Sony is finally introducing David Fincher’s PANIC ROOM (2002) for the 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release in February!

The big news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has finally released the long-awaited 4K Ultra HD release of David Fincher’s film Panic room (2002) will be released on February 18th!

It’s a title that we first reported was being planned by Sony back in 2018, and serious work finally began in early 2022. But of course, Fincher is known for taking his time overseeing such a remastering, to do everything right.

Given that Panic room was shot on film but featured extensive digital effects (and was completed as 2K Digital Intermediate), we’d assume the resulting 4K remaster is broadly consistent with Paramount’s recent Zodiac UHD version (reviewed here, which is excellent) and perhaps even better.

The good news is that Sony is back with the 4K release of Panic room will come in steelbook packaging and will include both Dolby Vision HDR and a new Dolby Atmos mix. Only the movie is on the 4K disc itself to ensure the highest possible data rate. The package also includes the film on Blu-ray, which is a new disc taken from the 4K master. Both discs also contain the previous English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix (apparently Atmos is only on the 4K disc).

According to the press release, the Blu-ray will also contain all of our old friend David Prior’s excellent special features on the film, as follows:

• Audio commentary by David Fincher
• Audio commentary by Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker and Dwight Yoakam
• Audio commentary by author David Koepp and special guest
• Pre-production

  • 6 featurettes on the preparation phase, from pre-visualization to testing
  • Interactive Pre-Visualization – Compare the pre-visualizations, storyboards, dailies and the final film in a multi-angle, multi-audio feature with optional commentary

• production

  • Shooting Panic Room – A one-hour documentary about the principal photography phase
  • Makeup effects featurette with Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr.
  • Sequence Breakdown – An interactive look at the creation of four separate scenes in the film

• Post production

  • 21 documentaries and featurettes on the visual effects
  • About sound design with Ren Klyce
  • Digital Intermediate and other featurettes related to the post-production phase
  • A look from multiple angles at the judging session led by Howard Shore

Here’s the final cover artwork for the release (rest assured we’ll post the Amazon.com pre-order link as soon as it goes live…

That’s all for now! Stay tuned…

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