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I’m a big supporter of owning physical media. While streaming movies and music is fine, I like more control over what I watch, how I watch and the quality. Trying to watch a movie only to find out it’s no longer streaming or it’s on a service that requires another subscription is frustrating.
I buy a few movies a month, movies I don’t own or replacing old DVDs with new Blu-ray or 4K editions. I also support my habit by adding a movie or two to the Christmas list each year. This year I received a couple movies from the family and one of them caught my attention. Not because of the movie, which I wanted, but because of the packaging.
The movie wasn’t in a normal slipcase or plastic sleeve, it was in a metal case with amazing artwork. The case is officially called a SteelBook and while they aren’t new to the market they are gaining in popularity. They’ve been around since the early 2000s for different forms of media, movies, CDs and even video games.
A SteelBook is essentially a collector’s edition or special edition of a movie. It comes with a 4K version, a Blu-Ray version (usually), assorted special features and some amazing artwork! The SteelBooks remind me of the comic book gimmick cover craze in the 90s. And I’m still falling for it!
They Live SteelBook
Last week I was browsing online and stumbled across a SteelBook edition of They Live, the John Carpenter masterpiece from 1988. I had a few Bezos’ Bucks burning a hole in my pocket so I ordered the movie. I owned the movie at one point in time but I can no longer find it. This is an upgrade to a lost DVD and man is it worth it!
First off the SteelBook art is amazing. The front features Nada and Frank blasting away with Holly and exposed aliens in the background. The back cover shows more aliens and action from the movie. The art is a matte with spot gloss that gives it a reflective quality and a 3D feel.
The inside art is a full width still from the movie reminding us to OBEY. The art work on the 4K is an exposed alien while the Blu-ray art is Nada and Frank before the final battle.
The only critique I would offer on the art work is Holly. They should have made her a little bigger and added some gloss effect to her eyes. Those eyes are mesmerizing…
They Live 4K version
I’ve seen They Live countless times and it never gets old. Watching the 4K transfer brings it back to life like watching it in the theater again. The Dolby Vision makes the movie sharper, highlighting the colors and making the darker scenes crisper.
The details in skin tone, facial features, the alien masks all stand out and are well defined. The alien black and white scenes look great and Holly’s (Meg Foster’s) eyes are piercing. The colors are vibrant and the detail is unmatched from any other version. The 4K picture quality is exceptional.
Not to be outdone by the picture quality the Dolby Atmos Audio outstanding. It also offers Dolby 5.1 and 2.0 but with Dolby Atmos the sound completely engulfs you giving the movie a cinematic feel.
The difference between Dolby 5.1 and Dolby Atmos is the way Atmos handles sound. Dolby 5.1 play sound in a linear fashion, the same horizontal plane as the speakers. When a helicopter flies by you can hear it moving from left to right or gunshots pop off behind you.
Dolby Atmos uses directional sound pushing sound out in 360 degrees. When the helicopter flies by it sounds like it is overhead while it moves left to right. The gunshots reverberate better giving a more realistic soundscape to the movie. If you have the right speakers Dolby Atmos is amazing.
On a side note Sonos, Bose, JBL and Vizio all make quality (and affordable) Dolby Atmos soundbars.
They Live Blu-Ray version
A great feature of the They Live SteelBook is it comes with a 4K version as well as a Blu-ray version. If you don’t own a 4K player (yet) you can still benefit from buying the SteelBook.
The Blu-ray is remastered from the 4K transfer offering a fantastic picture and it also comes with Dolby Atmos Audio.
If you like all the special features offers you’ll need the Blu-ray version. The 4K disc is lite on special features offering an audio commentary with John Carpenter and Roddy Piper. The Blu-ray holds all the good behind-the-scenes and featurettes.
If you need to add They Live to your media library (and you do) the SteelBook version is an excellent choice. I was able to pick it up for $23 which is a great price for the ‘collector’s edition.’
I have two more SteelBooks on the way, Point Break and Red Dawn. I can’t wait to see what they look like. SteelBooks may be my new collecting obsession. Even if they are a gimmick…
They Live SteelBook Features
4K ULTRA HD
- Dolby Vision, HDR10
- Dolby Atmos Audio
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
- Audio Commentary With Director John Carpenter And Actor Roddy Piper
BLU-RAY
- Remastered From A 4K Transfer
- Dolby Atmos Audio
- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
- Audio Commentary With Director John Carpenter And Actor Roddy Piper
- “Independent Thoughts” – An Interview With John Carpenter
- “Man Vs. Aliens” – An Interview With Actor Keith David
- “Woman Of Mystery” – An Interview With Actress Meg Foster
- “Watch, Look, Listen: The Sights & Sounds Of They Live” – A Look At The Visual Style, Stunts And Music With Director Of Photography Gary B. Kibbe, Stunt Coordinator Jeff Imada, And Co-Composer Alan Howarth
- Original “The Making Of They Live”
- Footage From Commercials Created For The Film
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
