Wes Anderson Archive, The: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Dec 09, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Wes Anderson

Release Date(s)

1996-2021 (September 30, 2025)

Studio(s)

Indian Paintbrush/American Empirical Pictures (The Criterion Collection – Spine #450, #65, #157, #300, #540, #700, #776, #1025, #1281, #1282)

• Film/Program Grade: See Below
• Video Grade: See Below
• Audio Grade: See Below
• Extras Grade: A+
• Overall Grade: A+

criterion.com

Review

The work of Wes Anderson continues to garner its fans and its detractors, and has done so since his debut film in 1996, Bottle Rocket, all the way up to and including (as of this writing) his recent work, 2025’s The Phoenician Scheme. Creating worlds in which eccentric, whimsical, lovable, and sometimes unsavory characters live with a style that relies heavily upon wide angles, sweeping symmetrical camera moves, snap-zooms, and unconventional color schemes set to classic pop and rock soundtracks, Wes Anderson’s work has become a style all his own. Some critics describe him as an auteur, others as emotionally distant with a limited capacity for style. Others simply see him as a filmmaker constantly in motion, seeking out stories to tell that fit his particular mold, which is a charming and easygoing but always fascinating mode of storytelling.

The Criterion Collection presents The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years, encapsulating his growth from passionate, small-time amateur to professional filmmaker. This massive and gorgeous 20-disc 4K Ultra HD package is also bursting with extensive bonus materials, and because of its size, I’ll be covering each film one at a time in order to go over it in better detail.

Below, you’ll find quick links that will take to you reviews of each film, as well as the packaging and my final thoughts on this set:

(Click Below to Jump to Individual Disc/Film Reviews):

DISCS ONE & TWO: BOTTLE ROCKET

DISCS THREE & FOUR: RUSHMORE

DISCS FIVE & SIX: THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

DISCS SEVEN & EIGHT: THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

DISCS NINE & TEN: THE DARJEELING LIMITED

DISCS ELEVEN & TWELVE: FANTASTIC MR. FOX

DISCS THIRTEEN & FOURTEEN: MOONRISE KINGDOM

DISCS FIFTEEN & SIXTEEN: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

DISCS SEVENTEEN & EIGHTEEN: ISLE OF DOGS

DISCS NINETEEN & TWENTY: THE FRENCH DISPATCH

PACKAGING & FINAL THOUGHTS

DISCS ONE & TWO: BOTTLE ROCKET

Often referred to by Martin Scorsese as one of his favorite films of the 1990s, Bottle Rocket was a feature film debut for Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, and Luke Wilson, all of whom were complete unknowns at the time of the film’s release. Wes and Owen had become friends after meeting in college, eventually writing a short film together, which became the thirteen minute version of Bottle Rocket. When it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, James L. Brooks saw it and agreed to help finance a feature film version. Eventually the full film was made, and despite a positive critical reaction, wasn’t a financial success for its distributor Columbia Pictures.

Anthony (Luke) has just completed a voluntary stay at a psychiatric hospital for exhaustion when he meets back up with his friend Dignan (Owen), whom Anthony allows to believe that he’s actually helping him to escape. While Anthony was away, Dignan has been making long-term plans for the two of them to pull off a series of heists together, bringing in their mutual friend Bob (Robert Musgrave) as a getaway driver. Bob is preoccupied with his bully of an older brother (Andrew Wilson), as well as his marijuana crop in his parents’ backyard, while Dignan’s goal is to get back into the good graces of Mr. Henry (James Caan), a small-town criminal who owns a landscaping business that Dignan was fired from. After the three pull off their initial book store robbery, they hit the road to lay low, staying at a motel whereupon Anthony falls in love with Inez (Lumi Cavazos), one of the housekeepers. As Dignan’s need for the group to go on and ascend to even greater felonious heights increases, Anthony finds himself at a crossroads, wondering whether he should continue being loyal to his friend or allow his life to take a more positive direction.

Among other things, Bottle Rocket was also this group’s first taste of trying to please audiences. A disastrous first test screening left Anderson in particular feeling shaken and totally unsure of himself. Not only was more editing required to tighten up the film’s pacing, but additional scenes were written and shot to help give the story more structure and character development. The latter is certainly the most obvious aspect of Bottle Rocket, with particular regard to Luke’s and Owen’s characters. Anthony seems to be a wayward but lost soul, fully supportive of Dignan, but also of strong enough mind to speak up to him when he appears to be going off the deep end. It feels like a familial relationship in which a more stable brother supports his chaotic brother, which is quite obvious since they’re actually brothers in real life, but it’s surprising that the film doesn’t hammer that point home more directly. Robert Musgrave and Lumi Cavazos also give terrific supportive performances, the latter of whom was mostly known at the time for her performance in 1992’s Like Water for Chocolate, but helping to ground the film and give it a sweet center.

Bottle Rocket’s mix of real world sentiment, humorous character interactions and dialogue, and slight whimsy would become trademarks of Wes Anderson’s work, the latter increasing over time. The look of the film, shot by future collaborator Robert Yeoman in a non-traditional Wes Anderson 1.85:1 frame, also became more aggressive in future works. Here it gives the story a laid-back sensibility, but a strong base without the need for an overly dynamic style. The back roads of El Paso, Texas and the open landscapes therein are beautifully captured, allowing them to exist in the space without any heavy lifting required. Some may find Bottle Rocket lacking because it’s a prototype for Anderson’s later work, but make no mistake: it’s inherently his, as well as Owen Wilson’s, personality at play.

Bottle Rocket was shot by cinematographer Robert Yeoman on 35mm film using Panavision Panaflex Gold II and Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras with Panavision Primo spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Criterion’s Ultra HD debut features a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, approved by Wes Anderson, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. It’s a quantum leap over previous presentations of the film, with a major boost in fine detail, sharper and more defined. Grain is mostly mild, though it occasionally makes its presence more known during scenes with lower light levels. The bitrate sits mostly in the 80 to 90Mbps range, giving the film a steady and well-encoded appearance without any macroblocking or other digital issues. The HDR passes deepen the color palette dramatically, with much improved saturation that’s more natural than on the previously Blu-ray, with deep blacks and perfect contrast. The image is stable, clean, and organic, leaving no room for complaints.

Audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The film was released in Dolby SR, and the film has had a 5.1 audio option attached to it since its first DVD release, upgraded to a lossless container on Criterion’s first DVD and Blu-ray releases in 2008. It’s not an aggressive multi-speaker experience, but it gives the film’s soundtrack plenty of space to move around in when needed. Dialogue is often anchored to front, sometimes panned to the left and right when characters enter or leave the frame, while Mark Mothersbaugh’s score and the music selection fills the surrounding speakers. Sound effects are also given careful attention, mostly atmospherics with cars passing by in the background, or ambient environmental noises. Overall, the track offers excellent clarity, crisp with plenty of support of the various elements.

This 4K Ultra HD sits in a book-like digipak alongside a 1080p Blu-ray, which is a new pressing of the same disc released in 2008, and an attached 18-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information; the essays Simple Joys by Martin Scorsese, which appeared in the March 2000 issue of Esquire magazine; Genuine Voices by James L. Brooks, which was an introduction to the Rushmore screenplay; various photos and artwork; the film’s synopsis; a list of the special features; restoration information; and a set of acknowledgments. This packaging negates the previous Blu-ray release’s digipak artwork by Ian Dingman, which also contained a re-creation of Dignan’s “75-Year Plan” notebook. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE (UHD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson

DISC TWO (BD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
• The Making of Bottle Rocket (HD and Upscaled SD – 25:43)
• The Bottle Rocket Short:
  • Bottle Rocket (HD – 13:35)
  • Miscellaneous (HD – 19 in all)
• Deleted Scenes:
  • Sc. 8: Car Wash (Upscaled SD – :58)
  • Sc. 9: Eating Sandwiches (Upscaled SD – 1:09)
  • Sc. 11: Goff’s Hamburgers (Upscaled SD – 1:13)
  • Sc. 16: Driving Scene (Upscaled SD – :53)
  • Sc. 19: Temple Nash Jr. (Upscaled SD – 2:32)
  • Sc. 27-29: Police in Bob’s Backyard (Upscaled SD – 2:44)
  • Sc. 30: On the Lam (Upscaled SD – 1:12)
  • Sc. 33-35: Commander Dignan (Upscaled SD – 2:45)
  • Sc. 48-49: Bad News (Upscaled SD – 1:33)
  • Sc. 58-59: At the Motel (Upscaled SD – 2:06)
  • Sc. 88: Dignan and Applejack (Upscaled SD – 1:29)
• Anamorphic Test (HD and Upscaled SD – 2:33)
• Photos by Laura Wilson (HD – 40 in all)
• Storyboards (HD – 42 in all)
• The Shafrazi Lectures, No. 1: Bottle Rocket (Upscaled SD – 10:32)
• Murita Cycles (HD – 27:12)
• Easter Egg (SD – :51)

The audio commentary with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson was recorded in 2008. Much like the film itself, it’s very laid back, but it’s a natural and free-flowing conversation about its making. The two reminisce about their experiences, often speaking about the circumstances of the test screening, which clearly affected them both emotionally, but they mostly keep things on track with very few instances of silence. The Making of Bottle Rocket is Barry Braverman’s 2008 documentary about the film, featuring interviews with Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Robert Musgrave, James Caan, Andrew Wilson, Kumar Pallana, Temple Nash Jr., producer Polly Platt, executive producers James L. Brooks and Richard Sakai, cinematographer Robert Yeoman, composer Mark Mothersbaugh, production designer David Waso, and set decorator Sandy Wasco.

The original Bottle Rocket short film is also included, which is more or less an abridged version of the film’s first act. Also included are a set of Miscellaneous production photos and storyboards from the short. Next are eleven Deleted Scenes from the main film, some of which develop Bob’s character, the marijuana subplot, and subsequent jailing of his brother a little more, the majority of which was left out of the final cut. The Anamorphic Test was shot prior to filming and is made up of moments from Sc. 33-35: Commander Dignan. Ultimately, the choice to shoot the film spherically in 1.85:1 better served the needs of the story. The Photos by Laura Wilson chronicle the original short film shoot and later feature film shoot. The Storyboards feature 44 images of Wes Anderson’s storyboards for various scenes in the film. The Shafrazi Lectures features art dealer and gallery owner Tony Shafrazi speaking about his fascination with the film and how he projects it onto a larger canvas for his own enjoyment. Murita Cycles is a short film by Barry Braverman about his father, Murray, who owned a bicycle shop in Staten Island in 1978. It served as an inspiration during the making of the short.

The Easter Egg can be found by pressing the Blue button on your remote control while in the sub-menu for Anamorphic Test, which will reveal a short snippet of Kumar Pallana spinning plates to camera.

BOTTLE ROCKET (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): A/A/A-/A+

DISCS THREE & FOUR: RUSHMORE

One of Wes Anderson’s most autobiographical films, and the one that arguably brought him the most initial acclaim, Rushmore is also the film that fully cemented his visual and storytelling style. Taking on a heightened, almost fable-tale like reality featuring grounded characters with quirky attributes, it would become one of the most identifiable aspects of his work for the rest of his career—never wavering and almost assuredly ruffling the feathers of the most vocal of his detractors. Once again, he and Owen Wilson co-wrote the script, coming up with the idea prior to Bottle Rocket, and finding muses in two actors who would become among his most frequent collaborators and forever associated with his work: Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, the former of whom was a complete unknown at the time, and the latter of whom would experience a complete career rebirth.

Max Fischer (Schwartzman) is a 15-year-old scholarship student at Rushmore Academy. He’s making a career out of going to Rushmore, but perennially failing his courses while spending more time on extracurricular projects. He’s warned by the headmaster, Mr. Guggenheim (Brian Cox), that if he fails one more class he’ll be expelled, which happens to coincide with his meeting of Herman Blume (Murray), a local businessman who becomes his friend, as well as Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams), a first grade teacher whom he falls in love with. A heated rivalry develops between Max and Herman over Rosemary, who repeatedly expresses no interest in Max due to their age differences, as Max struggles to maintain friendships, academic accomplishments, and his social circles. Among Max’s friends and family are Mason Gamble as his friend and loyal sidekick Dirk, Seymour Cassel as Max’s father Bert, and Sara Tanaka as local high schooler Margaret Yang. Also in the cast are Stephen McCole, Ronnie McCawley, Keith McCawley, Kim Terry, Connie Nielsen, Marietta Marich, Kumar Pallana, Andrew Wilson, and Luke Wilson.

Wes Anderson attributes many of Max’s traits to his own experiences as a teenager. Max is basically a nice kid that underachieves academically while focusing on overachieving in real life. He dreams of shedding himself of his middle class background and being the square peg that fits the round hole, and often has the persuasive tact to do so, at least up to a point. He isn’t expecting somebody like Rosemary or Henry to enter into his life, let alone becoming close to them. Max is also charming, above all else, despite all of the obstacles being thrown at him, and he sees Rosemary and Henry as two separate ways out of his quandaries. If he can successfully be with Rosemary and befriend Henry, everything else will work itself out. He unfortunately finds out the hard way that not only is that impossible, but that his personal relationships may not be what he thinks they are or what he hopes them to be. Meanwhile, Rosemary is adrift and trying to navigate her way after the tragic death of her husband, and for a moment, you could almost believe that she could let her guard down and give in to Max. Instead, she chooses another wrong path with Henry, who’s also a broken person in a loveless marriage. In essence, these people need each other, but it’s all on Max’s shoulders to find a way for them to make it work.

Rushmore is a more mature work than Bottle Rocket and digs deeper into Wes Anderson’s personality, but with the same playful and sometimes absurdist human interplay. He and cinematographer Robert Yeoman chose for the first time to shoot the film anamorphically, giving Anderson a much wider frame in which to compose. The film was also shot almost entirely on location, primarily at the North Shore High School in Houston, Texas, with a larger and more eminent cast than the previous film. It managed to do decent business upon its theatrical release in December 1998, eventually becoming one of Wes Anderson’s most celebrated films critically.

Rushmore was shot by cinematographer Robert Yeoman on 35mm film (Eastman EXR 500T 5298) using Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras with Panavision Primo anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Criterion’s Ultra HD debut features a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, approved by Wes Anderson, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. It’s worth noting that the previous Blu-ray release, which is also included, is presented in 2.35:1. Here we are fourteen years later and we have another stellar presentation of the film on a new format. Because the Blu-ray presentation was and still is quite good, the UHD upgrade may not seem all that dramatic at first glance. There’s a very line layer of natural film grain with bitrates sitting mostly between 80 and 100Mps, allowing for sharper and more precise detail. Saturation is also more accurate with natural flesh tones and more robust hues, which the HDR passes take full advantage of, widening the gamut and deepening detail with greater contrast and deeper blacks. Shots involving title overlays revert to interpositives, which are obviously softer, but the differences in detail are not as overly pronounced. The image is stable and clean, and by far the best the film has ever looked outside of a theater.

Audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. It’s a very crisp and immersive experience that’s not necessarily driven by aggressive steering in the surrounding speakers. Atmosphere and engrossment are the names of the game, with sometimes subtle activity occurring in the surrounds, but also emboldening Mark Mothersbaugh’s score and the music selection from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, John Lennon, The Kinks, and The Who, with a fantastic opening number by The Creation. Dialogue reigns supreme, with nary a wasted moment in the encompassing environment. It’s another clean and satisfying listening experience that supports the film’s sound design tremendously.

This 4K Ultra HD sits in a book-like digipak alongside a 1080p Blu-ray, which is a new pressing of the same disc released in 2011 with a different menu, and an attached 18-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information; the essays The Play’s the Thing by David Kehr; With Affection and a Few Queries by Wes Anderson, which was originally published as an introduction to the Rushmore screenplay; various photos and artwork; the film’s synopsis; a list of the special features; restoration information; and a set of acknowledgments. This packaging negates the previous Blu-ray release’s artwork by Eric Chase Anderson, which also contained a fold-out map of events from the film and a fold-out, double-sided insert with the same David Kehr essay and other artwork. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC THREE (UHD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman

DISC FOUR (BD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman
• Auditions (SD – 8:40):
  • Jason Schawartzman (SD – 4:03)
  • Stephen McCole (SD – 2:22)
  • Ronnie and Keith McCawley (SD – :51)
  • Sara Tanaka (SD – :53)
  • Mason Gamble (SD – :28)
• 1999 MTV Movie Awards Shorts (SD – 4:13):
  • Introduction (SD – :48)
  • The Truman Show (SD – 1:03)
  • Armageddon (SD – 1:11)
  • Out of Sight (SD – 1:11)
• The Making of Rushmore (SD – 16:49)
• Film to Storyboard Comparison (SD – 1:55)
• Storyboards:
  • Geometry Dream (HD – 20 in all)
  • Yearbook Montage (HD – 21 in all)
  • Country Club Scene (HD – 20 in all)
  • ”You Are Forgiven” (HD – 13 in all)
  • Vietnam Play, Act One (HD – 19 in all)
• The Charlie Rose Show, Featuring Wes Anderson and Bill Murray (SD – 54:20)
• Theatrical Trailer (SD – 2:32)
• Archiva Graphica (HD – 6 in all)

The audio commentary features Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson, recorded separately and stitched together in editing. Anderson leads the conversation, with Schwartzman and Wilson occasionally popping up to provide further information. It’s a very laid-back track, but packed with details about the making of the film. Next are a series of audition tapes with Schawartzman, Stephen McCole, Ronnie and Keith McCawley, Sara Tanaka, and Mason Gamble. Also included are a series of shorts made by Wes Anderson and the crew for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards, featuring brief adaptations of The Truman Show, Armageddon, and Out of Sight. The Making of Rushmore features narration by director Eric Chase Anderson who details the production with behind-the-scenes footage, providing brief, direct interviews with Bill Murray, Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson. The Film to Storyboard Comparison shows a side-by-side contrast between the storyboards and the final footage shot for the film’s opening scene. The Storyboards feature five scenes in total without comparisons to the final film. Next is Wes Anderson and Bill Murray appearing on The Charlie Rose Show to talk about and promote the film. Last is the main theatrical trailer and Archiva Graphica, which is a series of stills showcasing paintings by Guy Peellaert, one of which portrays Henry Blume and his family that was used in the film, and the other an alternate poster design that went unused. It’s worth nothing that the Touchstone Pictures DVD release included a shorter version of the film’s trailer, but it hasn’t been carried over.

RUSHMORE (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): A/A+/A/A

DISCS FIVE & SIX: THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

After the commercial failure of Bottle Rocket and the runaway critical success of Rushmore, Wes Anderson decided to tell the story of a large family torn asunder by personal hang-ups, grudges, and mistrustfulness with bittersweet comedic elements. 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums features a large cast of characters, larger than any Anderson had worked with previously. It also draws upon his own and co-writer Owen Wilson’s personal lives, particularly Anderson who went through a divorce with his own parents. Today the film is considered one of his darkest and most accomplished pieces of material, while also cementing his visual style for years to come.

Alec Baldwin narrates the story of a broken family that continues to feel the effects of parental separation well into their adulthood. Gene Hackman (in a performance that earned him a Golden Globe) is Royal, an outcast father who hopes to win his way back into the good graces of the family, especially for his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), whom he’s still lawfully married to. Their three children include Richie (Luke Wilson), an ex-pro tennis player lost in the world due to his unspoken love for his adopted sister Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), who’s chronically depressed and spends her days hiding her secrets away from the world; and Chas (Ben Stiller), a widower with two sons, Ari (Grant Rosenmeyer) and Uzi (Jonah Meyerson), whom he’s obsessed with keeping safe after his wife’s sudden and tragic death. Other characters include Eli (Owen Wilson), a successful author and close friend of the family, which he’s always longed to be a part of; Raleigh (Bill Murray), a neurologist and Margot’s devoted husband; and Henry (Danny Glover), the family accountant who’s expressed his love for Etheline, asking for her hand in marriage. When Royal turns up seemingly diagnosed with cancer, some are doubtful that it’s true, Henry and Chas most of all. Uneasy relationships become more strained as the family deals with the situation, while at the same time reconnecting in some surprising ways. The cast also includes Seymour Cassel, Kumar Pallana, Stephen Lea Sheppard, Arianna Turturro, Irene Gorovaia, Aram Aslanian-Persico, Al Thompson, James Fitzgerald, Frank Wood, Andrew Wilson, Dipak Pallana, and Larry Pine.

With a slightly higher budget, Wes Anderson manages to give the story a large canvas upon which to experience it. This is truly where his distinct visual style came into full fruition, and has been a staple of every film that he’s made since. The notion of a broken family coming together under forced circumstances is also a through-line of Anderson’s work as it’s the basis for multiple films, even as recent as The Phoenician Scheme. Purportedly, Gene Hackman had to be talked into taking the part of Royal by his agent and was difficult to work with, corroborated by those involved with the production. However, that tension served the film’s needs and wound up being one of its biggest assets since Royal comes off as such a brazen and spiteful human being. At the same time, there’s also a fondness there that comes through, which some of his most vocal detractors come to realize in the end, particularly Chas who arguably has the film’s largest arc.

The amazing ensemble cast shines due to Anderson’s strong direction and the darkly funny material to springboard from. There’s a brutal honesty to the material with a slightly heightened reality that rings absolutely true, perhaps more than in any other piece of Wes Anderson material. You’d be hard-pressed not to get a little choked up at the end of the film because of where it goes emotionally. It’s not necessarily set up to be a tear-jerking moment, but it’s an earned emotional catharsis that can take you there if you allow it.

Although The Royal Tenenbaums draws heavily upon The Magnificent Ambersons, its dysfunctional family narrative, wherein the participants are pushed to their absolute emotional limits, made quite the splash upon its initial release, and was Wes Anderson’s most successful film financially until 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. It holds beautifully today as one of the finest films of the early 21st century, and one of his best works overall.

The Royal Tenenbaums was shot by cinematographer Robert Yeoman on 35mm film (Kodak Vision 250D 5246, 500T 5279) with Panavision Panaflex Platinum and Panavision Primo anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Criterion’s Ultra HD debut features a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, approved by Wes Anderson, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. It’s a beautiful upgrade of a film that already looked terrific to begin with, enhancing the finest of details and offering much more clarity in the image. The bitrate mostly sits in the 80 to 90Mbps range with a fine layer of grain. Saturation levels are more natural and refined, with the HDR passes squeezing out the finer textures and detail in the palette. Chas’ red jumpsuit and the multi-hued interiors of the Tenenbaum household really pop in an organic way. Blacks are deep, contrast is perfect, and the image is stable and clean. The only hiccup is that after trying it out on both my Panasonic DP-UB820 and my OPPO UDP-203 players, a glitch occurs during the Maddox Hill Cemetery scene at around the 36:14 mark. This seems to be an unaddressed issue thus far, but I will be asking for a replacement nonetheless. It appears to be nothing more than a bad disc, but otherwise, it’s a flawless presentation.

Audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. It’s not a soundtrack that necessarily demands heavy speaker activity, but everything is well-prioritized with some surprising channel-to-channel moments. Dialogue is always clear and mixed in well with the sound effects, music, and Mark Mothersbaugh’s score. There are even some surprising low frequency moments sprinkled in, and while directionality doesn’t play a major role, it’s effective when utilized.

This 4K Ultra HD sits in a book-like digipak alongside a 1080p Blu-ray, which is a new pressing of the same disc released in 2011 with a different menu, and an attached 18-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information; the essay Faded Glories by Kent Jones; various photos and artwork; the film’s synopsis; a list of the special features; restoration information; and a set of acknowledgments. This packaging negates the previous Blu-ray release’s artwork by Eric Chase Anderson, which also contained a fold-out double-sided insert with the same Kent Jones essay and a fold-out, double-sided poster featuring a personal note from Wes Anderson and a collage of Eric Chase Anderson’s artwork. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC FIVE (UHD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson

DISC SIX (BD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson
• With the Filmmaker: A Portrait by Albert Maysles (SD – 27:04)
• Interviews (SD – 27:00):
  • Gene Hackman (SD – 3:16)
  • Anjelica Huston (SD – 3:22)
  • Ben Stiller (SD – 3:18)
  • Gwyneth Paltrow (SD – 2:22)
  • Luke Wilson (SD – 6:02)
  • Owen Wilson (SD – 2:08)
  • Bill Murray (SD – 3:57)
  • Danny Glover (SD – 2:32)
• Cut Scenes (SD – 1:48)
• The Peter Bradley Show (SD – 26:25)
• Scrapbook:
  • Stills (HD – 60 in all)
  • Miguel Calderón (HD – 4:33)
  • Margot (HD – 22 in all)
  • Storyboards (HD – 8 in all)
  • Murals (HD – 15 in all)
  • Covers (HD – 8 in all)
• Trailers (SD – 2 in all – 4:23)
• Easter Egg #1 (SD – :13)
• Easter Egg #2 (SD – :20)
• Easter Egg #3 (SD – :42)
• Easter Egg #4 (SD – :46)

In the audio commentary with Wes Anderson, he speaks at length about his various inspirations and ideas for the film, some of them coming from his own personal experiences with his parents’ divorce, as well as the many stylistic choices that were made. The track has a bad habit of reverting to the film’s soundtrack whenever Anderson goes silent, even for a second or two, but it’s an otherwise pleasant and educational commentary. With the Filmmaker was produced for the Independent Film Channel (IFC) by Albert Maysles and features a mix of raw behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Anderson. A series of short interviews follow with Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, and Danny Glover about their roles in the film. Next are two deleted scenes, one featuring Richie visiting Eli’s home early in the story (with a surprise appearance by Olivia Williams, co-star of Rushmore), and another scene between Henry and Etheline in which she begins having doubts about a potential marriage. The Charlie Rose Show parody The Peter Bradley Show (as seen in the film)follows. It features six of the film’s actors, none of which are from the main cast, for a round-table discussion of sorts. They include Stephen Dignan, Sanjay Mathew, Kumar Pallana, Dipak Pallana, Brian Tenenbaum, and “Andrew Wilson” (miked but not present). A Scrapbook section is comprised of various stills and paintings divided into six sections (Stills; Miguel Calderón, which is presented with an interview segment with Calderón from the Public Radio International show Studio 360; Margot; Storyboards; Murals; and Covers, some of which highlight Eric Chase Anderson’s artwork for the film). Last are two theatrical trailers.

The first Easter Egg can be found pressing the Blue button on your remote control in the main menu, which will reveal an introduction to the Criterion DVD release by Ben Stiller, Grant Rosenmeyer, and Jonah Meyerson. The second can be found the same way in the Chapters sub-menu, which will reveal Bill Murray hypothesizing how a snake would react to a “chocolate chip mouse.” The third can be found the same way in the Interviews sub-menu, which will reveal an outtake from the film in which Anjelica Huston accidentally, but briefly, sets her hair on fire. The fourth and final one can be found the same way in the Scrapbook sub-menu, which will reveal footage of Kumar Pallana spinning plates at a cast and crew party.

THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): A+/A+/A+/A-

DISCS SEVEN & EIGHT: THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

Now an established filmmaker, Wes Anderson followed up the success of The Royal Tenenbaums with one of the most polarizing films of his career, 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Baffling critics and bombing at the box office, it found much more appreciation on home video over time, with both critics and film fans re-evaluating its quality, some even naming it their favorite of all his works. It also continued Wes Anderson’s working relationship with Bill Murray, this time at the center of a story about a middle-aged man dealing with the pressures of loss, fading popularity, and an unsecure future, but also having to overcome his own personal hang-ups.

During the making of his latest underwater documentary, legendary oceanographer Steve Zissou (Murray) loses his best friend and mentor, Esteban (Seymour Cassel), to what he refers to as a “jaguar shark.” At the documentary’s premiere, he vows to seek revenge against the creature, though many doubt its actual existence, or that Steve isn’t somehow responsible for Esteban’s death. He loses supporters quickly, including his estranged wife and business partner Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), when longtime fan and airline pilot Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson) appears, revealing that he may be Steve’s illegitimate son. Dubious of the whole ordeal, Steve invites Ned aboard his boat, the research vessel Belafonte, but one of the crew members, Klaus (Willem Dafoe), becomes jealous of Ned’s presence since he sees Steve as a father figure. Also aboard is Jane (Cate Blanchett), a pregnant reporter whose come to interview Steve and chronicle his latest expedition, though Steve is suspicious of her intentions. He’s also attempting to charm Eleanor back into his life, who has returned to her ex-husband Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum), Steve’s main and more successful competitor. As problems aboard the worn-down Belafonte continue to grow and the crew and the interns come closer to mutiny, Steve must do whatever he can to reach his destination with everyone still on his side. Also among the cast are Noah Taylor, Seu Jorge, Robyn Cohen, Bud Cort, Michael Gambon, and Waris Ahluwalia.

The biggest hurdles for audiences at the time of the film’s release was its unorthodox story, taking inspiration from the work of Jacques Cousteau; Wes Anderson’s distinct visual and melancholic style; and most importantly, Steve Zissou’s character. Steve is a complex leading man in that he says and does things that are absolutely rude and sometimes unforgivable. Bill Murray’s dry and deadpan delivery accentuate these qualities, making him seem more washed up as a person, more so than an oceanographer. At the same time, we’re also meant to side with him, even in the most uncomfortable of situations. He’s a good person at heart, but with a broken moral barometer. All he can do is continue on with what he knows how to do, even if most of the peopla around him believe that his best days are behind him. His only true supporter is Klaus, but Klaus is on Steve’s side for more selfish reasons, yet still longing for the crew’s glory days.

What many have noted is the seemingly unexpected emotional wallop that the ending carries, set perfectly to Starálfur by Sigur Rós, in which Steve finally locates the “jaguar shark,” confirming to all present that it indeed exists as Steve suddenly breaks down in tears. Those that found this moment unexpected failed to realize that this is Steve’s catharsis, a flooding of emotions brought forth by everything he’s been dealing with internally and externally since we met him, and letting to of those feelings finally. It’s an earned moment, and one that shows him to be a changed person. He may not ever be a saint, but he can be better than he was, as demonstrated by the closing scene. It’s a phenomenal performance in a film filled with phenomenal performances.

Sadly, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou did not receive of all the flowers it should have upon its release. It’s now thought of as one of Wes Anderson’s finest, germinating from an idea created long before Rushmore and fleshed out with the help of fellow filmmaker Noah Baumbach. Unfortunately, the film’s mix of tones and varying elements wasn’t to everyone’s taste, including the use of imaginary sea creatures, which some felt took away from the reality of the situation. It also prefigured Wes Anderson’s interest in stop-motion animation, which would come to full fruition in future works.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was shot by cinematographer Robert Yeoman on 35mm film (Kodak Vision2 500T 5218, Eastman Ektachrome 160D 5239, Vision 250D 5246, Ektachrome 100D 5285) with Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL and Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras with Panavision Primo anamorphic lenses, finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Criterion’s Ultra HD debut features a new 4K restoration of the original camera negative and “the original digital negative,” which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, approved by Wes Anderson, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. The so-called “digital negative” is likely the original 2K DI, which may be the source for the stop-motion footage. The previous Blu-ray release featured an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, meaning that we’re losing a very slight amount of information at the top and bottom of the frame. It’s negligible though, and the upgrade is enormous as there’s a major uptick in fine detail, with bitrates sitting in the 80 and 90Mbps range for the most part. A fine layer of grain is prominent, with a newfound clarity and sharpness to the image. The color palette has less of a brown and golden push than the previous release, opting for stylistic but slightly more naturalistic tones and hues. The HDR grades boost the detail in the palette, allowing for deeper blacks and a greater range of color, with particular regard to shades of red and blue. It’s also a much brighter presentation that’s stable and clean, besting the Blu-ray presentation ten-fold. It’s gorgeous.

Audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The film offers a greater tableau of sound than any previous Wes Anderson film, from the ambient moments aboard the Belafonte, to the amazing score by Mark Mothersbaugh, to Seu Jorge’s acoustic guitar-driven David Bowie covers. Dialogue is well-prioritized, and the overall soundtrack has excellent clarity and dynamic range, with occasional but very effective uses of LFE.

This 4K Ultra HD sits in a book-like digipak alongside a 1080p Blu-ray, which is a new pressing of the same disc released in 2011 with a different menu, and an attached 18-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information; the 2005 Criterion interview Wes and Eric Chase Anderson: A Conversation; various photos and artwork; the film’s synopsis; a list of the special features; restoration information; and a set of acknowledgments. This packaging negates the previous Blu-ray release’s artwork by Eric Chase Anderson, which also contained a fold-out double-sided insert with the same interview. The following extras are included on each disc:

DISC SEVEN (UHD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach

DISC EIGHT (BD)

• Audio Commentary with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
• This Is an Adventure (SD – 51:23)
• Deleted Scenes:
  • Eleanor’s Writing Shed (Upscaled SD – :58)
  • Albino Dolphin Cost Breakdown (Upscaled SD – :23)
  • Additional Mutiny Scene (SD – :19)
  • Hydronicus Inverticus (Rat-Tail Envelope Fish) (SD – :21)
  • Let’s Just Keep It in the Moment (SD – :33)
  • Swamp Leeches (Upscaled SD – :21)
  • You Lose Track of Time (Upscaled SD – :24)
  • Klaus on Fire (SD – :15)
  • Mai Tais/Blue Hawaiians (Upscaled SD – :59)
• Mondo Monda (SD – 16:25)
• Cast and Crew Interviews (SD – 36:23):
  • Jane (SD – 3:29)
  • Ned (SD – 2:57)
  • Costumes (SD – 4:37)
  • Aquatic Life (SD – 7:55)
  • The Look Aquatic (SD – 5:30)
  • Creating a Scene (SD – 4:42)
  • Esteban du Plantier (SD – 7:10)
• Mark Mothersbaugh (SD – 19:06)
• Seu Jorge Performs David Bowie:
  • Starman (SD – 3:57)
  • Oh! You Pretty Things (HD – 3:48)
  • Changes (HD – 4:01)
  • Rebel Rebel (SD – 3:14)
  • Lady Stardust (SD – 3:51)
  • Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide (SD – 4:12)
  • Five Years (HD – 3:39)
  • Life on Mars? (SD – 4:14)
  • Suffragette City (HD – 3:22)
  • Quicksand (HD – 5:19)
• Intern Video Journal (SD – 15:22)
• Photos (HD – 50 in all)
• Designs (HD – 16 in all)
• Starz on the Set (SD – 14:33)
• Trailer (SD – 2:27)
• Easter Egg #1 (SD – :35)
• Easter Egg #2 (SD – :11)
• Easter Egg #3 (SD – 4:44)

The audio commentary with Wes Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach is filled with a massive amount of information about the writing and making of the film, but it will depend upon your tolerance for the environment in which it’s set. According to them, it’s being recorded at a bar in New York City where they would meet to write the film, but the background is a constant hustle and bustle of activity, and in some cases, actually overtakes what’s being said and drowns it out. They also seem to be watching the film on a laptop while recording, making the commentary an all-around oddity in the history of audio commentaries. For legal reasons, any mention of Jacques Cousteau’s name has been bleeped out and there are occasional dropouts along the way, which for some, will be relief to the ears. In other words, your mileage will definitely vary on this one.

This Is an Adventure is an excellent fly-on-the-wall documentary about the making of the film by Antonio Ferrera, Albert Maysles, and Matthew Prinzing, primarily focused on Bill Murray and his performance, but also featuring Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Seymour Cassel, and Seu Jorge. Next is a total of nine Deleted Scenes, all of which are minor trims from scenes that already exist in the final film. Mondo Monda is an Italian talk show hosted by Antonio Monda that features an interview with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach as the guests. Following that is a collection of Cast and Crew Interviews with Cate Blanchett, Wes Anderson, producer Barry Mendel, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, Bud Cort, Willem Dafoe, visual effects supervisor Jeremy Dawson, stop-motion animator Henry Selick, sea creatures supervisor Martin Meunier, fabricator Daren Rabinovitch, animators Justin Kohn and Amy Adamy, production designer Mark Friedberg, Jeff Goldblum, and Seymour Cassel. Next is an interview with composer Mark Mothersbaugh about his background in Devo, his working relationship with Wes Anderson, and his music for the film. An excellent treat follows, which is a collection of Seu Jorge’s raw performances of David Bowie songs translated into Portuguese. Intern Video Journal is a behind-the-scenes video diary by Matthew Gray Gubler aka Nico, or Intern #1. A pair of still galleries follow, including 50 photos taken by set photographer Philippe Antonello, and 16 paintings, design sketches, and models. Last is a Starz on the Set making-of featurette that contains more interviews with Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, director of photography Robert D. Yeoman, Bill Murray, Barry Mendel, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Friedberg, Henry Selick, and editor David Moritz; as well as the film’s original theatrical trailer.

The first Easter Egg can be found pressing the Blue button on your remote control in the sub-menu for This Is an Adventure, which reveals of a humorous moment in which Bill Murray and company watch Albert Maysles play golf. The next can be found by doing the same, but in the sub-menu for Mondo Monda, which is an introduction to Criterion’s DVD release by Antonio Monda. The third and final one can be found by doing the same in the Cast and Crew Interviews sub-menu, which offers a set of outtakes in which Wes Anderson directs Bill Murray during the scene in the montage of Steve trying out his new shoes.

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): A+/A+/A+/A

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- Tim Salmons

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