After returning home from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) feels a bit ill, she’s coughing and has a fever, but thinks she just has jet lag or a common cold. However, her condition suddenly takes a rapid turn for the worse, and her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) is left watching helplessly and in shock. While Mitch appears to be naturally immune, he is worried about his daughter, Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron), who had been away when her stepmother returned home. The doctors are unsure what they are dealing with, and call in the CDC to look into the unidentified novel virus.
In Atlanta, Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) of the CDC meets with the Department of Homeland Security, who are afraid that some new bioweapon has been unleashed. Cheever sends junior epidemiologist Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) to Minneapolis to track everyone that Beth Emhoff came in contact with in hopes of staving off the spread. Across the pond, World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) is doing the same time, combing through video footage of Beth’s time in Hong Kong, looking for answers. Though government official Sun Feng (Chin Han) is not too eager to cooperate for fear that his country will be blamed for the outbreak. Meanwhile, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) is in the CDC lab trying to determine the nature of the virus, which is now called MEV-1, and find a way to create a vaccine. As the virus starts to spread, so does the panic, and helping to fan the flames is conspiracy blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), who shows a video of one of the early victims dying on a plane, talks about what the government is hiding from its citizens, and pushing a miracle drug.
Contagion follows the spread of this pandemic from many different angles—the healthcare workers, government officials, and every victims as their lives and worlds are torn apart. People are dying and society is collapsing, as the experts rush to identify and find a cure for this unknown pathogen. But even they aren’t safe from its deadly path. I had watched this film when it was first released in 2011, but watching it again now after we just went through the COVID-19 pandemic was quite a different experience. It is scary just how much this film actually gets right, from the way the heath agencies respond, to the panic, fear and anger from the everyday citizens, to the isolation, and the conspiracy theorists trying to stir up a revolt and push a miracle drug. It almost felt like a documentary than a fictitious drama. Director Steven Soderbergh does an excellent job of weaving these various stories together into a single thrilling narrative. We are constantly given on-screen updates as to the number of days the pandemic has been going. Though the film opens on Day 2, and doesn’t reveal the Day 1 cause of the outbreak until the end. The director also plays with the audience, subtlety panning down to the bowl of peanuts in front of a coughing Beth at the airport bar, or a closeup on her passing a credit card to a store clerk, constantly hinting at all the various ways this virus is rapidly spreading.
The cast is amazing, delivering really strong dramatic performances. Matt Damon is the distraught father who has already lost people he loves and is now desperately trying to protect his daughter, but she just wants to be a normal teenager and go to prom with her boyfriend. Laurence Fishburne is the former field agent who is now more of the barrier between the government and the CDC scientists/researchers. He also finds himself torn, wanting to use his knowledge of what’s happening to warn and protect those he loves. Kate Winslet and Jennifer Ehle feel like true medical professionals, and bring human faces to the dedicated and hard working people who put their lives on the line to find a cure. And Jude Law plays this irritating conspiracy blogger to tee. The recognizable and talented cast also includes Bryan Cranston, Elliott Gould, John Hawkes, Sanaa Lathan, Demetri Martin, Enrico Colantoni, and more.
Warner Bros. had previously released Contagion on Blu-ray back in 2012, but this is the first time the film is available on disc in 4K. The picture looks excellent, with a tremendous level of detail in faces and other close-ups. The color palette is slightly muted to give the film more of this ominous feel, which works really well. Dialogue is clear throughout, and the audio track does a nice job of building an immersive ambiance, especially as the chaos starts to break out in airports, grocery stores, hospitals and so on.
The 4K release comes packaged in a standard 4K keepcase. There is no Blu-ray disc included, and our review copy didn’t include a slipcover. The single 4K disc resides on the right side of the case, while an insert provides instructions for redeeming a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. The disc contains about 18 minutes of legacy bonus material that has been ported over from the previous Blu-ray release. There is no new material created for this release, which is a shame because I would have loved to have had some sort of follow-up or commentary from the filmmakers discussing how eerily accurate the film ended up being.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:46:24)
- 2160p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- HDR10
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio , French (Doublé au Québec) 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish (Latin America) 5.1 Dolby Digital, Czech 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, German sdh, Italian, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin America), dutch, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Czech, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian
- 4K Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)
- The Reality of Contagion (11:29)
The cast and crew discuss how the events of the film could really happen and if we can be prepared (which is kind of eerie hearing them discuss this), learning how the WHO and CDC investigate viruses, making the suits and models, dealing with public panic, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producers Gregory Jacobs, Stacey Sher & Michael Shamberg, author/senior technical advisor Laurie Garrett (“The Coming Plague”), writer Scott Z. Burns, technical advisor Nathan Wolfe (director Global Viral Forecasting Initiative), technical advisor Mark Smolinski (director Global Health Threats of Skoll Foundation), senior technical advisor Larry Brilliant (president Skoll Global Health Threats Fund), production designer Howard Cummings, technical advisor Natasha K. Griffith (director BSL3 Laboratory at UCLA), senior technical advisor W. Ian Lipkin (director The Center for Infection and Immunity), and stars Kate Winslet (“Dr. Erin Mears”), Matt Damon (“Mitch Emhoff”), Gwyneth Paltrow (“Beth Emhoff”), Jude Law (“Alan Krumwiede”), Marion Cotillard (“Dr. Leonora Orantes”), Chin Han (“Sun Feng”), Jennifer Ehle (“Dr. Ally Hextall”), Laurence Fishburne (“Dr. Ellis Cheever”), Bryan Cranston (“Radm Lyle Haggery”), and Sanjay Gupta (chief medical correspondent for CNN). - The Contagion Detectives (4:57)
The cast and crew discuss how the scientists and researchers are portrayed in the film, working with the technical advisors, how they tried to keep things accurate, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producers Stacey Sher & Gregory Jacobs, writer Scott Z. Burns, technical advisors Larry Brilliant, Laurie Garrett, Mark Smolinski & W. Ian Lipkin, production designer Howard Cummings, and stars Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, and Laurence Fishburne. - Contagion: How a Virus Changes the World (1:59)
Narrated animation describing how a virus spreads and some of the terminology involved.
4K Ultra HD:
Digital (code may not be valid after 3/31/2026):
Extras:
No new bonus material has been created for this release. All material from the 2012 Blu-ray has been ported over.
Final Thoughts:
for DC Animation Fans
Contagion is an exciting thriller, with an amazing cast, that holds up extremely well over a decade later. It is surprising how eerily accurate the film ended up being. Warner Bros.’ new 4K release looks and sounds great. The legacy bonus material carried over from the previous Blu-ray is interesting, but it would have been great if there had been something new to reflect on the experience of the past few years. That said, this is a film that should be a part of every collection, so if you don’t already own it, this is certainly the version to pick up!
Contagion (2011) (4K UHD + Digital)
$37.49 $30.25 (as of April 27, 2024 08:14 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Contagion
$3.59 (as of April 27, 2024 08:14 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Contagion
$3.99 (as of April 27, 2024 08:14 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
