Mad Max:Fury Road+Black & Chrome[Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

I’ll start off by saying I love the movie — it’s a fun movie with a lot of great cinematography and over-the-top action scenes.

This review focuses more on the different versions of the film:

Having bought the Blu-Ray, Black & Chrome set & Blu-Ray 3D previously, I wanted to see what the 4K experience was like.

Blu-Ray: Looks great. Sounds great. Overall very good experience.

Black & Chrome set: Definitely recommended; includes both the original blu-ray and a black & white version which is a totally different experience. Not the same as just lowering the color on your TV.. this one really “shines” (no pun intended). Even after watching the normal version several times, this felt like a totally new movie.

3D: Again, a totally unique experience that was a lot of fun. Good 3D popout and depth.. Alongside the Black and Chrome version, this is tied for my favorite version of the film. Also includes the 2D Blu-Ray.

4K: And here’s where I was disappointed. I have a high-end UHD Player (Oppo 203), high-end 4K OLED (LG 65c6p) and was excited for it. Unfortunately.. it didn’t deliver. In fact, parts even look worse.
The film is slightly re-colored using the HDR toning (apparently this was done from the original master rather than the same as the previous releases). Beyond that, CGI becomes very noticeable (stuff that looked real in all the other versions looked very fake in this one; the fire, backgrounds and more all looked pretty bad and stood out). The film is also very noisy; apparently this was part of the original effect, but the 4K significantly enhances it and it doesn’t look good. Lastly, the overall increase in sharpness isn’t as significant as you would like. I will say that the first few chapters were significantly worse than the later chapters and I don’t know why.
Of all the versions I’ve watched, the 4K was the least impressive. I went in with mixed expections on what to expect (some reviews are very positive, others very poor) and unfortunately wasn’t impressed.

– Mike R

This review is for the Black & Chrome version only. If you’ve already sampled clips via YouTube let it be known that shot by shot comparisons are one thing, witnessing the entire film in stark black and white is another. Honestly the first time I watched the B&C (Black & Chrome) edition I thought it looked cool but I decided I liked the color version better since I knew it was originally shot to be in color and felt I was looking at an afterthought idea. I was also analyzing shot composition constantly and not immersing myself into the film itself. A few days later I decided to watch some of the B&C version again, then I put in the color disc in to compare and suddenly I realized I actually like the B&C version better. Yes, even the director admitted some shots don’t translate very well in black and white (especially the dark scenes at night) but what you gain with black and white is a complete different feel overall. When I went back to the color version it felt more like a typical Hollywood blockbuster action film… when you watch the B&C version you feel like you’re being drawn into another world… bleak, gritty and steampunk apocalyptic. Sounds strange when we’re talking about the same film with the same visuals, but believe me there is a perceptive difference. I’m one of the suckers who bought the initial blu ray release when the first version was released, but fortunately the B&C edition is fairly priced and I have no regrets owning it in addition to the original. The Black and Chrome edition is the version I’ll watch more often. What may seem like a gimmick is actually a masterful idea. On a final note if you think they simply de-saturated the picture that’s not the case. Each shot was enhanced / reformatted with a true black and white representation.

– The Blue Raja

Far superior than the “color” version as sometimes the saturated colors just became annoying., the deep richness of the “chrome” black and white creates far better tension and moods throughout the bleak landscapes making this truly a black and white classic, rather than just a overblown, Hollywood summer special effects blockbuster!
Having seen the color version where certain “colored” elements were cleaver fully done and unique in the story I still believe you will be in for a glorious tale that will relay heavily on story and characters rather than sometimes glaring visual effects., I’ve heard a lot of people mention there is no story but yes there is when you get into the rhythm of the action the storyline rides with it equally.

– R. Max Totten

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Directors: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nico Lathouris
Producers: Iain Smith, Doug Mitchell, Graham Burke, George Miller, Bruce Berman
Format: NTSC
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: R-Restricted
Studio: WarnerBrothers
DVD Release Date: December 6, 2016
ASIN: B01LTHM352