
Ridley Scott’s iconic road adventure Thelma & Louise (1991) was released on 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection. The 3-disc edition includes the digitally restored film on 4k Blu-ray and HD Blu-ray, and is currently the only way to watch the movie in 4k. Let’s take a look at how the film now looks in a home theater environment, reviewed on a 100” 4k HDR laser projection screen and also a 65” backlit Sony Bravia 4k Dolby Vision TV.
Thelma and Louise stars Gina Davis and Susan Sarandon as two women who plan a weekend getaway that turns into an unexpected run from the law. The film was written by Callie Khouri who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay at the 1992 Academy Awards. Both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for Oscars in the Best Actress category, and Scott was nominated for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography (Adrian Biddle) and Best Film Editing (Thom Noble).
As you would expect from Criterion, the 3-disc collection with booklet, plastic disc trays, and thoughtfully-designed slip cover is a quality piece of physical media that archives one of the best films of the 90s and the last century. The booklet includes a portion of the Oscar-winning script, along with essays and photographs from the film. The cover features a photorealistic image of Thelma and Louise driving in the infamous ‘66 T-Bird convertible with the top down.
For this Ultra HD disc edition, Thelma & Louise was digitally restored in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR, allowing 4x the resolution of HD and up to 10-bit color. The new presentation with High Dynamic Range was supervised by Scott himself, and offers deeper color range and wider contrast than previous HD (disc and digital) formats. Bitrates averaged in the 70 – 80 Mbps range, and the HDR metadata indicated a peak nit of 841 and low of 311.
Notes from the booklet: “This new digital transfer was created from the 35mm original camera negative, which was scanned in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original LCRS magnetic track. On the 4K Blu-ray disc, the feature is presented in Dolby Vision HDR (high dynamic range). On the Blu-ray, it is presented in SDR (standard dynamic range).”
The 4k does look really good, especially in comparison to the previous Blu-ray. An example of resolution improvement can be found in the strings of the fish net that Thelma pulls out of the garage at the beginning of their great escape. Close-ups of Thelma and Louise render nicely in higher resolution, with added sharpness in the eyelashes and stitches of clothing. The morning scene at 1h 35m is some of the most beautiful imagery in the film given the landscape of Monument Valley. Contrast is impressive especially in the outdoor landscape scenes, where the shadows of the mountains counterpoint the sunny western skies. And, there is a nice grainy quality to the image (whether natural or added digitally) that recalls the movie’s celluloid source material.
The DTS–HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack found on Thelma & Louise is the same as previous Blu-ray releases. It’s OK in terms of surround sound, offering but a few immersive moments here and there. Screeching tires and music in the bar scene hit rear channels, and the crossing train at about 44 minutes utilizes more of the multichannel audio stage. The helicopter in the climactic scene at the Grand Canyon explodes into all channels in a realistic way. But, most of the audio presentation comes from the screen and center channels, with easy-to-understand dialogue and excellent multilayed effects mixes.
Bonus features are provided on the second HD Blu-ray Disc with legacy extras such as audio commentaries, interviews with Scott and Khouri, a documentary, Scott’s first short film Boy and Bicycle (1965), storyboards and deleted and extended scenes, and more. See details below.






Scores
Movie
5/5
Video
3.5/5
Audio
4/5
Bonus Materials
4/5
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Ridley Scott, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
- Two audio commentaries, featuring Scott, screenwriter Callie Khouri, and actors Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon
- New interviews with Scott and Khouri
- Documentary featuring Davis; Khouri; Sarandon; Scott; actors Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt; and other members of the cast and crew
- Boy and Bicycle (1965), Scott’s first short film, and one of his early commercials
- Original theatrical featurette
- Storyboards and deleted and extended scenes, including an extended ending with director’s commentary
- Music video for Glenn Frey’s “Part of Me, Part of You,” from the film’s soundtrack
- Trailers
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: Essays by critics Jessica Kiang and Rachel Syme and journalist Rebecca Traister
New cover by Sam Hadley