Hell Or High Water is out now on 4K Blu-ray, and it’s a film that gets better every time I see it, and almost every time, I can spot something new.
The film centres around Texan bank-robbing brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner Howard (Ben Foster), going from one institution after another, in desperate need of cash after their mother dies and, thanks to the outstanding mortgage, her fiduciary issues are leading to the bank to foreclose on her entire ranch.
They’re just stealing a few thousands dollars each time, so don’t attract FBI interest, hence local close-to-retirement sheriff Marcus (Jeff Bridges) is called to look into it, along with partner Alberto (Gil Birmingham), who’s half-Indian, half-Mexican and 100% annoyed at his colleague’s constant derogatory references to his culture and lifestyle.
Classic 1995 Nicolas Cage Movie! – DVDfeverGames
Toby has other things to deal with as he’s estranged from his children and rarely gets to see them, partly due to owing a ton of money in child support, but with strong violence on occasion and superb performances from all of the key cast members, this road trip may be set in the modern day, but it plays out like a stylish ’70s thriller.
There’s also plenty of brilliant dialogue. After visiting a petrol station, while driving off:
- Tanner: “Are you trying to make me mad? I said Dr Pepper. This is Mr Pibb.”
Toby: “That’s all they had.”
Tanner: “Only assholes drink Mr Pibb.”
Toby: “Drink up(!)”
In addition, there’s the now-legendary restaurant scene below, too, along with a Q&A with Katy Mixon (Jenny-Ann), Gil Birmingham, and the superb Margaret Bowman as the waitress, who sadly passed away on August 13th 2018, aged 90.
Discussion with Margaret Bowman, Gil Birmingham, and Katy Mixon
The film is presented in the theatrical 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, and in 2160p high definition, and looks as stunning as you’d expect from a modern movie, bringing the Texas desert and towns to life brilliantly. However, unless I’ve missed something, since this film was only shot in 2.8K, how does that translate to the benefit of a 4K release?
The Blu-ray is effectively 2K, so you’re getting a slight improvement on that, from what I gather. So, it’s down to you whether you pay full price for a new 4K disc, or buy a discounted Blu-ray that’s been out for many years.
The extras are as follows, including one extra on here that’s not on the Blu-ray – the theatrical trailer – but for that, you lose the Audio description track.
They begin with three featurettes which feel like they’re part of one big ‘making-of’:
- Featurettes: First up is Damaged Heroes (12:22), going into the performances and how they needed both Pine and Foster to exude a strong connection as brothers, and as it turned out, they’d just finished working together for five months on The Finest Hours. Also, they kept to a small set and crew, so you can bring an intimacy into the filming that you don’t get on a big movie like Pine’s Star Trek Beyond, or as he refers to it in the final big extra, his “space film”.
After that comes Enemies Forever (13:35), looking at the characters and relationship between the two brothers, plus the locations in Visualising the Heart of America (9:26).
- Interview with director David Mackenzie (6:25): A Q&A interview where the “Q”s are all on silent captions, and then David gives the “A”s. These are generally made for channels like Sky Movies where they can slot them in as filler inbetween clips.
- Hell Or High Water Premiere (1:54): A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it piece from the red carpet in Austin, Texas.
- Filmmaker Q&A (29:51): But this is more like it. David McKenzie, Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Gil Birmingham are interviewed at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.
- Theatrical Trailer (1:47): In the original aspect ratio.
The menu mixes clips from the film mixed with a piece of music, but one I don’t recall from the film, itself.
Hell Or High Water is released on Monday on 4K Blu-ray and it’s already out on Blu-ray, and DVD.
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FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
10 10 8 5 |
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OVERALL |
8 |
Cert: 
Running time: 102 minutes
Year: 2016
Chapters: 12
Cat.No:
OPTUSB4693
Distributor: Studiocanal
Released: May 18th 2026
Picture: 2160p High Definition
Language: English
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (ARRIRAW (2.8K), Anamorphic Hawk Scope)
Subtitles: English SDH
Disc Format: BD100
Director: David Mackenzie
Producers: Peter Berg, Carla Hacken, Sidney Kimmel and Julie Yorn
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan
Music: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Cast:
Toby Howard: Chris Pine
Tanner Howard: Ben Foster
Marcus Hamilton: Jeff Bridges
Alberto Parker: Gil Birmingham
Jenny Ann: Katy Mixon
Rancher: Keith Meriweather
Natalie Martinez (Vernon Teller): Amber Midthunder
T-Bone Waitress: Margaret Bowman
Mr. Clauson: William Sterchi
Elsie: Dale Dickey
Old Man: Buck Taylor
Olney Teller: Kristin Berg
Bank Manager: Joe Berryman
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.