‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ 4K Ultra HD review

Quentin Tarantino’s penchant for his own brand of violent revisionist history, most recently seen in his World War II love letter “Inglourious Basterds,” now permeates the director’s nostalgic look at a changing 1960s Tinsel Town infected by Charles Manson and his minions in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 132 minutes, $49.98).

Now available for ultra-high definition (UHD) home entertainment screens, the drawn-out story covers washed-up film star converted to television hack Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and machismo-dripping best buddy and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) scrambling for paychecks as they live through the end of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Viewers learn early on that Mr. Dalton lives next to Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) and his girlfriend Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and, well, viewer anxiety runs high as one can pretty much guess how this saga is going to play out.

As usual, per any of Mr. Tarantino’s fetish films, his ninth so far by the way, the production design is impeccable and dripping with the 1960s and its pop culture.

Just appreciate the re-creation of the sign of Musso & Frank Grill (the oldest restaurant in Hollywood); Mr. Dalton driving a vintage yellow 1966 Cadillac Coup Deville; copies of Kid Colt, Outlaw and Sgt. Commando comics lying around Mr. Dalton’s trailer; real Playboy Bunnies at the Playboy mansion; Robert Goulet singing “MacArthur Park” on TV; and even seeing a bottle of Vitalis; even adding the famed Coyote Grill where Tate had her last meal.

A scene where Tate visits a movie theater and watches herself playing a bumbling assistant to super spy Matt Helm (an aging Dean Martin) in the film “The Wrecking Crew” totally hits the mark of my youth while watching an era in transition.

As usual, the director also pulls in some pop acting legends intertwined in the film real and fictional characters including Al Pacino as faux super agent Marvin Schwazs; Bruce Dern as George Spahn (owner of the ranch where the Manson family stayed); Damian Lewis as a dead-on Steve McQueen; Kurt Russell as faux stunt coordinator Randy Miller; Dakota Fanning as Squeaky Fromme; Nicholas Hammond (1970s Amazing Spider-Man) as director Sam Wanamaker; and Luke Perry (in his last film) as cowboy actor Wayne Maunder.

The director’s narrative palette is both lovable and laughable until watching a reworking of the killing of innocents by the Manson idiots.

Then, the darkest of vintage Tarantino reared its head in the most incredibly satisfying way possible though a bit disrespectful to the actual horrifying events.

Never boring, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” taps into many a memory for older viewers that will also appreciate his colorful take on Los Angeles and brutal take on a grim part of American history.

4K in action: Sony offers a study in film grain, thanks to Mr. Tarantino and cinematographer Robert Richardson’s choices of shooting in 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film stock presented in everything from Super 8 to Panavision formatting.

The better-than-can-be-imagined result delivers a controlled but highly detailed image quality in UHD created from a glorious 4K intermediate master format.

The quality ranges from a purposely beaten-up scene from a movie in the vein of “The Great Escape” to black-and-white footage of TV Western “Bounty Law” to a perfectly created Pan Am 747 airliner in midflight that looks so real I felt as though I was riding in a plane next to it.

Throughout, viewers also get daytime scenes spotlighted with sepia-tinged dashes of a sun-drenched Los Angeles while evening are filled with often mooted hues but crisp details. One such moment features the Mr. Polanski character driving a vintage 1962 MG TD roadster.

Best extras: An optional commentary track from the director would have been a great addition, and I am sure would have been a nostalgic trip through 1960s Hollywood.

Alas, all viewers get are five featurettes (roughly 35 minutes in total) that briefly cover the director’s vision, cinematography, vintage cars, production design and costuming. Each crew head gets interviewed as well as Mr. Tarantino and many of the cast.

Additionally, 25-minutes worth of additional scenes includes a Red Apple cigarette commercial with Burt Reynolds (James Marsden); Charles Manson (Damon Herriman) talking to Paul Barabuta about needing a music agent; and Rick Dalton’s full “Hullabaloo” performance of the “Green Door.”

Owners who use the included code for access to the digital streaming release can also watch an extra, 8-minute-long featurette about the film with the director and principal cast exclusively through Apple’s iTunes movie service.