I waited months for Project Hail Mary on 4K Blu-ray – and it was so worth it
From the quality to the deleted scenes and extra featurette, Project Hail Mary's home viewing experience isn't quite IMAX, but superb nonetheless
by Mike Lowe · T3
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Cinema is in a really interesting place right now. When Project Hail Mary began its theatrical run back in March of this year, I wasn't able to get hold of a decent ticket.
That's because the movie, which was part shot on large-sensor Alexa 65 cameras to benefit from the taller IMAX 1.43 aspect ratio, could only be shown in a limited number of theatres to can show off said format.
It's been a summer of IMAX mania, with Christopher Nolan's latest epic, The Odyssey, which was shot on IMAX 70mm film for the same 1.43 aspect ratio (albeit for the totality of the runtime), also selling out and extending its calendar to try and meet demand.
Resigned to the fact I'd have to wait for Project Hail Mary's release, I vouched to bypass the best streaming services for the sake of quality. After all, this kind of detailed capture process deserves the best – and the limited compression of 4K Blu-ray was worth waiting to obtain.
Project Hail Mary - Official Trailer - YouTube
How does 1:43:1 view on a 16:9 TV?
Having watched the movie this week – which made me laugh, yet brought a tear to my eye at other moments – I was as impressed by its message as I was by the on-screen puppetry-and-visual-effects combination and, indeed, the image quality.
Watching on one of the best OLED TVs in a blackout room at home was essential for a movie set in space. Stars dotted on black backgrounds can bleed light on lesser TVs and dilute the contrast and richness of the image.
I did have a slight concern about how the movie's 1.43 aspect ratio would be portrayed on a home cinema setup, but was pleased by how it's handled. The movie flits between letterbox 2.39:1 shots (with black bars top and bottom), while the 1.43 shots elect to fill a 16:9 display entirely (no black bars left and right).
Project Hail Mary 4K Blu-ray extras
Sure, those slight crops mean I might never get to see the movie in true IMAX style. Project Hail Mary's digital capture was transferred to 15-perf IMAX 70mm film, but only 16 reels were ever made for a handful of select non-digital cinemas that can show the format.
Interestingly, there's no 'making of' to tell you about that part of the movie's technicalities and production. But the 4K Blu-ray disc does bring some other extras that streaming can't match, including a Special Features section with five Deleted Scenes.
My favourite, however, is Earth's Favorite Eridian, which is a 7-minute featurette about Rocky, who effectively plays Ryan Gosling's faceless co-star, and how teams went about creating his character, voice, and used puppetry, animatronics and visual effects to bring him to life.
It's those little extras that make the 4K Blu-ray even more special. And what a special movie Project Hail Mary already is. I'm so glad I waited to watch in the utmost quality – it was worth every penny, and I can see why the movie remains 95% rated by audience and critics alike.