It’s April 1945, and the Allies are making their final push into Nazi Germany during the second World War. American tanks are outnumbered and out-armed by the German tanks, but the crew of the M4 Sherman tank nicknamed “Fury” have managed to beat the odds, under the leadership of Staff Sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt). He is war-hardened, experienced soldier who previously served with the cavalry before joining the Second Armored Division. He is like a father to his crew—gunner T/5 Boyd “Bible” Swan (Shia LaBeouf), driver Cpl. Trini “Gordo” Garcia (Michael Peña) and loader Pfc. Grady “Coon-Ass” Travis (Jon Bernthal)—they had been together for over 3 years. When assistant driver/bow gunner, “Red”, is killed in action, fresh recruit, Pvt. Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman), is assigned to take his place. Norman has never seen battle—he was trained to be a clerk typist—and now finds himself thrust into the thick of things. Norman is unprepared for the horrors he will soon witness and participate in, and it is up to the rest of the crew to harden up this new recruit. If he doesn’t learn quickly, it will put the whole crew in danger.

Fury is not only an action-packed war film, but it is also a character story. The crew of the Fury is like a family, and they’ve been through Hell together. They may not always get along, but they love one another, and would do anything for each other. Each of the men deals with the stress of the situation in his own way. The film really captures the horrors that the soldiers in these tanks faced during the war—whether it was seeing their fellow soldiers burned alive by Panzerfaust, having to kill young soldiers who are practically children, or coming face-to-face with a seemingly-unstoppable enemy. There is a particularly intense scene where the tank crew is having a “family dinner” and things get a little out of control. The cast works really well together, and it feels like these soldiers have been working as a crew for a long time. Norman makes the perfect entry-point for the viewer, as he is both new to this world, and new to this crew.

Despite the fact that tanks are generally slow-moving, that doesn’t mean the action is. There are some exceptional battle sequences in this film, and some really intense, heart-stopping moments, such as when the Fury faces off with a German Tiger tank. The film holds nothing back—this isn’t the type of movie with unstoppable superheroes. The stakes feel quite real, and at any moment one or all of these characters may be killed. This is war, and anything can happen.

Sony’s 4K UltraHD release of Fury looks and sounds phenomenal. The original Blu-ray release already looked quite good, but this 4K release with HDR adds another level to the image. There is a pleasant amount of film grain throughout the movie, darker scenes have increased detail, and the misty/foggy scenes look even more cinematic, and yield a more ominous feeling. One particular scene that seemed to benefit was near th beginning of the film when the crew is inside the tank, working by the red glow of a worklight. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is also superb, putting the viewer right in the middle of the action. From explosions overhead, to gunfire all around, and the massive rumble of the tank engines, the audio track always provides an intense, exciting soundscape. The surround and stereo channels are well utilized to coordinate with the action on and off screen, such as the sound of approaching vehicles and troops, or of remote explosions.

The 4K Ultra HD release comes packed in a standard UHD keepcase along with a cardboard slipcover. Inside are the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs, plus the digital copy redemption instructions (the digital copy redeems in UHD format). The release comes packed with bonus features, including over 90 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes that were not included on the original Blu-ray release. The Blu-ray disc, which is the same as the previous release, includes nearly an hour of deleted scenes, a photo gallery, and over 50 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast, crew, and veterans.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:14:38)

4K Ultra HD:

• 2160p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• HDR10
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Descriptive Service, Catalan 5.1, French (Parisian) 5.1, French (Québécois) 5.1, German 5.1, Italian 5.1, Japanese 5.1, Portuguese 5.1, Russian 5.1, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1, Ukrainian 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese, Russian, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Turkish

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Descriptive Service, French DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Digital (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2020):

• Digital Copy Redeemable via Movies Anywhere, Vudu, or Sony Pictures Store. Redeeming in Movies Anywhere will unlock 4K in your Movies Anywhere account. Redeeming in Vudu will only give you HD in Movies Anywhere and Ultraviolet, so do not use this option. Redeeming in Sony Pictures Store will unlock 4K in your Ultraviolet account, but will initially only port to Movies Anywhere as HD until either Vudu or Fandango Now offers this title in 4K. Unless you need the 4K in Ultraviolet (if using shared accounts), the best option is to redeem in Movies Anywhere, which will give 4K access via iTunes and HD elsewhere until the other MA services offer the title in 4K.

Extras:

4K Ultra HD Disc:
• Featurettes (1:33:02)
  Play All, or select from:
  • Tiger 131 (5:25)
    David Willey, curator of The Tank Museum, talks about the history of the Tiger 131 tank used in the film. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and archival footage.
  • Heart of Fury (6:36)
    A behind-the-scenes look at designing, building and filming in the interior tank set. Includes interviews with assistant art director Gary Jopling, writer/director David Ayer, American Society of Military History curator/director Craig Michelson, and actor Michael Peña (“Gordo”).
  • Clash of Armor (6:53)
    A look at the history and strategy of tank battles between Sherman and Tiger tanks. Includes interviews with writer/director David Ayer, The Tank Museum curator David Willey, and American Society of Military History curator/director Craig Michelson.
  • No Guts, No Glory: The Horrors of Combat (28:06)
    The cast and creators talk about the brutal nature of war depicted in the film, filming in England, designing the costumes, training the extras on the weapons, depicting tracer rounds on film, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/director David Ayer, master armourer Simon Atherton, producer John Lesher, costume designer Owen Thornton, military advisor Ian Sandford, and actor Brad Pitt (“Wardaddy”).
  • “Tanks of Fury” Documentary (46:02)
    Extensive behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the making of the film, as well as comparing how the events depicted compare to the experiences of soldiers who were there. Includes archival footage and interviews with writer/director David Ayer, actors Brad Pitt and Michael Peña, stunt coordinator Ben Cooke, military technical advisors Rob Lihani and Ian Sandford, stuntman Sean Button, production designer Andrew Menzies, assistant art director Gary Jopling, special effects technician Tom Forrest, “Hell on Wheels” editor Jack Slattery, costume designer Owen Thornton, producers Ethan Smith and Bill Block, art director Phil Harvey, standby art director Graham Ward, The Tank Museum curator David Willey, and veterans Donald Evans, Peter Burland, Paul Andert, George Smilanich, and Peter Logerfo.
• Theatrical Trailers (4:47)
  Play All, or select from Theatrical Trailer 1 (2:32) and Theatrical Trailer 2 (2:15)

 

Blu-ray Disc:

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (56:13)
  Collection of 16 deleted/extended scenes. Play All, or select from “Alternate Camp Entrance”, “Giving a Hand”, “Bonding on the Way”, “D-Ration”, “Killing a Man”, “Nervous Soldier”, “Chocolate Bar”, “Cuddling”, “The Life Line”, “Shooting Horses”, “Taken By Surprise”, “Rose”, “Rose — Extended”, “A Close Call”, “Warning Wardaddy”, and “Burn Out”.
• Blood Brothers (11:08)
  The cast and crew talk about hearing the brutal first hand accounts from the veterans who lived through the war. Plus a look at the cast experiencing military boot camp. Includes interviews with writer/director David Ayer, senior military advisor Kevin Vance, military advisor David Rae, veterans George Smilanich, Don Evans, Ray Stewart and Paul Andert, and actors Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman (“Norman”), Shia LaBeouf (“Bible”), Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal (“Coon-Ass”).
• Director’s Combat Journal (17:32)
  Writer/director David Ayer takes viewers behind-the-scenes, explaining the thought process behind some of his filmmaking choices/decisions. The cast and crew talk about working with the director. Includes interviews with the cast, producers Ethan Smith and John Lesher, and director of photography Roman Vasyanov.
• Armored Warriors: The Real Men Inside the Shermans (12:11)
  Veterans Donald Evans, George Smilanich, Paul Andert, and Ray Stewart share stories of their own experiences inside the tanks.
• Taming the Beasts: How to Drive, Fire & Shoot Inside a 30 Ton Tank (12:48)
  The film’s creators talk about the difficulties of finding and dangers of working with authentic tanks from the period. Includes interviews with tank supervisor Jim Dowdall, producer Ethan Smith, production designer Andrew Menzies, The Tank Museum curator David Willey, writer/director David Ayer, production assistant Thomas Turner, and the cast.
• Photo Gallery
  Manually step through collections of production photos or launch a slide show. Photos are broken into various galleries—”Cast and Crew”, “Tanks”, and “Veterans”.
• Previews (10:56)
  Trailers for Digital HD, “The Equalizer”, “Whiplash”, “Foxcatcher”, Powers Season 1, and “Predestination”

Final Thoughts:

Fury is an engaging, well-written and well-acted film that covers a part of the military we don’t typically get to see in great depth in war films. It gives a look at the family-like nature that forms between the soldiers who work in the tanks, and a glimpse into the horrifying things they witnessed while trying to protect the world for future generations. Sony’s 4K UltraHD looks and sounds excellent, and includes over 90 minutes of new bonus features in addition to those included with the film’s original Blu-ray release. This is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a spectacular WWII film. And for those who already own the Blu-ray, this release includes not only improved picture/sound but also a host of new bonus features.