We’re back for the April 2025 edition of the Blu-ray Bounty, where we’ll be looking at three new 4K Blu-rays you can add to your now hopefully budding collection.
If this is your first visit (welcome!), you can check out past editions of the Blu-ray Bounty here. We’re all big fans of 4K Blu-ray, and this column gives us a chance to indulge in one of our hobbies: looking at more discs to add to our shelves already bursting with 4K Blu-rays.
4K Blu-ray is one of the best ways you can enjoy your favorite movies. Combining one of the best 4K Blu-ray players with one of the best TVs and best soundbars makes for the best movie-watching experience you can get other than making a trip to the cinema. Also, 4K Blu-ray is one of our go-to sources when testing AV equipment at TechRadar.
I’m using our regular testing setup this month: the Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Blu-ray player, the Panasonic MZ1500 OLED TV and the Samsung HW-Q990C Dolby Atmos soundbar system.
As always, we’re not reviewing the movies themselves but just looking at what visual and audio qualities each disc can bring to your home theater system.
In the previous edition of the Blu-ray Bounty from March 2025, we discussed why Wicked, Constantine and Gladiator II would all make great additions to any 4K Blu-ray collection. Here are our April picks:
The Brutalist
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The Brutalist is an epic period drama that depicts the journey of László Tóth (Adrien Brody), a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor, to post-war America in pursuit of the American Dream, documenting his and his family’s lives and struggles. The movie won three Oscars in 2025, including Best Actor for Brody.
The movie has a vintage look, reminiscent of movies of the 1950s. Interestingly, there is no HDR, probably to help with the vintage style, and it works. Colors are natural yet visually striking, capturing the essence of a 50s advert. Film grain is well displayed and maintained throughout.
In scenes with high contrast, the balance between light and dark tones is perfectly displayed, with solid blacks. Textures and details are also refined and realistic, both in environments such as the Pennsylvania construction sites and a New York City trip, and in the actors’ hair and skin.
While The Brutalist isn’t the best choice to show off your sound system, its Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack delivers exactly what’s needed for the film. Speech is clear throughout – important for this dialogue-heavy movie. And the score, which ranges from idyllic to foreboding, with jazz thrown in, is spacious and punchy.
Chungking Express
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Chungking Express is an anthology crime drama telling two separate stories about lovesick Hong Kong policemen. It takes place in various Hong Kong districts, with scenes of busy markets and nightlife.
As another HDR-free transfer, Chungking Express won’t test the limits of your home cinema. However, its picture quality is engaging, with crisp textures and details, and a natural and sometimes striking color palette, particularly during nighttime sequences with neon signs against dark backdrops.
The 4K Blu-ray’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack perfectly captures the chaotic, bustling streets of Hong Kong. Chatting voices, clinking glasses and traffic are accurately placed, and the surround channels are used to great effect, creating an immersive feel.
Music also plays a prominent role in Chungking Express, with a jazzy, tense score in the first portion, along with popular songs such as California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and the Papas.
A Complete Unknown
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A Complete Unknown is a music biopic about legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, and it stars one of the current popular faces of Hollywood, Timothée Chalamet, as Dylan. The film follows the early parts of Dylan’s career, centered on his first years in New York City.
Where else to start a music biopic discussion than with the soundtrack? Live concert sequences are delivered with power, but the sound is crucially given room to breathe during the more intimate moments in solo, acoustic performances.
Dolby Atmos effects evoke the atmosphere of clubs and the hustle and bustle of 1960s New York, with its car horns, construction sites and conversations. All of this is delivered precisely, with accurate placement of sounds.
In Dolby Vision, the disc’s colors are dynamic and punchy yet still natural – something demonstrated by the iconic, yellow New York taxis. The picture overall has a vintage look, with film grain adding to the effect.
Textures and details are true-to-life throughout, as seen in skin, clothing and musical instruments. And the contrast is excellent, especially in scenes where stage lights blend with the dark surroundings of the underground clubs early in the movie.
Want to get a similar home theater setup to ours? Below, I’ve linked the closest available alternatives you can buy.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
