The Good German [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire

Release Date: April 29, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

Berlin, 1945. Everyone in Berlin has a secret. Everyone is working an angle to get what they need: money, power, survival . . . or just a way out. Academy Award -winning filmmakers Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney teamed up for this silver screen treatment of Joseph Kanon’s acclaimed novel. Amidst the ruins of post-World War II Berlin, U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismer (Clooney) becomes embroiled with Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), a former lover whose missing husband is the object of a manhunt by both the American and Russian armies. Intrigue mounts as Jake tries to uncover the secrets Lena may be hiding in her desperation to get herself and her husband out of Berlin. Tobey Maguire also stars in this taut thriller as a soldier with black market connections who may be Lena’s way out — or her entry into even darker territory.

‘The Good German’ accompanies U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismer in Berlin amidst the aftermath of World War II as he becomes embroiled in a murder and potential cover-up that no one else seems concerned about. After arriving in ravaged Berlin, Jake is unexpectedly reunited with a former lover of his through his newly assigned driver and her missing and reportedly dead husband quickly becomes the subject of everyone’s interest. When a sudden murder is overlooked by everyone with the power to investigate it and disregarded as an accident, it leads to a slew of questions which take Jake into darker territory that many would prefer stay hidden.

Directed by notable filmmaker Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay written by Paul Attanasio and based on the novel by Joseph Kanon, Soderbergh does a commendable job at the helm of ‘The Good German’ guiding along the tale and taking numerous steps to bring it to life in the style of the iconic backlot films of old. The film’s talented cast includes George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges, Tony Curran, Leland Orser, and Jack Thompson who each contribute largely solid and capable performances in their respective roles throughout.

‘The Good German’ is a fascinating and intriguing film, largely due to filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s determination to recreate the iconic backlot films of old, crafting and delivering a black and white, 4×3 film shot on sets and within LA much as they were decades prior. The actual film itself isn’t quite as spectacular as it could be but it’s not terrible either and the manner in which it was approached and presented is certainly fascinating to say the least.

It does make some curious choices along the way which detract from the believability and feel of that style and era such as the use of coarse language and sexual content, yet the solid cast led by Clooney and Blanchett, along with the approach make it worth giving a look if you’ve never seen the film, especially if you can go in with your expectations somewhat in check. ‘The Good German’ was released in limited theaters in late 2006 prior to going wide in early 2007 and didn’t manage to make much noise at the box office, nor with many critics, yet that’s not to say it doesn’t have its charms; it simply isn’t quite as outstanding as it could be and has a tendency to lose its way or underwhelm on occasion.

Steven Soderbergh’s unique WWII film ‘The Good German’ arrives home at last for the first time on both 4K Ultra HD (as well as Blu-ray somewhat surprisingly) courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. The 2006 film makes its 4K UHD debut featuring a full Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 which looks very nice as a whole and easily far superior to the previously released DVD edition and the notable new UHD presentation is further complemented by a nice multichannel DTS-HD MA soundtrack. While perhaps not reference level quality, it’s still easily the best this one has ever looked and sounded at home by far. The release(s) is largely absent of any extras with the sole exception of the Trailer, yet for anyone that’s a fan of the film (or of Soderbergh’s work in general) that’s been awaiting a long overdue upgrade for this one, this 4K Ultra HD release should not disappoint and is recommended. The film is also now available on Blu-ray for the first time and in a somewhat rare occurrence Warner actually includes the new Blu-ray with the 4K release as well as making it available to purchase separately.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Good German’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks very nice as a whole and provides a generally clean, sharp and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that does a capable job of delivering a clean, filmic appearance throughout that shows notable improvement beyond the DVD which until now was the highest quality available at home for the film. Detail is sharp and smooth throughout on characters, vehicles and surroundings, while the Dolby Vision HDR enhances many of the darker black colors and whites to deliver an improved and capable presentation throughout. Overall, this is a solid Ultra High Definition presentation that may not completely blow viewers away, but should certainly have fans very pleased.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack also offers a rewarding upgrade in the audio department and delivers a clean, crisp and occasionally somewhat immersive audio presentation throughout. Unsurprisingly for the style of the film much of the auditory content is relegated to the front center channel, with it also utilizing all five available channels on occasion throughout for some vehicle and other effects, musical ambience and other tidbits, while never negatively impacting any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a nice 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that holds up well throughout and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Good German’ is largely absent of any notable extras, merely including the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (running approximately 2 minutes in length).

*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: 6.5/10

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‘The Good German’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘The Good German’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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