When 2022 was happening and the announcement that Quentin Tarantino’s first feature ever was going to be released in 4K, everyone was foaming at their mouth with anticipation that not only was this going to be a *good* release but that if it was a good release the rest of his hot catalogue would be later released after the debacle that was Inglorious Basterds (2009). To be clear, I don’t think Basterds was a *bad* release, but it wasn’t blowing anyone out of the water and didn’t look significantly better than the studio Blu-ray. With that being said, Lionsgate is blessing cinephiles with three more Tarantino titles (with beautiful steelbooks and Amrays) for Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, and Jackie Brown (possibly one of Tarantino’s most underappreciated and underrated movies). It is also important to note that because of how particular Tarantino is, everything on these releases is there deliberately and anything missing is also deliberate; every spec and feature on these releases is there or is not there because Tarantino himself wanted it or did not want it there.

Tarantino’s entire career has been focused on his direction, the performances he elicits from his cast, and screenplays which have all been original scripts with the exception of Jackie Brown, a movie he adapted and fleshed out from Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch to give Pam Grier (Coffy; Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey) a leading role in one of his features. The film focuses on Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) who’s been dealt consistently crappy hands, is trying just to make ends meet, and ensure she can survive on her own, which leads to her smuggling money between Mexico and Los Angeles for Ordell (Samuel L Jackson). He has a rather ingenious yet stupid scheme going on, and it works until one of his runners, Beaumont (Chris Tucker), gets caught and gets the LAPD via Mark Dargus (Michael Brown) and ATF via Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) on his tail who find Jackie and make a deal with her to try and catch Ordell. While Jackie isn’t entirely onboard with the idea, she doesn’t have much of a choice as it is that or spend, most likely, the rest of her life in federal prison.

While thinking of Tarantino and his collection of films, it seems Jackie Brown is always discussed as an afterthought, somehow falling behind Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood… (2019), Pulp Fiction (1994), and so forth, but after revisiting this for the first time in years I was generally blown away by how great Jackie Brown is and it makes me regret not revisiting it more in the past. This is Tarantino at his peak (not that he’s ever really faltered, though) and, formatting-wise, is arguably more Pulp Fiction (less linear) than his other films, but whether this be a first time viewing for the audience or a revisit, Jackie Brown has arguably never looked better and deserves more credit for its brilliance and accomplishments within Tarantino’s body of work.

JACKIE BROWN 4K UHD steelbook packshot. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate Limited.

While watching this 4K restoration, it has been confirmed that while the film was shot on 35 mm (Tarantino’s preference as he is incredibly anti-digital), the 4K restoration was remastered from the original camera negative with HDR10 and Dolby Vision included on a BD-100 disk, so the film is able to fully breathe and be presented with little to no compression. This is one of the brightest, boldest, nicest looking 4Ks of the year so far which shines far and brighter than expected (even though Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction looked incredible on their releases). Jackie Brown is spectacular. So incredibly clear, bright, and intact with grain, this has not been scrubbed but restored to mimic what watching this on a freshly struck 35 would presumably look like. When it comes to the audio mix, this is not in Atmos (it’s Tarantino so don’t be surprised that this isn’t something he likes/wants). It appears to be the same mix that was on the Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection Jackie Brown disk. In regards to the special features, they’re solely located on the Blu-ray, as well, which, looking at which features are and are not included on this, seems to be the exact same as the XX collection release, which makes one think this is just that specific disk included with the 4K. It does appear that there are a few legacy features missing (again this would be deliberate from Tarantino himself), but the features that were on the Tarantino XX Jackie Brown disk are all present, just not the extra bonus features that were on the separate bonus feature disk.

Jackie Brown Legacy Special Features:

• Breaking Down Jackie Brown
• Jackie Brown: How It Went Down
• A Look Back at Jackie Brown: Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Chicks with Guns Video
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes
• Siskel & Ebert “At the Movies” – Jackie Brown Review
• Jackie Brown on MTV
• Marketing Gallery
• Still Galleries
• Production Stills
• Enhanced Trivia Track (Viewing Option)

Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray, 4K UHD Blu-ray limited edition steelbook, and digital January 21^st, 2025.

For more information, head to the official Lionsgate Limited Jackie Brown webpage.

Categories: Home Release, Recommendation

Tags: 4K UHD, A Band Apart, adaptation, Bridget Fonda, Chris Tucker, crime, drama, Elmore Leonard, Hattie Winston, home release, home video, Jackie Brown, Lionsgate, Lionsgate Limited, LisaGay Hamilton, Michael Bowen, Michael Keaton, Mighty Mighty Afrodite Productions, Miramax, Pam Grier, Quentin Tarantino, remaster, Robert De Niro, Robert Forster, Samuel L. Jackson, Sid Haig, thriller, Tommy Lister Jr.