‘Knives Out’ 4K Ultra HD review

Filmmaker Rian Johnson moved from decimating the Skywalker saga to orchestrating a murder mystery late last year. It now arrives to home theaters on ultra-high definition to enthrall Agatha Christie fans in Knives Out (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Rated PG-13, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 130 minutes, $42.99).

One week after the apparent suicide of legendary crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), near the celebration his 85^th birthday, his dysfunctional family gathers in his gothic, antique-stuffed mansion for a fiery memorial and reading of the will.

A doggedly inquisitive private detective with a quant southern drawl named Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) arrives on the scene to help with what appears to be a routine investigation.

Anonymously paid, the cigar chomping Mr. Blanc, in the finest traditions of Hercule Poirot, finds the death suspicious and interrogates a small army of relatives as flashbacks unravel the truth behind the millionaire’s demise.

Suspects include a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Jamie Lee Curtis as Thrombey’s dour daughter Linda, Don Johnson as her philandering husband Richard, Chris Evans as Thrombey’s spoiled grandson Hugh Ransom Drysdale, Michael Shannon as son Walt (CEO of dad’s publishing empire), Toni Collette as lifestyle innovator and widow of Thrombey’s deceased son Neil and Ana de Armas as the deceased caretaker Marta Cabrera.

What plays out is a complex and fun plot that goes from an obvious solution to the death of Thrombey to a deeper and irresistible riffing on the “whodunit” genre of films.

4K in action: A screen-filling presentation arrives via a 2K upscale to the UHD format with generous high dynamic range tweaks.

Considering much of the movie takes part in a dusty sometimes dimly lit mansion filled with muted colors, what stands out is not only the clarity and color of the actors’ costuming, skin tones and facial blemishes in rooms filled with leathery greens, browns but a location filled with some amazing antiques.

I could literally see playing a virtual game of treasure hunt as viewers pause and admire the fine detail of art pieces such as a massive wheel of knives, metallic automaton figures, a stuffed cheetah hanging from the ceiling, a bronze lion in mid-roar on a desk, a French mantle clock with a cherub hanging on it, a wooden pig statue, carved wooden lions protecting the bannister and stained-glass renderings of alchemists and skeletons.

Best extras: This thoroughly entertaining film gets complemented by a robust collection of bonus content all found on the 4K disc.

Viewers get two optional commentary tracks starting with one featuring Mr. Johnson, cinematographer Steve Yedlin and actor Noah Segan (Police Officer Wagner).

The director leads the easygoing discussion loaded with nostalgia from the shoot as well as plot points and minutiae such as Mr. Shannon often delivering the funniest improv lines and Mr. Johnson using 1970s musicians’ first names for the main characters.

A second solo track is with only the director and covers much more detail about the production touching on scene editing, the cast’s best moments and plot motivations as Mr. Johnson talks nearly non-stop.

By the way, that track is called “in theater” as Mr. Johnson previously released it as an audio download with the movie’s big-screen presentation so hardcore cinephiles could listen to him talk in their earbuds while watching the movie.

Next, dive into a near two-hour overview of the film broken into nine featurettes covering cast, costuming, production design, cinematography, editing and music with plenty of butt-kissing to go around.

Equally fun is a 42-minute, question-and-answer session with the director and eight members of the cast, moderated by a Variety editor Jenelle Riley, and held at a screening for SAG actors in late 2019, Westwood California that included Mr. Johnson, Mr. Shannon, Miss Lee Curtis, Mr. Evans and Mr. Craig.