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Blu-ray Bounty: A Golden Age Hollywood classic, a new Tron, and 4 Criterion Collection titles
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Hello and welcome to the first Blu-ray Bounty of 2026! To kick off the year, I’ll be checking out six new 4K discs to see whether they’ll make a fitting addition to your collection.
If you’re new to the Blu-ray Bounty, you can check out previous editions here. In the December 2025 Blu-ray Bounty, I tested Catch Me If You Can, The Warriors (Paramount), Heathers, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, His Girl Friday and I Know Where I’m Going!
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As usual, I’m not reviewing the movies themselves, just their picture and sound quality to see whether they’ll be a good way to show off your home theater system.
Tron: Ares
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(Image credit: Disney / Future )
(Image credit: Disney / Future )
(Image credit: Disney / Future )Tron: Ares (2025), starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee and Jeff Bridges, is the third movie in the Tron franchise. It follows the story of Ares (Leto), a digital construct who's sent into the physical world: the first of its kind to do so.
Tron: Ares looks superb on 4K Blu-ray. Colors from light cycle trails and the neon within character’s suits are bold and vibrant, really popping on screen throughout the movie, especially in Dolby Vision. Peak highlights are punchy, which creates powerful contrast as bright tones balance well with the jet blacks. Textures are refined, with real-world sequences looking true-to-life and digital world sequences delivered with spectacular clarity.
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inboxContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.With a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, Tron: Ares sounds superb and will be a real showcase for your home theater system. Whether it was the droning of the bass synths in the score or the rumble of the light cycle’s engines, bass was hefty and room-filling. If you have a big subwoofer, you’re in for a treat.
Other effects are accurately mapped, with the sound of flying discs during a fight sequence delivered by the HW-Q990C soundbar with pinpoint precision. Finally, there’s the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack, which is powerful and immersive, with bold bass, euphoric synths and crunching guitars: all of which were superb thanks to the Atmos mix.
Today's best Tron: Ares 4K Blu-ray deals
Captain Blood
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(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Warner Bros. / Future )
(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Warner Bros. / Future )
(Image credit: Future)Captain Blood (1935), starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone, is a swashbuckling adventure film straight out of Hollywood’s Golden Age. It tells the story of Peter Blood (Flynn), a doctor who escapes wrongful imprisonment to become a pirate. This is the oldest movie we’ve tested to date on the Blu-ray Bounty.
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The Criterion Collection has done an excellent job with the 4K restoration of Captain Blood. Detail is refined and textures have been wonderfully upscaled, particularly in close-up shots where character’s clothing and skin appear sharp and clean. There’s great contrast here as well, with bright whites, deep blacks and a wide range of gray tones in between.
During some daytime shots, white can be a little over-bright and I noticed some scenes dimmed at times, but considering the age of the movie, it’s an impressive job. Purists will be happy to know there’s still plenty of film grain too.
With a monaural soundtrack, Captain Blood won’t give your home theater system a workout. However, the soundtrack has been cleaned up nicely, with clear dialogue and good clarity for effects such as clashing swords, cannon fire and the movie’s sometimes-dramatic score.
Today's best Captain Blood 4K Blu-ray dealsDead Man
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(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Miramax / Future )
(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Miramax / Future )
(Image credit: Future)Dead Man (1995), starring Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer along with an all-star cast, tells the story of William Blake (Depp), an accountant on the run for killing a man who meets a Native American called ‘Nobody’ who believes Blake is in fact the reincarnation of William Blake the English poet.
Dead Man is yet another fantastic restoration from The Criterion Collection. Shot entirely in monochrome, this 4K disc delivers dazzling whites, such as highlights in the sun, and inky blacks, such as Blake’s hair and shadowed areas within forests. Contrast is strong, with a perfect balance between light and dark tones.
Textures have been cleaned up nicely, which can be seen mostly in close-up shots where scars and facial hair are incredibly detailed. An exceptional looking disc. Fear not, cinephiles, there’s still a good amount of grain here, too.
The soundtrack is DTS-HD 2.0, and while there’s nothing here to really show off your speakers, Neil Young’s powerful score, composed entirely of improvised solo electric guitar, has plenty of chugging and twangy Western-sounding riffs that are detailed and clear. Dialogue is crystal clear throughout, and sound effects such as gunfire are accurately placed.
Today's best Dead Man 4K Blu-ray dealsYi Yi
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(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Future )
(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Future )
(Image credit: Future)Yi Yi (2000), starring Wu Nien-jen, Elaine Jin and Jonathan Chang, is a Taiwanese drama that follows the story and struggles of three generations of one family, headed by NJ (Nien-jen), an engineer.
Yi Yi looks great in 4K – textures have been upscaled nicely, with real refinement in people’s skin and hair, and with some nice detail in environments. Colors are accurate and look wonderfully vibrant in some scenes, particularly with the red curtains in the wedding scene in the opening. There’s a nice amount of film grain present here as well.
While Yi Yi won’t test your sound system like an action blockbuster, both the 2.0 and 5.0 soundtracks are DTS-HD MA, and deliver clear dialogue that’s front and center, and there are a good number of scenes that make use of the surround soundtrack.
A karaoke scene produced immersive mapping of sound, with the performer resonating from the front soundbar but the claps of the audience coming from the surround speakers. This is just one standout scene, but really the sound placement is nice throughout.
Today's best Yi Yi 4K Blu-ray dealsThe Dead
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(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Future )
(Image credit: Criterion Collection / Future )
(Image credit: Future)It’s been a busy month for The Criterion Collection, as this is its fourth entry on the list. The Dead (1987), starring Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann, is a period drama based on the James Joyce short story of the same name. It tells the story of a group at an Epiphany dinner, focusing particularly on the thoughts and emotions of one married couple, Gabriel Conroy (McCann) and his wife Gretta (Huston).
Another 4K restoration via Criterion, textures have come through well, making people’s skin look natural and giving clothing more detail and authenticity. Colors are true-to-life, and contrast is strong with deep blacks. A quick note: the movie is quite dim, so you’ll need to manage your viewing room if it’s bright.
There’s a 4.0 DTS-HD surround sound soundtrack supplied, and while this isn’t an audio powerhouse, dialogue is clear throughout the movie and musical sections, such as the piano recital sound accurate and detailed.
Today's best The Dead 4K Blu-ray dealsBlack Phone 2
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(Image credit: Universal Pictures / Future )
(Image credit: Universal Pictures / Future )
(Image credit: Future)Black Phone 2 (2025), starring Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw and Ethan Hawke, is the second full film in the Black Phone franchise (though there was a short too, as part of V/H/S/85). It follows siblings Finney (Thames) and Gwen (McGraw) who attend a winter camp, only to be haunted by the Grabber (Hawke), the serial killer from the first film, who has a connection to the winter camp.
Black Phone 2 looks good in 4K. Large portions of the movie (dream sequences) are given a grainy VCR effect, which obviously doesn't do much for detail, but is really fun. During real-world sequences, there’s inky, rich blacks during night scenes and the white of the snowy landscape is vibrant and bright in the day. Textures are crisp with good detail, making the murder scenes feel more visceral and gruesome.
With a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the bass of the foreboding, electronic synths is punchy and room-filling. Dialogue is clean throughout and as for the movie’s other effects, such as hacking axes and the scraping of ice, these are disturbingly crisp and punchy. Good sound design is essential for a horror movie and Black Phone 2’s Atmos really shows this element off.
Today's best Black Phone 2 4K Blu-ray deals
The best TVs for all budgetsOur top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons➡️ Read our full guide to the best TVs1. Best overall:LG C52. Best under 1000:US: Hisense U8QGUK: TCL C7K3. Best under 500:US: Roku Plus SeriesUK: TCL C6K
The best 4K Blu-ray players for all budgetsOur top picks, based on real world testing ➡️ Read our full guide to the best 4k Blu-ray players1. Best overallPanasonic DP-UB820 2. Best budgetSony UBP-X7003. Best premiumPanasonic DP-UB9000
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TOPICS 4K CATEGORIES Entertainment Streaming
James DavidsonSocial Links NavigationTV Hardware Staff Writer, Home Entertainment James is the TV Hardware Staff Writer at TechRadar. Before joining the team, he worked at a major UK based AV retailer selling TV and audio equipment, where he was either telling customers the difference between OLED and QLED or being wowed by watching a PS5 run on the LG 65G2. When not writing about the latest TV tech, James can be found gaming, reading, watching rugby or coming up with another idea for a novel.
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