The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 1.90:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is sharp, with facial features, the cars and track and racing uniforms all exhibiting great detail. The colour palette looks natural, whether we’re looking at skin tones, the racing cars or the environment around the track. Whites are bright, while the black levels are deep and don’t lose detail in the shadows. It looks great and I imagine the 4K will look nicer still.

On the audio side of things, Sony has saved the Dolby Atmos soundtrack for the 4K. On the Blu-ray review copy I received, there’s an English, French and Korean DTS-HD MA 5.1 track as well as Spanish and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for Englsh SDH, French and Spanish. The 5.1 mix is no slouch and the roar of the engines and squeal of the tires moves easily through the surrounds with the subwoofer giving a nice deep floor. The score is bright and dynamic, while dialogue is clear, centred and well prioritized in the mix.

The US review copy I received comes with the Blu-ray and a digital code. Once again, a digital code is not included in Canada. I’m not sure about other countries. Extras include extended and deleted scenes, a look at the real Jann Mardenborough, a piece on director Neill Blomkamp’s visual style, as well as featurettes on the cast, the shooting of the racing sequences, and the vehicles.

The Gran Turismo Blu-ray combines a very good Blu-ray audio and video presentation with a nice selection of extras. If you’re a big fan of the film, you may want to get the improved resolution and audio of the 4K.