Night Moves appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie came with a fairly positive Dolby Vision image.
Sharpness was generally solid, as most of the movie seemed crisp and concise. Some of the many dimly-lit interiors could feel a bit soft, but most of the flick brought good delineation.
No issues with jagged edges, shimmering, or edge halos materialized. Print flaws also failed to appear, and grain appeared appropriate.
Colors looked positive, as they remained warm and rich for the most part – after a tinted opening, though. Much of the movie’s opening act came with a pretty heavy blue/green impression.
That largely faded along the way, however. Instead, the hues came across well for the majority of the movie, and HDR added punch to the tones.
Blacks were nicely deep and full, while shadows looked clear and smooth – outside of those mildly murky interiors I mentioned. HDR gave whites and contrast extra impact. Overall, I thought this was a mostly appealing image.
Don’t expect anything memorable from the LPCM monaural soundtrack of Night Moves, as this was a consistently average mix for its age. Speech sounded a little thin but the lines were always concise and easily intelligible.
Music lacked much range but seemed clear and didn’t suffer from any shrillness. The same went for effects.
Though I failed to notice much dynamic range from those elements, the effects seemed acceptably distinctive, and they lacked distortion. This was a decent track for an older flick.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the simultaneously released Criterion Blu-ray? Both came with identical monaural audio.
As for the Dolby Vision UHD, it brought strong delineation as well as better colors and blacks. Due to the nature of the source, I didn't think the 4K blew away the BD, but it became the more satisfying of the two.
When we head to extras, we open with an audio commentary from author/film historian Matthew Asprey Gear. He provides a running, screen-specific discussion of story/character/genre domains, cast and crew, production notes and related elements.
Gear offers a strong overview with his chat. He mixes general history with filmmaking specifics to give us a fine take on the topics.
The remaining extras show up on the included Blu-ray copy. In addition to the film’s trailer, we get a vintage featurette called The Day of the Director.
This eight-minute, 33-second reel offers footage from the set with some comments from director Arthur Penn. Nothing especially insightful emerges, but it’s a decent snapshot of the production.
We find two separate Interviews with Director Arthur Penn. One stems from 1975 (19:17) and the other from 1995 (5:22).
Across these, Penn talks about his career as well as Night Moves. Unsurprisingly, the 1995 chat became more of a look-back versus the more “present-focused” 1975 piece.
Because it comes from the era in which Moves hit screens, it becomes the more compelling of the two. Nonetheless, both offer good information.
Jennifer Warren brings a chat with the actor. This reel runs 17 minutes, four seconds.
Warren covers how she got her role in Moves as well as her experiences during the production. She gives us a good look at her memories of Night Moves.
The set concludes with a booklet that provides photos, credits and an essay from critic Mark Harris. It ends the package well.
With solid talent behind and in front of the camera, Night Moves boasts great potential. The movie occasionally matches those expectations, but it tends to be a less engaging ride than I’d like. The 4K UHD offers generally good picture with average audio and some useful supplements. Moves turns into an erratic thriller.
