With great contrast many things pop all over here as the city lights of Vegas, stage lighting, many an outfit, fire and so much more burst with a terrific HDR glow. It can also drop to bitrates as low as 39Mbps at times, however, it mostly cruises around 50 to 60Mbps for the majority of the movie. For as popular and accessive his life and music were to his fans over numerous decades, the ins and outs of his personal life and music contrast remain uneasy, turbulent, and off-kilter. First off, I must state that the Dolby Atmos mix here on 4K UHD Blu-ray (via physical media) packs a much stronger punch than what I heard (via streaming) on HBOMax.

But kudos to Luhrmann for doing something creative and original with this biopic that nobody saw coming - telling the hero's story from the villain's eye line. This acts as a bit of a making of with a heavier focus on Austin Butler and Tom Hanks as well as recreating some of the bigger moments in history to include in the film. costumes dazzle, as well as the mostly inviting and warm-toned scenes set during our main character's younger days (above). Luhrmann has never bowed down to Hollywood executives to compromise his stunning vision in telling stories everyone knows by heart, whether it be his own version of Romeo + Juliet, a take on Moulin Rogue! As a fan of Elvis Presley, I just didn’t feel there was enough on here representing the real-life subject of the biopic itself.

Shadows, darkness and darker surfaces hold wonderfully, catering to lots of detail, texture and pattern visibility even under the most challenging circumstances.

But then there is Tom Hanks, who really hasn't turned in a good performance whatsoever since Catch Me If You Can over twenty years ago, with maybe a small exception of News of The World. With an out-of-the-world performance from Butler and a weird, yet underwhelming role for Tom Hanks, the pacing and the film's length hinder it from being completely enjoyable. Facial textures are excellent, with the individual hairs of Butler’s superlative mutton chops nicely delineated, as are some of the outrageous make up appliances (some purposeful, some…not so).This sound mix is just massive and really pulls you right into the story as well as most obviously the unforgettable musical experience. It’s very much a specific style of film, both from Luhrmann’s own sensibilities and its stance on its narrative approach, and one that will alienate as many as it draws in, but certainly for this reviewer, this was an exhilarating and dazzling reminder of Elvis’s enduring legacy. Still, these extras are enough for the average consumer to get satisfaction if they’re curious about the making of the movie after they’ve watched the flick.

The original mono soundtrack is featured on the Blu-ray with a new six-channel Dolby TrueHD, while the 4K digital includes the slightly compressed six-channel Dolby Digital Plus. Film grain is intact through the young Elvis scenes that give it that truly authentic feel of the time.Cinematographer Russell Harlan ("To Kill a Mockingbird") who had been nominated for six Oscars, gives “King Creole” a film noir quality – with deep shadows and plenty of moods, which gives it a more “realistic tone. There are some solid anecdotes to be found across the suite of featurettes, but ultimately, it's all a little lightweight, everything is a watch-once-and-forget-about-it affair and really it’s a little disappointing. He is also the Moderator/MC of the Live Podcast Stage and on the Podcast Awards Committee for PopCon (popcon. Luhrmann knows how to set a film on fire with spectacular effects that can fully immerse his audience inside a live stage play with all the hot lights, music, and choreography to keep everyone's toes tapping. Overall, I just feel as though it's standard stuff, and doesn't really impress me at this stage of 4K UHD format.