5 Best 4K Blu-Ray Movies To Watch On Your New TV – BGR

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Getting your favorite movies on Blu-ray discs, even if you borrow them using your library card, is a great way to have easy access to them without streaming. While you may have an excellent streaming device capable of high-quality 4K, there’s just no getting around that streaming movies over the internet can be a mixed bag. From color banding and bitrate limitations to locking 4K quality behind a subscription upgrade, these limitations can start to feel like handcuffs when all you want to do is watch something, especially when you already have a reliable smart TV to watch these movies on.

Blu-ray discs in 4K are the highest resolution consumer physical media available, and choosing the best ones right off the bat will ensure your film library stands the test of time. But not all BDs are created equal. While many use high-quality prints, they can show subtle differences depending on the source material used to create them. You will also want to consider the bonus content offered by each edition before buying. In this list, we’ll cover a few of our favorite Blu-ray movies, including an all-out film history classic, a controversial war film, and more. 

In some ways, starting this list with “Citizen Kane” was a foregone conclusion. But in many other ways, the 4K printing of “Citizen Kane” is objectively worth owning, since this masterpiece is on the list of 100 movies you have to see. This is a Criterion pressing, which not only offers reliability but also some cachet with film buffs. First, the print itself is reliable, like most by Criterion. This pack also offers the 4K UHD version of the film, the standard Blu-ray disc, and extra content on other discs.

Those bonus features include three separate audio commentaries from lauded Orson Welles scholars, as well as some notes from acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert. You’ll also find several interviews with key members of the production, including actor Joseph Cotten, editor Robert Wise, and more. There’s even a rare feature-length documentary produced by the BBC called “The Complete ‘Citizen Kane'” from 1991. In essence, this could be the Rosebud of your 4K collection, if you subscribe to that analysis. Still, the packaging of Criterion’s edition was criticized for packaging discs on paper sleeves, which can damage them over time. 

If “Citizen Kane” is widely considered one of the most iconic films of all time, then “Apocalypse Now” has got to be one of the most infamous. It’s said that the 1979 film set in Vietnam almost drove director Francis Ford Coppola and other crew members insane due to filming complications on the set and long edits. Today, “Apocalypse Now” remains one of the most compelling and stirring depictions of wartime savagery and the complexity of human nature. 

The Apocalypse Now: Final Cut 4K disc was created in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary and features the version often considered closest to the filmmaker’s painstaking vision. It was restored using the original negative but enhanced with modern visual technology that includes Dolby Vision to deliver a stunning achievement. This three-disc set also comes with the Hearts of Darkness documentary recounting the challenges of the film production, the Q-and-A with Coppola and Steven Soderbergh at the Tribeca Film Festival, and more extras. A few buyers were disappointed and didn’t like the cut included in the disc, though.

Spielberg’s summer phenomenon “Jaws” brought the idea of a creature feature to a truly grounded space — or actually, to the ocean. This sense of impending doom and true-to-life peril made this one of film history’s most terrifying experiences when it landed on the big screen. This Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition 4K Blu-ray package promises to bring an impressive experience to your home 4K Blu-ray setup. Fans confirm that the way this printing captures the grain and visual style of the movie is true to the original in a way that only 4K discs can really muster.

The special features available also cover anything you may want to sink your teeth into. You’ll find the full making-of documentary, plus a look at how post-production teams refined the original cut for modern formats (like the 4K disc itself). There’s also a closer look at the lasting legacy of “Jaws” and how it still impacts the way action, adventure, and horror films are conceived today. Beyond video content, it includes a closer look at original storyboards, production photos, and marketing. One of the downsides reported by verified customers is that some 4K discs may freeze during playback.

We’re going to broaden the scope here a bit and consider a full trilogy for those who want to honor the early 2000s classic epic “The Lord of the Rings.” While many great cinematic trilogies were created over the years, few have reached the heights of this one. The third and final film, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” is tied with “Titanic” and “Ben-Hur” for the most Oscar wins in history, with 11 awards. The film quality is well-regarded from a production standpoint, but it’s important to consider how it holds up on a physical disc at home.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy disc set features the 4K versions of the films, with both the theatrical cut and the substantially longer extended edition, which are loved for adding extra details from the books. The 4K conversion of the films is quite well-received, as the remaster was done by Park Road Post Production, the house owned by “LOTR” director Peter Jackson himself. This translates to beautiful renderings that are quite close to the original theatrical versions. Some viewers have noted that grain was removed, leading to a style that could be seen to some as overly pristine. Other customers who bought the set received corrupted discs that wouldn’t run on their Blu-ray players. But if quality and richness are what you’re after, this is a great set.

While many of the Columbia Classics box sets feature historic films rendered with care, we recommend the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4 as it contains a nice array of films with a focus on the human connection and classic Hollywood romance, making it an excellent way to kick off a collection. 

This immense set features the 4K and Blu-ray editions of six beautiful films from throughout history, including “His Girl Friday,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Starman,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “Punch-Drunk Love.” Across the films, you’ll find modern visual touches, including Dolby Vision HDR, and audio improvements like Dolby Atmos. It comes with an 80-page booklet with facts and photos from the productions and more than 30 hours of special features that mix archival footage with commentary and featurettes. Some buyers, however, complained that discs from the set arrived loose in their cases.

Selecting from the veritable galaxy of 4K Blu-ray discs out there could seem like a bit of an undertaking. While we tried to provide a mix of genres, the five discs on this list met a certain threshold that balances quality and extras. These films all needed to be painstaking restorations or transfers of the films, using as close to their original format as possible. Bonus points were also given to modern features like Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, HDR compatibility, and more. Each film also had to include at least some solid special features, because after all, true cinephiles who love to get behind the scenes of their favorite films are the ones who typically start a 4K Blu-ray disc collection in the first place. While there are key criteria we considered in making this list, there are a ton of good options beyond it. It’s especially important to consider the genres and styles you like.