A monumental reimagining of American history, Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning 2016 novel is a harrowing and rhapsodic journey through a still-echoing past. Weaving together historical fiction with moments of magical realism, The Underground Railroad is a full sensory immersion into the world of Cora (Thuso Mbedu), who, fleeing slavery, embarks on a treacherous quest for freedom—and is menaced by violence, supported by a clandestine community fighting for liberation, and haunted by the people she loses along the way. With images of searing power and stirring poetry, Jenkins delivers an epic saga of survival and resilience that pushes the limited-series format to new heights of cinematic transcendence.

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Video Quality

The Underground Railroad comes to Blu-Ray in an AVC encoded transfer from a 4K digital master in the original aspect ratios courtesy of The Criterion Collection. This collection brings together the ten episodes that make up the limited series and spreads them across four discs, allowing for plenty of room to breathe even with special features. While we would have rejoiced for a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release, this provides a glorious presentation that presents this series flawlessly. This lovely presentation offers a stable image quality throughout without any visual deficits.

Cinematographer James Laxton captures some striking scenery that leaves you stunned in high definition. Skin tones look natural throughout the runtime with a plethora of subtle facets at play. Not only do the textural details render cleanly, but colors are suffused in a way that brings out the intended beauty contrasted with the brutality. Colors especially pop when it comes to the vegetation and key pieces of clothing. There is no evidence of compression artifacts or other digital nuisances even in the most dimly lit locations. I do not see how this disc could have been improved significantly without a 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc. It’s a truly stunning endeavor.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a Dolby Atmos track that is glorious. This series is fairly dialogue-driven either through exchanges or voiceover, and these elements come through with supreme clarity. Not to be outdone, the track truly comes alive with the environmental sounds both in the outdoor noises and the ambiance of bustling interiors like the train station or other gatherings. The environmental effects create a natural soundscape filled with perfect nuances that transport you to this period. Activity in the low end is surprisingly robust, and it aids in providing necessary texture to the world like the train starting up.

The height channels expand the soundscape is miraculous ways with this information fleshing out the experience rather than taking on the main burden. The musical cues during the credits and the score from Nicholas Britell are showcased impeccably here with an enveloping use of the surround speakers that maintain precise fidelity. Dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overshadowed by the environmental effects or the music. The sound design is just as precisely thought-out as the on-screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. This is a top-tier audio presentation that brings the series to life in a really rewarding way. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

Special Features

The Criterion Blu-Ray of The Underground Railroad includes a foldout booklet featuring the essay “The Wound and The Remedy” by critic Angelica Jade Bastien in which she provides a great amount of insight into and analysis of the series that helps highlight the deeper themes on display, how it subverts common tropes, and more. There is also a small graphic novel entitled “Genesis” that depicts the events of an eleventh episode envisioned by Jenkins that was not able to be made. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Audio Commentaries: Every episode is given an audio commentary from Barry Jenkins who provides a ton of amazing personal and technical details that informs how this series was adapted for the screen. While Jenkins largely embarks on this solo, he is joined occasionally by his cinematographer and lead editor.

Commentary Intro: A two-minute audio introduction from Jenkins in which he discusses why he chose to record his audio commentaries in production order rather than narrative order. The preferred listening order is Chapter Two, One, Ten, Eight, Nine, Three, Seven, Five, Six, and Four.

Deleted Scenes: There are 13 unused scenes totaling right around 30 minutes that Jenkins describes as additional patches on a larger quilt featuring moments from the novel that didn’t fit neatly into the series.

Teasers: A three-minute audio introduction from Jenkins explains how the teasers came to be and function as their own works of art that didn’t have a place in the show. Seven teasers are provided totaling nine minutes.

The Gaze: A 52-minute companion film to the series is provided here featuring various moving portraits of individuals. There is a six-minute audio introduction from Jenkins that discusses how this came to be.

Building The Underground Railroad: A four-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the creation of the project, building the actual underground railroad, the creation of the mural, and more.