3 new 4K Blu-ray discs you should add to your collection in November 2024

Blu-ray Bounty: A ’40s classic and a new movie with an impressive soundtrack make the list

· TechRadar

Features By James Davidson published 2 November 2024

(Image credit: Future)

We here at TechRadar love 4K Blu-ray – the best way to see your favorite movies and TV shows with the highest picture and audio quality – so much so that we’ve created a new regular feature to share the Blu-ray Bounty.

To start, we have a trio of 4K Blu-ray discs that will make excellent additions to your existing 4K Blu-ray collection, or even launch you on your 4K Blu-ray journey. When played on one of the best 4K Blu-ray players, these movies will look great on the best TVs, and sound great through one of the best soundbars.

For this roundup, we won’t be reviewing the movies themselves; we’re just commenting on the picture and audio quality. This month’s three movies are Double Indemnity, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Power of the Dog – a classic noir, a modern action blockbuster and a somber, but beautiful drama, so three completely different movies to get us started!

For testing, the movies were played on a Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player connected to a Panasonic MZ1500 OLED TV and Samsung HW-Q990C soundbar, predecessor to the Samsung HW-Q990D, one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.

Double Indemnity (The Criterion Collection)

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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)

Double Indemnity (1944) directed by Billy Wilder, is a classic noir that many argue helped define not only the genre but modern filmmaking in general. It tells the story of an insurance man (Fred MacMurray) who conspires with a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) to murder her husband in order to capitalize on his life insurance using a Double Indemnity clause.

Double Indemnity looks stunning in 4K with Dolby Vision, with textures taking on a realistic look. The Criterion Collection’s black and white 4K restoration does a fantastic job defining the film's light and dark tones, with plenty of gray ones in between. There’s a good amount of film grain present, which movie fans will appreciate, though it’s worth noting that some grain has been cleaned up. Double Indemnity is a great example of a 4K release of a classic movie done right, and it looked fantastic on the Panasonic MZ1500 OLED TV.

The soundtrack is monaural – no Dolby Atmos here. Still, the sound has been cleaned up nicely, with clear dialogue and a good balance between the melodramatic, horn-heavy score and other sound effects.

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