From Taylor Sheridan, creator of “Yellowstone,” comes this chilling thriller set in Wyoming’s remote wilderness. After game tracker Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers a murdered Native American girl’s frozen body on federal land, rookie FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) is sent to lead the investigation. As the ghosts of Cory’s past return to haunt him, Jane’s attempt to treat the case as a homicide is thwarted, and the two soon realize that what unites them – bringing the girl’s killer to justice – isn’t an outcome sought by everyone in Wind River.

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Video Quality

Wind River debuts on 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a 2160p/Dolby Vision presentation in 2.39:1 which looks absolutely stunning. The accompanying Blu-Ray released in 2017 is a very nice looking disc, but this new presentation offers several improvements fans will not want to miss. The greatest upgrade comes in the handling of the contrast. With so much of this narrative taking place with stark white snow in the background, you run the risk of blooming and banding overtaking the screen, which it often does in the standard Blu-Ray presentation. The 4K UHD Blu-Ray wows with impeccable clarity and a firm handle of highlights that show no evidence of blooming. The black levels are likewise perfectly deep and detailed with digital noise essentially absent from the screen. Numerous shadowy shots show no signs of crush.

The 4K presentation provides a depth of field that simply cannot be replicated as well with the accompanying Blu-Ray. This transfer shows a sterling amount of detail in the smallest facets of the production design and articles of clothing. The uptick in detail is welcome in the textures of the locales. Skin tones look very consistent throughout and show a great amount of facial detail including beards and bruises. Color highlights are another area of substantial improvement in comparison to the Blu-Ray thanks to the Dolby Vision. Colors look more natural in this presentation even if it is not a vibrant spectacle. This is an excellent 4K UHD upgrade that represents the film impeccably.

Audio Quality

This disc gets an upgrade with an effective Dolby Atmos presentation that immerses you in this remote environment. Dialogue is presented clearly without ever being overpowered by any of the competing sonic elements. This track is often enveloping, such as the nuanced rendering of a snowstorm or other moments of nature that dominate the height channels. Sounds are carefully deployed with pinpoint directionality from the more frantic moments to the dialogue-driven expository moments. The score stirs your insides to ratchet up the emotional stakes. The sound design can be quite intense with sounds of booming gunshots and snowmobiles digging deep in the low end. The mix here is tastefully upgraded with nice engagement of all the channels, so those with a good system should be pleased. A Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is also provided. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are provided.

Special Features

This release comes with an optional sleek new SteelBook exclusively at Wal-Mart that is quite fetching in person. The SteelBook features a removable clear slipcase displaying the title in white letters. The SteelBook underneath folds out to reveal a night-time scene with a snowy mountain range illuminated by moonlight and a small figure running across the snow. The interior sports a photo of a snowmobile at the site of a crime scene. Video of the SteelBook can be found at the top of this review.

Deleted Scenes: There are two unused scenes totaling three minutes of extraneous scenes worth a watch if you liked the movie.
Behind The Scenes Video Gallery: Three brief videos are provided in which the creatives briefly discuss the characters and the movie in general.

- Jeremy Renner (3:25)

- Elizabeth Olsen (2:50)

- Writer/Director Taylor Sheridan (3:38)

Theatrical Trailer: The nearly two-minute trailer is provided.

Final Thoughts

Wind River is a terrific drama from Taylor Sheridan that shines a light on a pressing issue that impacts one of our most marginalized groups. The Indigenous representation could be a larger part of the movie and be stronger for it, but the movie as presented is a gripping thriller that offers satisfying twists and turns. The performances from Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are both strong and help ground this movie in something genuine. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that sports an amazing A/V presentation and a small number of special features in lovely SteelBook packaging. If you love the movie, this is the way to own it. Highly Recommended

Wind River is currently available to purchase exclusively at Wal-Mart on 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.