Overview: Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is a flu or some other type of infection. Her young son dies later the same day. Her husband Mitch however seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection.

For doctors and administrators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, several days pass before anyone realizes the extent or gravity of this new infection. They must first identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combating it, a process that will likely take several months.

As the contagion spreads to millions of people worldwide, societal order begins to break down as people panic.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated Contagion in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this February 27th, 2024.

For my money, this Contagion [4K UHD Blu-ray + Digital] combo pack sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is Contagion presented to us as a two-disc combo pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

One of those moments now being the pivotal moment - we shall call the It’s Mutated scene, where the empty offices, churches and gyms along with the terrifying music make this so realistic, and quite easily, one of the scariest scenes in any movie ever.

Another scene now highlighted we shall call the Ending Scene | Infection scene, where everything that has been brought forth so far, culminates in such a heartbreaking, immensely poignant scene that you won’t be the same for many a day afterwards, of that you have my word.

As for the audio, well we get: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the story to hand, well, made nine years before the advent of covid-19, is prescient, terrifying, realistic. It almost seems more like a docudrama now. I had not seen it until the covid-19 pandemic. To hear the words social distancing, clusters, and R-naught in this movie, nine years before the pandemic, is downright eerie, given that the average person had not been familiar with most of those terms prior to 2020.

Contagion is also suspenseful and well-acted, an extremely well written, both from a dialogue standpoint and a story standpoint. I really appreciated that while the breakdown of social order is a part of the backdrop of the movie, it is not the dominant theme, which would have been a disappointing though not surprising way for the writers to go.

I also thought it was interesting that because of the way the movie draws from an ensemble cast, none of the big names in the movie dominate the way you might expect such big names to. Arguably, Laurence Fishburne is the main protagonist, and I suppose Matt Damon; but really there are a bunch of main characters whose stories unfold. This choice makes for a less predictable and more interesting story.

Overall, for me, and as alluded to above, the movie breaks from the clichés of Hollywood disaster films. Instead of one superior character who diligently finds the answer, we have a team of hardworking, dedicated people who approach the problem thoughtfully and methodically, each making small but significant contributions. Instead of trying to hide the science, this movie explains things, letting you see and understand the process.

At the same time, Contagion keeps you connected, not by making unreal archetypes but by showing you very real people, sometimes brave and noble, sometimes understandably selfish (and in the case of one character, despicably selfish). While the movie avoids those big emotional scenes where the music swells up, there are amazing little touches, like a character’s incomprehension of a loved one’s death or a dying woman trying to help a fellow patient.

The movie does, in fact, have emotion, riots, suspenseful moments, noble actions, but they are never allowed to overwhelm the film or turn it into something formulaic. And this seems to be what a number of people don’t like about it. They want this to be a movie about the breakdown of society, or a movie that personalizes a global disaster by focusing more on victims than scientists. And I like this movie precisely because it refuses to do things like that.

Special Features:
The Reality of Contagion – Featurette
The Contagion Detectives – Featurette
Contagion – How a Virus Changes the World – Featurette