What to watch in 4k
So you’ve got your mind-blowing Ultra HD setup, but how best to show it off? These are our picks of the most beautiful and spectacular-looking movies, as well as those that just deserve to be watched in the best quality possible
Make the most of your Ultra HD setup with the most spectacular-looking films and shows
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
This is a fantastic 4K showpiece, full of big space action, amazing lightsaber battles and beautiful landscapes. We love its quieter moments too: the triangle of Luke, Rey and Kylo is the richest, most layered StarWars character story to date.
Groundhog Day
One of the greatest comedies of all time gets a glorious Ultra HD and HDR remaster, bringing out colours and detail we never knew it had to offer.
The Crown
This was Netflix’s most expensive show ever at the time, and you can really see why in 4K. From the immaculate sets to the elaborate costuming and perfect period locations, it’s a show that revels in its details. It’s utterly compelling, too, exploring how dysfunctional family dynamics mix with serious political expectations.
It
The 2017 remake of the horror classic mixes modern filmmaking with old-school terror for a properly chilling time. 4K and HDR are used well here, too, adding a refined realism to Pennywise’s forms that we really didn’t need, and extra dread to that damn house…
Mad Max: Fury Road
Watching this in HDR is like seeing it for the first time all over again. The orange of the desert, the flashing of the storm, the bursts of explosions against a stark cyan sky – it’s incredible. That it’s also one of the most gripping, meticulously choreographed action movies ever doesn’t hurt, either.
Planet Earth II /Blue Planet II
Now this is a box set worth splashing out on. The Beeb’s amazing footage of never-beforeseen animals and behaviour from around the globe and under the ocean is better than being there. It’s genuinely jaw-dropping.
The man in the high castle
In a universe where the Axis won World War II and divided America much like post-war Germany, a woman catches a glimpse of a video that seems to show a world where the Allies won, and seeks out its creator. The effort that’s gone into creating a chilling Nazi USA is incredible, as is the direction.
Creed
This surprise Rocky sequel is a touching look at the legacy of the boxing ring, and the passing of a torch to a new generation. Sylvester Stallone is brilliant as the frail, lonely old fighter, and Michael B Jordan cements his place as a powerhouse star.
Thor: Ragnarok
Marvel’s weirdest and best-looking film to date mixes Flash Gordon- inspired space adventure with director Taika Waititi’s improv-led style for a superhero film that feels like an indie comedy half the time.
Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan loves to use the giant canvas of IMAX to add a truly epic scale to his films, and it mixes perfectly with the unbearable tension of the way this film’s different narratives all converge on WWII’s desperate retreat to the beaches.
The Tick
This spoofy superhero series stars Peter Serafinowicz as the titular Tick, who takes destiny far too seriously for a man with antennae. It’s a great, silly palate-cleanser to darker superhero series.
Jessica Jones
Speaking of dark hero series, they don’t come any darker than this – its themes of violence and abuse in relationships, and the residual trauma left after surviving them, gives it a grounding other Netflix Marvel shows struggle to match. The cast is incredible, the tension is thick, and the moody PI vibe looks great in Ultra HD.
The man from U.N.C.L.E.
Guy Ritchie’s cruelly underrated ’60s-set spy film is one of the coolest movies ever, as well as one of the most stylish – perfect for 4K. It’s all about the quips and clever spy-work, not the action, and we love that.
Annihilation
Want a sci-fi movie full of trippy visuals and slow-burning mystery? A team of five female scientists enter a strange, shimmering zone around a meteor crash, and the situation quickly builds an air of unease that rivals any horror film. At times beautiful, at times fraught, and always engrossing.
A series of Unfortunate events
The adaptation of the Lemony Snicket books carries a strong Addams Family vibe (due to being led by director Barry Sonnenfeld), which fits perfectly with its story of children pursued by their theatrically evil uncle through increasingly surreal locations.
The Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio finally got his Oscar for this incredible, brutal film of a man left for dead after a bear attack, who sees his son murdered in the aftermath, and survives to go on and gain his revenge on the killers. The stunning nature shots reveal both the beauty and the coldness of nature, and the film is equally unflinching when it comes to humans and their propensity for violence.
The original is also in 4K (and looks great), but this is a next-level visual masterpiece that plays with colour and light in a way only HDR does justice to. There is no better way to show off your amazing home theatre setup, especially if you have a great speaker system – the soundscape is equally dramatic and encompassing.
Ug ly delicious
Explore the surprising history of your favourite foods, and look at how they’re adapted around the world, watching it all in stomach-rumbling 4K detail.
Get out
This horror-thriller thoroughly deserved its Oscar, and maybe should have picked up more. When a young black guy visits his white girlfriend’s family for the first time, it’s clear that things are a little off. And then things are a lot off. It’s brilliantly written, and plays with your expectations expertly.
Life of pi
Ang Lee’s semi-surreal survival story was famed for its 3D (and being a stunning film) upon its release in 2012, but it also transfers perfectly to 4K and HDR, adding lush colour and nerve-wracking realism to the tale of a man trapped in a lifeboat with a tiger.
Altered Carbon
Netflix goes for its own Blade Runner feel in this neon-soaked cyberpunk world where people’s minds can be transferred to a new body after death. A stark and eye-popping sci-fi that explores identity, sexuality and the exploitation of the human body.
Pacific Rim
If you want to show off the scale of your giant 4K screen, you need PacificRim. The night-time battles between monster and mech look even better in HDR, and you get to appreciate the sheer amount of style Guillermo del Toro put into every frame.
Sp y
An impossibly good comedy cast led by Melissa McCarthy (though Jason Statham steals every scene he’s within 100 feet of) makes this story of a humble CIA analyst forced to go into the field one of the best comedies of the last few years. It’s silly, smart and unrepeatable in equal measure.
Arrival
A brilliant sci-fi slow-burner, Arrival is all about a world trying to communicate with alien ships that appear above the planet. It turns from linguistic mystery to grand sci-fi themes, and is totally gripping throughout.
The story of the unsung black women at the heart of NASA’s early space programs is a perfect feel-good pleaser, with great performances and period details.
Stranger Things
This Spielberg-inspired thriller-mystery series may be set in the ’80s, but it feels made for nice, big, modern 4K HDR screens.
Atomic Blonde
One of the directors of John Wick (itself a great 4K showpiece) brings us a superstylish, crunching action movie starring Charlize Theron. Expect amazing, colourful fights and a lot of triple-crossing.
Gone Girl
David Fincher’s psychological drama is full of paranoia, relationship dysfunction, the cruelty of trial by public opinion, and a bleak visual flair that looks great in Ultra HD.
WesTw orld
The sweeping scale and expense of this epic series look fantastic in 4K, and the story of humans succumbing to the result of their own god-complex escalation is thoughtful.
The Neon Demon
Nicolas Winding Refn is the crown prince of provocation, and his lurid, glitter-smeared nightmare about a beautiful young woman gobbled up by fashion ghouls is even more intoxicating on a home cinema setup.
Moonlight
This Oscar-winning, coming-of-age story visits a man at three stages of his life, as he grapples with his hidden sexuality and the poisonous codependency he has with his addict mother. Set in the humid Liberty City in Miami, it’s a feast for the senses in 4K.
Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot’s performance elevates a solid hero movie, while the Themiscyra and No Man’s Land scenes are fantastic in 4K HDR.
Baby Driver
This slick get-away movie is an ingenious blend of music and stunt driving, given extra heft and drama in Ultra HD.
Okja
You’ll never look at pigs the same way again after the strange, wonderful story of Okja and its incredible special effects.
The great gatsby
Luhrmann’s lush, melodramatic style looks glorious in this tale of doomed decadence.