Practical Magic [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Griffin Dunne

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest

Release Date: August 25, 2026

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Release Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

In a small, contemporary New England town, for two sisters from a family of witches, falling in love is the trickiest spell of all. They struggle to use their gift for magically guiding fate to overcome their family curse: The men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death!

‘Practical Magic’ tells the story of two sisters in a contemporary New England town that hail from a family legacy of witches and must try and find a way to live their lives to the fullest regardless of a family curse that causes the men they fall in love with to die untimely and often horrific deaths. After reaching adulthood and leaving home with their eccentric aunts, one sister chose to go crazy and live a life of partying and promiscuity, while the other tried for a family and love only to lose her husband once the curse finally caught up. As death reunites the pair back at their family home, it leads to a new set of adventures that will require some powerful magic and help once they discover that they have accidently unleashed something horrifying.

Directed by Griffin Dunne from a screenplay written by Robin Swicord and Akiva Goldsman and Adam Brooks, based on the book of the same name by Alice Hoffman, Dunne does a capable job in the director’s seat for ‘Practical Magic’ guiding along the offbeat and jumbled, yet quite enjoyable magical tale. The film also features a notable cast that includes Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Goran Visnjic, and Aidan Quinn, with most offering capable and fitting performances in each of their roles.

‘Practical Magic’ was first released theatrically in 1998 and was initially met with mixed reactions, with many thrown by its mashup of so many genres within and a somewhat jumbled story. In the years since it debuted though ‘Practical Magic’ has gathered a pretty noteworthy following of fans and is thoroughly beloved by many, leading to the long-awaited sequel which is finally set to hit theaters next month. The 1998 original is a curious film and kind of jumps between romance, thriller, coming of age tale and many other genres that all get thrown together and come out as this tale of two adult sisters trying to gain control over a curse that has already controlled their lives for far too long.

It isn’t a perfect film by any means and it does get jumbled and a bit too goofy and ridiculous at times with its dialogue and tone, yet it’s also very entertaining and unique, not to mention benefitting from a star-studded cast led by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman who clearly go all in on their roles and easily allow the audience to believe them as sisters. If you’ve ever been curious about this one and tempted to check it out it should certainly be worth giving a chance, and now is about as perfect a time as any with it making its 4K debut and the sequel right around the corner.

The 1998 supernatural romantic drama ‘Practical Magic’ casts its spell on 4K UHD for the first time courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, and just ahead of the anticipated sequel hitting theaters next month. The 4K Ultra HD release delivers the film sporting an extremely nice full Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR10 that breathes some gorgeous new life into the movie and shouldn’t elicit any complaints from fans. The great new video presentation is nicely paired with an immersive new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that has it surely looking and sounding better than it ever has at home over the years.

The physical release also includes a few previously released extras within, although fans may be understandably disappointed that the sole new bonus feature offered digitally is a digital exclusive and not included on the 4K disc release. While casual fans may want to hold off for a great deal on the release, the diehard fans that are anxious to pick up a copy should not be disappointed in the slightest by the newly remastered video and audio and if you’re contemplating a purchase then it’s recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Practical Magic’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation offers a clean, sharp, filmic and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues along the way. Detail is great on character specifics, surroundings and nearly everything else, while the Dolby Vision HDR offers some more vibrant colors on pieces of clothing and scenery. Black levels remain suitably deep, rich and problem free. Overall, this is a great Ultra High Definition presentation that holds up nicely throughout and should have fans very pleased.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack (as well as the original Theatrical audio presentation in 5.1 DTS-HD MA). Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack offers some nice additional immersion to the experience and delivers a crisp and clean audio presentation throughout. It regularly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send music, magic and nature related effects, plus more zipping throughout the various speakers whenever logical, and never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements becoming distorted or negatively impacted along the way. Overall, this is a solid Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that does its job well and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Practical Magic’ includes a few previously released extras, although Warner has omitted the one new extra for the film which is only available digitally. Included on the disc is an ‘Audio Commentary with director Griffin Dunne, producer Denise Di Novi, star Sandra Bullock and composer Alan Silvestri’, along with the previously released Featurettes ‘Casting the Spell’ (running approximately 10 minutes) and ‘Making Magic’ (approximately 6 minutes).

*Please note: The above images are taken from the film’s Trailer and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above images were utilized. All content and images from the film are the property of their respective owners.

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Release Rating: 7/10

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‘Practical Magic’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD disc & Digital from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can Purchase ‘Practical Magic on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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