Hamnet 4K review
Mar 03, 2026- Permalink
Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 historical fiction, the 2025 drama Hamnet, co-written by O’Farrell and director Chloé Zhao, examines William Shakespeare’s family life with Anne Hathaway and hypothesizes that the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, may have inspired elements of one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star as the couple and are joined in the cast by Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, and Noah Jupe. Universal has now released a 4K of the movie and I had a chance to take a look at it.
The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The transfer does justice to cinematographer Łukasz Żal’s camera work presenting it in amazing detail. From worn wood and textiles, from faces to the outdoor settings, we get amazing clarity in the image. The colour palette is dominated by the muted, earthy tones of the English countryside. Black levels are deep and details are in the shadows and darker scenes without signs of crushing.
On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack that folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, and Spanish. The subtle soundtrack is in keeping with the emotional tone of the story. The surrounds and heights place us into the environment gently while the subwoofer adds some weight to distant thunder. The score supports but does not overwhelm the story. Dialogue is crisp and clear.
The Hamnet 4K comes with a Blu-ray copy and a digital code, though once again, there’s no digital code for the Canadian version. In terms of bonus materials, we get a commentary by Chloé Zhao, “Family Is Forever” which has the cast and crew discussing the Shakespeare family dynamic, “Cultivating Creativity” which discusses the film’s creative process and includes one of the film’s producers, Steven Spielberg, and finally, “Recreating The Tudor Period” a piece that delves into the movie’s production design.
Hamnet is not an historical recreation, but an historical imagining that intertwines the facts we know about Shakespeare’s life with the possibilities of the areas that are less documented. Pair the story with great acting, and a beautiful audio and video presentation and Hamnet is easily recommended.