Elizabeth (1998) 4k / Bluray Review

Historical films are one of my favorite kind of genres. I truly enjoy seeing the lives of people in history played out on my TV Screen. One of history's most interesting characters was known as The Virgin Queen or Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1998 Cate Blanchett starred as Queen Elizabeth in the feature film entitled Elizabeth. It is hard to believe but this year the film is celebrating its silver Anniversary of its theatrical release. Now Universal Pictures is giving physical media fans a chance to own this film on 4K/Blu-ray. 

Before the Golden Age, Elizabeth was a passionate and naive girl who came to reign over a land divided by bloody turmoil. Amid palace intrigue and attempted assassinations, the young queen is forced to become a cunning strategist while weighing the counsel of her mysterious advisors, thwarting her devious rivals and denying her own desires for the good of her country.

Elizabeth is an amazingly shot period piece. The films boast of elegant design and costumes and Cate Blanchett is amazing as Queen Elizabeth. It should be noted that the screenplay does take liberties to the actual life and timeline of the queen. So, don't look at this film as an accurate tale of her life.

Elizabeth has been transferred to 4K UltraHD in 2160p. It appears in the aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1. The audio is a DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound mix. There are also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. Universal also added some cool bonuses to this 4K release. Take a look at what is included.

* The Making of Elizabeth
* Elizabeth Featurette
* Feature Audio Commentary with Director Shekhar Kapur

Universal's 4K transfer of Elizabeth looks stunning! The colors are bright and vibrant, and the picture is clean with no signs of damage! But the downside is instead of remixing the audio to a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, Universal sadly just ported over the existing DTS-HD Mater Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray. And the bonuses have been ported over for this release as well. There are no new bonuses. That is a shame!

Now in addition to a beautiful looking 4K transfer. And the cool bonus feature, Universal Pictures has also added a digital copy of this 4K UltraHD film that you can redeem on VUDU/ Fandango, Movies Anywhere or Youtube. It is so cool to have a digital copy that you can have with you anywhere you go!

All in all, Elizabeth is an entertaining film. It should be noted that there is a fair amount of violence and sexual content including nudity. So, this film is not for the entire family! But in 1998 the Motion Picture Academy lavished award nominations on this film, 7 to be exact. Including Best Actress and Best Picture. But it only one for Best Make-up!

If is always cool to see a Best Picture nominated film, get a 4K release. And this Universal Pictures release, although with its flaws does look and sound amazing! So, if you love historical films as much as I do Head over to MovieZyng and order your copy today.


Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) the 4K of Elizabeth receives.....