Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Sets Sail On 4K Ultra HD 8/5/25

[SRW1000]

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Sets Sail On 4K Ultra HD 8/5/25

Craig and Paul posted the Bits article about this earlier and now we have the official release from Disney:
The courage to do the impossible lies in the hearts of men! Peter Weir’s high-seas masterpiece set during the Napoleonic Wars, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, sets sail for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD Digital and Blu-ray Disc August 5.

Adapted from the tenth novel in Patrick O’Brian’s legendary ‘Aubrey/Maturin’ series, the film stars Russell Crowe as Captain “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, the Royal Navy’s most daring and battle-tested commander, and Paul Bettany as his close friend, ship’s surgeon, and naturalist Stephen Maturin. When HMS Surprise is ambushed by a superior enemy vessel, Aubrey must confront the brutal challenges of war, the unforgiving sea, and the limits of leadership. With his ship damaged and crew wounded, he sets off on a relentless pursuit across two oceans – facing a choice between duty and loyalty, and a mission that could alter the fate of nations or destroy them all.

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Director, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World won for Best Cinematography (Russell Boyd) and Best Sound Editing (Richard King).

Newly restored and remastered from the original elements, this stunning 4K release is presented with Dolby Vision® HDR and Atmos® audio, delivering breathtaking picture and immersive sound offering fans the definitive home viewing experience of the acclaimed epic.

The Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release is housed in a collectible two-disc SteelBook® set, featuring striking, navy-and-gold nautical artwork that reflects the film’s epic scale and maritime themes. The exterior showcases a richly detailed compass rose and a bold illustration of Captain “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, while the interior reveals a sweeping ocean vista with Russell Crowe poised against stormy seas - offering fans the ultimate collector’s edition.

In addition, 20th Century Studios will present a special one-night-only 4K theatrical presentation of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World on Friday, August 1, as part of Beyond Fest at the iconic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, CA. This exclusive event offers fans a rare opportunity to experience the critically acclaimed, fan-favorite epic on the big screen as it was meant to be seen.

Feature Run Time:  Approx. 138 Minutes

Rating:  PG-13

Aspect Ratio:  2:40:1

Disc Size:
4K UHD Blu-ray: 100GB
Blu-ray: 50GB

Audio:
4K: English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 Dolby Digital Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French
5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks
Blu-ray: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish and French Dolby Digital Language Tracks
Subtitles
Let's hope the bass is an upgrade over the Blu-ray, which was a downgrade (!) from the DVD.

And it's fun to see that this will get a one-night theater release as well.

[Barry]

This is just great, Amazon doesn’t list it yet 

[David Vaughn]

Can't wait for this one. Hopefully Disney doesn't mess up the audio track. 

[Paul Heroy]

Pre-order is up at Amazon.

[AVSCraig]

Pre-order is up at Amazon.

Already sold out before I could order it!

[David Vaughn]

Already sold out before I could order it!

Not surprised. Disney is completely underestimating the popularity of physical media. They should hire me to run their home video department

[bmoney]

Hope the audio is back where it was on dvd

[Paul Heroy]

Yeah, I missed it too. Walmart showed it at $39.99 yesterday, not sure if they'll have actual stock. Deep Discount, Zavvi, etc. are out.

[David Vaughn]

Yeah, I missed it too. Walmart showed it at $39.99 yesterday, not sure if they'll have actual stock. Deep Discount, Zavvi, etc. are out.

We'll have to wait for the second pressing

[SRW1000]

Bass graphs are showing up on AVS.  Sadly, this looks even worse than the Blu-ray.  (1) Bass EQ for Filtered Movies | Page 1622 | AVS Forum

The dashed line is the original audio.  The thick continuous line is with custom BEQ filters.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Sets Sail On 4K Ultra HD 8/5/25

Look at that steep drop off at 30 Hz.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Sets Sail On 4K Ultra HD 8/5/25

[Paul Heroy]

Hmmm. Bill Hunt reviewed it a couple of days ago and gave it an overall rave review including an A+ for audio, calling it a reference Atmos track and maybe the best he's heard. No mention of bass frequencies specifically but he also mentions "aggressive use of low frequency effects". I don't read him often enough to have a great grasp of his priorities and what his A/V HT setup is like.

None of that will stop me from grabbing a copy and enjoying it - if it comes back in stock!

[bmoney]

Hmmm. Bill Hunt reviewed it a couple of days ago and gave it an overall rave review including an A+ for audio, calling it a reference Atmos track and maybe the best he's heard. No mention of bass frequencies specifically but he also mentions "aggressive use of low frequency effects". I don't read him often enough to have a great grasp of his priorities and what his A/V HT setup is like.

None of that will stop me from grabbing a copy and enjoying it - if it comes back in stock!

Its why I don’t trust digital buys and their scoring lol most of the big time reviewers don’t have the proper bass setup to notice a difference 


at lesast it can be corrected with BEW

[SRW1000]

Hmmm. Bill Hunt reviewed it a couple of days ago and gave it an overall rave review including an A+ for audio, calling it a reference Atmos track and maybe the best he's heard. No mention of bass frequencies specifically but he also mentions "aggressive use of low frequency effects". I don't read him often enough to have a great grasp of his priorities and what his A/V HT setup is like.

None of that will stop me from grabbing a copy and enjoying it - if it comes back in stock!

I don't follow his reviews, but you piqued my curiosity, so I searched for subwoofer.  Here's what he said in his review of War of the Worlds on 4K:

"But what’s missing here is the sonic bite. The 2010 Blu-ray (included in this package) had a then reference grade 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix that really worked your subwoofer with moments of tremendous low frequency extension. The tripod’s ominous “horn” for example—you could almost feel it in DTS-HD MA. But that low-end heft is missing from the Atmos mix. There’s bass there, certainly, but it’s just not the same. You get plenty of dynamic range to be sure, but too little muscular oomph. And sadly, that oomph is important to the film. The fact that Paramount missed the mark on this is… frustrating (and appears to be indicative of a recurring pattern in their catalog releases at the moment). To be clear, this track isn’t bad. But fans of the Blu-ray audio experience will likely be disappointed."

So maybe he's comparing this 4K with previous Blu-ray and dismissing/forgetting the amazing bass on the original DVD?  It would be helpful if he listed his equipment as part of the reviews so readers could take that into consideration.

I'm sure people with subs that only go down to the 30Hz range will be fine with this new 4K, and what they did with the additional Atmos speakers might be impressive as well.

[bmoney]

Exactly. I always check their review gear before I take the review seriously for audio