Wicked 4K review
Feb 02, 2025- Permalink
Many years back, I worked in a theatre that played host to the Wicked musical tour a few times. The house was always packed, the rush line was always long, and the fans were dedicated. 2024 finally saw the movie Wicked get released with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The first of two instalments, the cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. Universal has released a 4K home version of director Jon M. Chu’s movie and I had a chance to take a look.
The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The visual presentation is nothing short of magical – I had to go there – with amazing detail and clarity. The HDR gives beautiful depth to the colour palette of popping primaries and lush pastels. Black levels are deep, with no loss of detail in the shadows, while spectral highlights and bright whites show no sign of blooming.
On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos track that folds back to English Dolby TrueHD 7.1. There are also French and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French and Spanish. The Atmos soundtrack is immersive, placing your into the environment so well that you might need to learn the choreography. Dialogue and songs are clear and the score is dynamic and powerful.
The 4K disc of Wicked also comes with a Blu-ray copy and digital code, though once again, no digital code for Canada. The Blu-ray disc contains all the special features. They include a sing-along version, deleted and extended scenes, a 46 minute “making of” doc, a look at the Shiz University set and costume designs, a look at the show’s legacy, and two commentaries: one with director Chu and one with Erivo and Grande.
The Wicked 4K appears in your home with a beautiful audio/video presentation, a great cast, and a nice selection of extras. An easy recommendation.