Revisiting MINORITY REPORT and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN in 4K

MINORITY REPORT (4K UHD) and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (4K UHD)

Paramount

Review by Princess Pepper😺

Remember back in 1993 when Steven Spielberg delivered two of the best films of the year? Visually and thematically, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List couldn’t have been more different, but damn if he didn’t knock both out of the park. That's a year most directors can only dream of. Then he did it again in 2002 with Minority Report and Catch Me if You Can, both of which were huge hits and remain two of his best films of the 21st Century. Hardly seems fair, does it?

Both titles have are now released on 4K for the first time, though one has a better overall transfer than the other. Keep in mind, though, that there are no new bonus features included with either title (unless you count the digital codes). All the extra kibbles are carried over from previous releases. So these are mainly of interest for videophiles.

Tom puts together his favorite number.

MINORITY REPORT (2002/145 min) - Like most Phillip K. Dick adaptations, Minority Report plays fast and loose with its source material. From a cinematic standpoint, however, it’s one of those rare modern science-fiction films that serves-up an intelligent, thematically rich story, engaging characters and special effects-driven action in equal measures. It’s a film I frequently recommend to those who profess to hate the genre.

Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, the appointed head of Precrime, a police program that relies on technology and three clairvoyant “precogs” to apprehend and imprison murderers before they actual commit their crimes. However, when Anderton himself pops up as the future killer of a man he’s never met before, he goes on the run, convinced he’s somehow being set-up, even though the program has so-far been infallible. 

This one just gets better with age. In this kitty’s humble opinion, it remains Spielberg’s best science-fiction film. Along with War of the Worlds, it’s certainly his most aesthetically unusual, especially the desaturated colors and oddball lighting choices. Yet these touches fit the tone of the story and give the FX-driven imagery a surreal, almost dreamlike quality. I’d also argue this film also features one of Cruise’s better performances, nearly succeeding at making the viewer forget he’s Tom Cruise.

The 4K transfer restores Minority Report in all it’s washed-out, lens-flared glory. The overall image is excellent, with a lot of detail and grain retention. 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio track is the same as the original Blu-ray, but does the job nicely.

EXTRA KIBBLES: FEATURETTES - The Future According to Steven Spielberg (this is the best of the bonus features); Inside the World of Precrime; Philip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg and Minority Report; Future Realized; Props of the Future; Highlights from Minority Report from the Set; Commercials of the Future; Previz Sequences; From Story to Screen; Deconstructing Minority Report (multi-part feature); The Stunts of Minority Report (three-part feature); ILM and Minority Report (six-part feature about various special effects sequences); Production Concepts (five-part feature); STORYBOARD SEQUENCES; TRAILERS; DIGITAL COPY

"I told him I was from Uranus."

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002/141 min) - As he got older, Steven Spielberg appeared increasingly willing to give any genre a shot. This time, he brings a fast, fun game of cat-and-mouse, loosely based on the real life of Frank Abagnale Jr. During the mid-sixties, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) successfully forged millions of dollars in checks, passing himself off as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, all while he was still a teenager. Pursuing Frank is Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), a straight-laced fed obsessed with catching his quarry. Though on opposite sides of the law, the two discover they have more in common than either would care to admit, even developing some mutual respect for each other. 

Anchored by excellent performances by the two leads, both characters are dynamic enough that it’s difficult to peg either as a concrete protagonist or antagonist. It's fun to watch Frank Jr. and Carl try to outwit each other, and both are so likable that viewers may find themselves rooting for both. Once again, Spielberg continues his string of terrific, decidedly adult fare that showed he was more than a fantasy merchant. The breezy tone he achieves suits the whirlwind story, though it does plays a bit fast and loose with the facts of the story (but who cares?).

That being said, I’m not quite as enthusiastic about the 4K transfer here. Granted, the movie looks and sounds great, but to be honest, I didn’t notice a hell of a lot of improvement over the Blu-ray release (it might even look worse in places). The 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio track is also identical to the original Blu-ray. 

EXTRA KIBBLES: 4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES; FEATURETTES - Catch Me if You Can Behind the Camera; CAST Me if You Can: The Casting of the Film (five-part feature); Scoring Catch Me if You Can (interview with John Williams); Frank Abignale: Between Reality and Fiction (four-part feature with cast, crew and Abignale himself); The FBI Perspective (featuring technical advisor William J. Rehder); Catch Me if You Can: In Closing; PHOTO GALLERIES