In March 2009, American sea Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) heads to Salalah, Oman to pilot a U.S. cargo ship, the MV Maersk Alabama, to Mombasa, Kenya. However, the ship’s path heads directly through a dangerous area known to be frequented by Somali pirates. So, shortly after the ship heads out to sea, the captain performs a drill to make sure his crew knows what to do in case they find themselves in this situation. However, the drill soon becomes a reality as Captain Phillips discovers they are being followed by two fast-moving skiffs, each containing 4 armed men. Captain Phillips tries to outsmart and outmaneuver the ships, but he knows it’s only a matter of time before their tiny ships will be able to catch up to the bulkier, slower-moving cargo vessel. So he prepares his crew to be boarded.
The captain of these Somali pirates, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), is thrilled to discover that they have raided a U.S. ship—the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. He is expecting a huge payday. Captain Phillips tries to offer them money, and plays some mind games with the invaders, hoping to distract them and keep them from finding the rest of the crew or getting to the more important parts of the ship. But they soon take him hostage, using him as a bargaining chip. They are planning to bring him back to Somalia to score an even bigger payday. As the Navy SEALs try to work out a plan to rescue Phillips, he finds himself in a harrowing position, trying to stay alive, and looking for any way to escape his captors. But time is running out, and if they manage to get him into Somalia, he may never return.
Captain Phillips is a 2013 film based on the true story that was all over the news in 2009. The film comes from director Paul Greengrass (Green Zone, United 93, The Bourne Supremacy), and features his signature look and style. Handheld cameras put the viewer right in the middle of the action. The film does an amazing job of building up the tension, whether it’s the initial pursuit from the pirates, their raid of the ship, or once Phillips is taken hostage. Even if you know the story, it’s still a heart-pounding experience. In addition to seeing how things play out from the perspective of Phillips and his crew, the film also gives viewers a look at things from the point of view of the Somali pirates. We see the conditions in Muse’s country, how the pirates are organized and go about their business, and some of the distrust and infighting among the crew. This is a story of two captains facing off on the open sea, just not your typical kind of sea battle.
Tom Hanks delivers another strong performance, donning a New England accent to transform himself into the the Vermont-based sea captain. His performance builds to an incredibly emotional final scene. Holding his own against the Oscar winner is newcomer Barkhad Abdi as the captain of the pirate crew, Muse. He really transforms into this character. Phillips thinks he can easily outsmart Muse, but this man is a bit more complex and experienced than Phillips gives him credit for. While trying to carry out this mission and score his big payday, Muse also has to deal with some dissenting crew members, and a demanding boss back in Somalia.
While the film is primarily about these two sea captains, the film also includes some brief performances from some other recognizable actors, such as Catherine Keener as Phillips’ wife Andrea, Michael Chernus, David Warshofsky, Corey Johnson Corey Johnson, Chris Mulkey & Yul Vazquez as some of the other crew members, and Max Martini as the SEAL Commander in charge of the rescue mission.
Sony had previously released Captain Phillips on Blu-ray back in 2014, but now it makes its way onto 4K disc for the first time in beautiful SteelBook packaging. The film was shot digitally, so there isn’t any film grain, but the 4K picture quality is a noticeable improvement to the Blu-ray, especially in some of the film’s darker sequences, such as after Phillips is taken, or when the Somali pirates are arguing amongst themselves in their skiffs in the darkness of the open sea in the nighttime. The blacks look blacker, and don’t show signs of crush, noise or pixelization. The picture is also generally a bit cleaner and crisper, with an uptick in detail. The 4K release also includes a new Dolby Atmos audio option, which sounds fantastic. This fully immersive track really puts the viewer right in the middle of the action. As the pirates attack the ship, the viewer is enveloped in the chaos, the sounds of Phillips alerting his crew over the ship’s PA system reverberate across the room, and as the SEALs plot their rescue, the sounds of their helicopters can be heard overhead. This is in addition to the ever-present score and ambiance of the crashing waves at sea or the hum of the ship.
One place where this new release is lacking is in the bonus features. There was no new material created for this release. The 4K disc only contains the film’s theatrical trailer, while the bundled Blu-ray disc (which is identical to the previous release) contains an entertaining 1-hour behind-the-scenes documentary as well as a director commentary. Unfortunately, the commentary track is not available alongside the new 4K picture.
The 4K SteelBook release includes both a 4K disc and a Blu-ray disc placed overlapping in the right side of a beautiful new SteelBook case, along with an insert with redemption instructions for a 4K Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy of the film. The SteelBook case is covered with a J-card, detailing the discs’ contents on the back.
What’s Included:
Film: (2:14:04)
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, French (Parisian) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French (Québécois) 5.1 Dolby Digital, German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, German 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital, Turkish 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
- 4K Digital Copy, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
- Theatrical Trailer (2:27)
- Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass (2:14:04)
Director Paul Greengrass provides an interesting and informative commentary throughout the film, sharing some personal and behind-the-scenes stories while discussing the story and themes of the film, the true story/book it is based on, the cast, the challenges of the production, his filming style, and more. - Capturing Captain Phillips (58:16)
Three-part making of featurette. Includes archival news reports, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Paul Greengrass, Captain Richard Phillips, executive producers Gregory Goodman & Michael Bronner, cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, screenwriter Billy Ray, and stars Tom Hanks (“Captain Phillips”), Michael Chernus (“Shane Murphy”), Corey Johnson (“Ken Quinn”), Yul Vazquez (“Captain Frank Castellano”), David Warshofsky (“Mike Perry”), Chris Mulkey (“John Cronan”), Barkhad Abdi (“Muse”) & Faysal Ahmed (“Najee”). Play All, or select from:- Embarkation (20:23)
A look at the real life events that inspired the movie, how merchant marines often deal with pirates, what brought the director to the project, filming in Malta, using a real ship instead of a set, the long takes and the director’s unique filming style, and more. - Full Ahead (24:42)
A look at the process of getting the ship out to sea, filming on the unpredictable ocean, casting real Somalis, filming the initial attack, and more. - Stand Fast (13:35)
A look at shooting the lifeboat scenes, the rescue operation, adding the infirmary scene, and more.
- Embarkation (20:23)
- Previews
Select from trailers for The Monuments Men, American Hustle, Last Vegas, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Armstrong Lie.
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4K UHD:
Blu-ray:
Digital (Limited time offer):
Extras:
There is no new bonus material produced for this release. The Blu-ray appears to be identical to the previous disc. Only the film’s trailer is included on the 4K disc.
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4K Disc:
Blu-ray Disc:
Final Thoughts:
Captain Phillips is a tense and action-packed film featuring the signature hand-held camera style of director Paul Greengrass. Tom Hanks delivers another strong and emotional performance portraying the real-life Vermont sea captain who was taken by Somali pirates, while newcomer Barkhad Abdi holds his own against the Oscar winner. Sony’s new 4K release looks and sounds amazing and comes in beautiful SteelBook packaging, but doesn’t include any new bonus material. That said, it is definitely an audio/video upgrade over the previous Blu-ray that fans of the film will want to pick up, and this is certainly the version to add to your collection if you don’t already own the movie.
