It is an excellent time to be a fan of the Tron franchise. Ahead of the release of Tron: Ares, Tron has been re-released after being carefully digitally scanned and restored by The Walt Disney Film Restoration team. The team then corrected dirt, warping, and other imperfections to ensure pristine image quality. This was supervised by director Steven Lisberger. The result is nothing short of magnificent. Fans can get a chance to go back to the Grid and see Tron like never before.
In Tron, a talented computer programmer, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), attempts to hack into the system of the corrupt company he once worked for. As he does this, he is digitized and finds himself up against the Master Control Program, which wants to absorb and delete all other programs and users for its own purposes. Flynn is aided by Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) and Yori (Cindy Morgan) to defeat the MCP and free the oppressed programs on the Grid.
Quality
This release of Tron is ALL about quality. I have never seen this movie look or sound so good. It threw me off at first and took some time to get used to. As long as I can remember, this has been a film that has been limited by the quality of the technology of the time it was released. While it was innovative, the presentation never seemed to match the imagination. This is no longer true. Tron looks incredible. It almost looks too incredible (if that is possible). The accompanying audio is equally impressive. It makes for a wonderful and exciting viewing experience. I’m not the biggest Tron fan in the world, but I really enjoyed watching it this time around.
Extras
The extras that are included with Tron are enjoyable. They also remind viewers of the time and context in which this film was made and released. I personally enjoyed working my way through them, and while I might have seen them before, they seemed as new to me as I simply didn’t remember. I was partial to the Featurettes over the other offerings, but all in all, I enjoyed the bonus features.
Bonus Features*
Deleted Scenes:
- Deleted Scenes: Introduction By Writer-Director Steven Lisberger
- Deleted Scenes: Tron and Yori’s Love Scene
- Deleted Scenes: Tron and Yori’s Love Scene #2
- Deleted Scenes: Alternate Opening Prologue
Featurettes:
- Photo Tronology: Join the director for original production photos and intimate stories
- The Tron Phenomenon: Explore Tron’s impact on pop culture
- The Making of Tron
- Development: Early Development of Tron
- Development: Early Lisberger Studios Animation
- Development: “Computers are People Too”
- Development: Early Video Tests
- Design: Introduction By Writer-Director Steven Lisberger
- Design: The Vehicles: Lightcycles: Syd Mead Discusses Lightcycle Design
- Design: The Vehicles: Lightcycles Magi Animation Test
- Design: The Vehicles: Recognizer: Space Paranoids Video Game – Letterbox
- Design: The Vehicles: Recognizer: Space Paranoids Video Game – Full Screen
- Storyboarding: The Storyboarding Process
- Storyboarding: Creation of Tron Main Title-Moebius Storyboards
- Storyboarding: Storyboard-To-Film Comparison: Introduction By Storyboard…
- Storyboard-To-Film Comparison: Lightcycle Chase Story Board Only
- Storyboarding: Storyboard-To-Film Comparison: Lightcycle Chase Final – Film
- Digital Imagery: Digital Imagery in Tron
- Digital Imagery: “Beyond Tron”
- Digital Imagery: Role of Triple I
- Digital Imagery: Triple I Demo
Music:
- Music: Lightcycle Scene with Alternate Carlos Music Tracks
- Music: End Credits with Original Carlos Music
Audio Commentary
*Bonus features vary by product and retailer
Final Thoughts
The 4K restoration of Tron really is an incredible thing to see. It isn’t something I was expecting to be as blown away by as I was. The first couple of minutes, I definitely had to get used to seeing things so crystal clear. However, once I got used to how amazing it looked, I really enjoyed re-watching this film. It is a fantastic blast from the past, and with Tron: Ares coming up, it was a lot of fun revisiting the first two films. This is definitely one to add to the library. The quality is great, and overall is a wonderful movie-watching experience. This one, I easily take my hat off to!
Daps Magic received a sample product or experience for this review in exchange for an honest review. The views of the reviewer are wholly their own. Read full disclosure policy at dapsmagic.com/disclosurepolicy.
Mr. DAPs Hat Rating Scale
- No Hat – Didn’t meet expectations
- Hat Nod – It was ok
- Hat Tip – It was good
- Hat’s Off – Loved it!
