American Hustle (10th Anniversary) (Limited Edition Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: David O. Russell

Cast: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams

Release Date: May 21, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

The con is on when scam artists and lovers Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are entrapped by ambitious FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) and coerced into participating in a major sting operation which hinges on snaring politician Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) and his associates. Complicating matters is Irving’s wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), who could bring the whole operation crashing down around them all. From the director of Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter, AMERICAN HUSTLE is outrageously entertaining and one of the most acclaimed films of 2013.

THE MOVIE – REVIEW:

‘American Hustle’ follows talented scam artist Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Adams) his new lover and partner in the scamming world who find their easy money hustle threatened when FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper) entraps the pair and utilizes their talents in order to try and excel his career, much to the chagrin of his boss. Forced to try and help Richie collar some of the most important folks around, things begin to become troublesome when they must trick and entrap do-good politician Carmine Polito (Renner), a simple enough task until Irving begins to become friends with the man and question his role in the ordeal.

The acclaimed film is directed by David O. Russell from a screenplay written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell, with Russell doing a tremendous job at the helm of ‘American Hustle’ guiding along the over the top, humorous and engaging tale with style throughout. The film’s star-studded cast includes Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence, along with Louis C.K., Jack Huston, Michael Peña, Shea Whigham, Alessandro Nivola and more who each shine and deliver noteworthy performances in their respective roles that help tremendously to make this one work as well as it does.

‘American Hustle’ is an undeniably good time of a film that follows a collection of colorful characters each only interested in their own agendas and working together toward a seemingly common goal; at least as long as each benefits from it personally. It joins these questionable characters which include a pair of lovers and scammers, a well-intentioned politician, an FBI agent that doesn’t play by the rules and a bitter wife that could care less if everything her husband has worked for falls apart. It’s a wild ride with plenty of twists, turns and shady moves exchanged between the players as each tries to hustle the other while never really knowing who has the upper hand. The whole film plays out with an almost over the top, tongue in cheek style that seems as outrageous and ridiculous as you might imagine while each fights to earn the upper hand and walk away the victor so to speak.

Talented filmmaker David O. Russell does a wonderful job directing the goofy fun and chaos along and his work behind the camera is greatly boosted by a tremendous cast of talented stars including Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper who each deliver unforgettable performances. If you missed out on ‘American Hustle’ when it was first released ten years ago and never had the opportunity to check it out, I would definitely encourage trying to rectify that whenever possible, because this is one unique, hilariously over the top and just plain enjoyable film that’s not to be missed.

THE 4K UHD RELEASE – OVERALL:

In celebration of the film’s tenth anniversary, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings ‘American Hustle’ home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time in a new Limited Edition Steelbook release. The new release features a full Ultra High Definition presentation of the film with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 that looks rather fantastic and should have fans of the award-winning film thrilled. The stellar new video presentation is only greatly complemented by a new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers solidly in its own right, together bringing the film home looking and sounding better than it ever has on disc before. In addition to the impressive video and audio, the release also features a new (or at least partially) collection of Anniversary Deleted Scenes along with a couple other previously released bonus goodies and the film on Blu-ray, all packaged within a collective, glossy and sturdy Steelbook case that stays true to the original artwork with some more nice additions on the rear and interior. If you’re a fan of ‘American Hustle’ that’s fully 4K capable and already considering picking this one up, the release is definitely highly recommended and should have fans fully satisfied with what it has to offer, especially in the way of quality.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘American Hustle’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio and approved by director David O. Russell. The video presentation looks marvelous as a whole and serves up a clean, sharp and beautifully detailed presentation that delivers splendidly from start to finish and never suffers from any noticeable issues or faults to be uncovered along the way. It shows tremendous detail throughout noticeable on character faces and outfits, along with the various interiors, city streets and vehicles, and pretty much everything else. The Dolby Vision HDR only boosts the already impressive presentation by providing some richer and more vibrant colors noticeable on the ‘70s outfits and backgrounds, and further complimented by deep, rich black levels. Overall, this is a fantastic Ultra High Definition video presentation that looks gorgeous throughout and should have fans thrilled.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack delivers splendidly itself and offers a clean, crisp and fairly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, crowd chatter, nature and vehicle effects, plus a fair bit more zipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while always ensuring that any dialogue or other audio elements that might occur simultaneously with one another remain clean and fully audible throughout. Overall, this is a very solid Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that does its job well and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘American Hustle’ features a few nice extras. The 4K UHD disc includes a collection of ‘Anniversary Deleted & Extended Scenes’ from the film (running approximately 14 minutes in length altogether), while the Blu-ray disc additionally includes another batch of ‘Deleted and Extended Scenes’ (running approximately 22 minute overall) and the Behind the Scenes Featurette ‘The Making of American Hustle’ (approximately 16 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘American Hustle: 10^th Anniversary’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD as A Limited Edition Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘American Hustle’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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