If you’re a seasoned 4K Blu-ray collector, or even if you’re just getting started, you may have noticed that sometimes there are multiple versions of the same movie available. Often the differences can be as simple as a few new special features, or even just new packaging; sometimes however, it’s worth looking a little deeper.
As part of our Blu-ray Bounty feature, where we review the latest 4K Blu-ray releases each month, I tested The Warriors: Collector’s Edition. At first, I thought it was just new packaging with some cool new stickers, posters, and a new case. But upon closer inspection, I noted that it was in fact Paramount’s — the original distributor of the movie — own 4K restoration and not the Arrow Video version that I had in my own collection.
Opening scene
In the opening scene of The Warriors, there are a ton of bold colors on display from the various different gang’s uniforms as they make their way to the meeting point. There’s also plenty of deep blacks of the New York night, plus some nice high-contrast scenes as the lights of train platforms and subway trains cut through the pitch-black surroundings — and who can forget the iconic opening shot of the Wonder Wheel’s neon sign.
The first image below is of the bright-yellow uniform of one of the Electric Eliminators’ jackets, with the Arrow version on the left and the Paramount version on the right:
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As you can see, there isn’t a huge difference, but the Arrow version has more color depth overall. It appears a little bit richer, whereas the Paramount version has a little more brightness, shown by the overhead light in the corner. Both demonstrate good color pop thanks to their Dolby Vision support.
Next up is a darker scene, as a subway train moves towards the camera:
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Interestingly, in this scene, both versions have very similar brightness and both demonstrate similarly deep black levels. The real differences come in more subtle parts of the picture, such as the edge of the subway platform. On the Paramount version, these platform edges appear sharper, whereas the Arrow version appears smoother and more true-to-life.
The next part of this scene is where The Warriors themselves first get onto the subway train:
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The biggest difference here is in the skin tones, particularly of Swan’s arm (the character most central on screen). In the Paramount version, skin tones appear to have a more red tint to them, whereas they appear more true-to-life on the Arrow version. The actual textures on screen appear more neutral and accurate in the Arrow version. This scene also shows that the Arrow version maintains more film grain than the Paramount version.
Park and Baseball Furies scene
Moving onto a later scene in the movie, where The Warriors first encounter and fight the Baseball Furies in a park, this scene demonstrates more bold colors and high contrast, with the street lights contrasting with the darkness of the park. Below is a still of one of the Baseball Furies
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This shot is the closest the two versions have looked. The yellow face paint of the Baseball Fury is punchy and accurate in both shots, and there’s good contrast between the white uniform and blackened stains on it. The black stains look marginally deeper on the Arrow version, while the whites of the uniform are marginally brighter on the Paramount version.
Elsewhere in this park scene, both versions deliver strong contrast, with the street lamps contrasting well with the deep blacks of the park, but again the Arrow delivers richer blacks which look more accurate, while the Paramount appears brighter with slightly more vivid highlights from the street lamps.
Both versions deliver natural greens, which have a nice vibrant pop to them throughout the scene as well, although again the Arrow version has that slightly richer color tone, which also looks more accurate.
Daytime scene
The final scene I analyzed was the one daytime scene in the movie, where The Warriors finally arrive back at Coney Island. This scene shows them walking through the rundown looking fun fair.
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Interestingly again, there’s very little difference between these two shots. The reds within the scene appear slightly more vivid on the Paramount version, while the Arrow again looks natural. Both deliver a nice brightness with controlled white and gray tones, although this also shows off the Paramount version’s slightly sharper textures.
Better sound makes a difference
While picture quality in multiple scenes across both discs shows are only subtle differences, and both versions do look great, where the real difference comes is in the provided soundtrack. The Arrow version carries a full Dolby Atmos soundtrack, whereas the Paramount version comes with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix.
Using several different scenes once again, it’s clear that the Arrow Atmos soundtrack is superior. In a fight scene where The Warriors fight The Punks in a subway bathroom, the Arrow Atmos soundtrack sounded more spacious and delivered a much wider soundstage. This meant more subtle effects such as dragging feet or a switchblade flicking open were more detailed compared to the Paramount version, where some of this was lost.
Punches had good impact in both versions, but again Arrow’s felt more natural, whereas the Paramount version opted for sheer volume. Speech was also clearer in the Arrow version, picking up more voices. The balance between the upbeat score and the fight’s sound effects was better on the Arrow version as well, with some effects getting lost in the Paramount mix.
Heading back to the opening scene, where the iconic main theme plays, the Arrow version gives the track a much bigger sound. The thumping drums are delivered well on both soundtracks, but again the Paramount’s mix goes for power, and it can be a little heavy handed. The crunchy guitars and sweeping synths again feel more natural on the Arrow version, as the track sounds much cleaner.
Looking at other sound effects in the opening scene, as the subway train travels across the screen, the sound feels more accurately mapped to the HW-Q990C soundbar in the Arrow Atmos mix. It’s nice and precise, whereas the Paramount version is still accurate but doesn’t feel as controlled.
This is the one big area of difference between these two discs, and if you’re looking for the better 4K Blu-ray, then the Arrow version is best. If you’re in the UK and want to opt for the cheaper Paramount version, it’s still an excellent 4K restoration: it’s just a shame about the missing Atmos soundtrack.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
