Starship Troopers: 20th Anniversary (4K Ultra HD)

From the bridge of the Fleet Battlestation Ticonderoga, with its sweeping galactic views, to the desolate terrain of planet Klendathu, teeming with shrieking, fire-spitting, brain-sucking special effects creatures, acclaimed director Paul Verhoeven crafts a dazzling epic based on Robert A. Heinlein's classic sci-fi adventure about the courageous soldiers who travel to the distant and desolate Klendathu system for the ultimate showdown between the species.

Starship Troopers released in 1997, was shot on film, and according to its packaging, the UHD is sourced from a "new 4K restoration." The movie has always been a highlight on home formats, offering very impressive picture quality upon its release on DVD and again in the early days of Blu-ray. This new 2160p UHD is no different, offering a substantial boost in stability, definition, and color alike. The image more than impresses in every shot; even visual effects hold up rather well. Grain retention is largely consistent and generally complimentary with only a few scenes, such as in the classroom near film's start, appearing a bit more dense and snowy. The image gains significant improvements in clarity and sharpness. Fine details are much more revealing across the board. Faces reveal fine hairs, pores, and scars with depth and detail that's comparatively absent on the Blu-ray. Uniforms, berets, helmets, armor, terrain on bug planets, manmade structures at the training camp and on Planet P, practical bug effects, and torn human bodies all find significantly more clarity and attention to fine detail, even at distance and even considering more insignificant background elements. The HDR enhanced color palette is a joy. Color depth is much stronger. Skin tones offer improved accuracy and depth. Orangey fireballs pop with significant punch in chapter 10, followed by splattering of green and orange bug blood moments later that reveal the true increase in saturation without betraying the movie's core appearance. There are a handful of speckles, though the only really noticeable ones come when Rico's father chews him out after he's joined up; there's been a fair bit of clean-up here when viewed against the comparatively debris-heavy Blu-ray. Outer space black levels hold impressively deep. This is a considerably better image over the Blu-ray; fans are going to be ecstatic.

CREDITS:

Actors: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer

Directors: Ed Neumeier

FEATURES:

• Format: Closed-captioned, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, English, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:R Restricted
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 19, 2017
• Run Time: 129 minutes

Starship Troopers: 20th Anniversary 4K HD

Starring: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Clancy Brown, Michael Ironside, Anthony Ruiviar, Seth Gilliam, Patrick Muldoon, Rue McClanahan, Marshall Bell, Eric Bruskotter, Matt Levin, Anthony Ruivivar, Blake Lindsley, Brenda Strong, Dean Norris, Christopher Curry, Lenore Kasdorf, Tami-Adrian George, Teo, Steven Ford, Ungela Brockman, Curnal Aulisio, Greg Travis, Bruce Gray, Denise Dowse, John Cunningham, Julianna McCarthy, Timothy McNeil, Robert David Hall, Brad Kane, Amy Smart, Timothy Omundson, Hunter Bodine, Mara Duronslet, Patrick Bishop, Dale A. Dye, Michael Stokey, Travis Lowen, Patrick Wolff, Tyrone Tann, Eric DaRe, Walter Adrian, Stephanie Erb, Armand Darrius, Kai Lennox, Matt Entriken, Ronald L. Botchan, Alexi Lakatos, Nathaniel Marshall, Austin Sanderford, Rhiannon Vigil, Mylin Brooks

Director: Alan Marshall, Jon Davison

Rating: R