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The Descent (2005)
The Descent (2005) poster
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3.6

The Descent (2005)

Adventure, Horror • 1h 40m

Overview

After a personal tragedy, Sarah joins her friends on a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains. But when a rockfall traps them deep underground, their adventure turns into a nightmare. As they search for a way out, the group discovers they are not alone—lurking in the darkness are savage, cave-dwelling creatures. With rising tension and dwindling trust, the women must fight to survive against both the predators and each other.

Director: Neil Marshall

Best English-Friendly Release

Best Video Release

UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray or FR Pathé 4K Blu-ray share the same disc (caps)

The StudioCanal UHD has a much better encode than the Lionsgate UHD with the same grade. The Vuelta UHD has a decent encode but it is in an incorrect color space and has German overlays.

Best Audio Release

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray or FR Pathé 4K Blu-ray
UK disc includes only 5.1.

The 7.1 mix included on the Lionsgate UHD appears to be identical to the 2006 USA BD's LPCM 7.1 track and to be a straight transfer of the theatrical Dolby Digital Surround EX mix (originally matrixed 6.1, with the rear surrounds in the discrete 7.1 presentation being dual mono). The old GER BD has a 6.1 mix but it is a poor remix and the GER UHD has an Auro-3D remix of the 7.1 mix (mostly adjusted surround levels). All other discs offer a 5.1 mix, including the Studio Canal UHD

Format

UHD Blu-ray

UHD Tiers

Excellent
Studio Canal UK/Pathé FR:

Caveat: Only includes a 5.1 track instead of 7.1

Solid
Lionsgate:

Worse compression and low-pass filtered video

Length

100 mins

Type

Movie

Last Updated

2 months ago

Contributors

Best English-Friendly Release
Best Video Release

UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray or FR Pathé 4K Blu-ray share the same disc (caps)

The StudioCanal UHD has a much better encode than the Lionsgate UHD with the same grade. The Vuelta UHD has a decent encode but it is in an incorrect color space and has German overlays.

Best Audio Release

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray or FR Pathé 4K Blu-ray
UK disc includes only 5.1.

The 7.1 mix included on the Lionsgate UHD appears to be identical to the 2006 USA BD's LPCM 7.1 track and to be a straight transfer of the theatrical Dolby Digital Surround EX mix (originally matrixed 6.1, with the rear surrounds in the discrete 7.1 presentation being dual mono). The old GER BD has a 6.1 mix but it is a poor remix and the GER UHD has an Auro-3D remix of the 7.1 mix (mostly adjusted surround levels). All other discs offer a 5.1 mix, including the Studio Canal UHD

Format
UHD Blu-ray
UHD Tiers
Excellent
Studio Canal UK/Pathé FR:

Caveat: Only includes a 5.1 track instead of 7.1

Solid
Lionsgate:

Worse compression and low-pass filtered video

Length
100 mins
Type
Movie
Last Updated
2 months ago
Contributors

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2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.

  • StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.

  • 2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.

  • 2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps

Best Audio:

2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1.

The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.

Additional Info:

Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.

Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

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  • 2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.

  • 2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps

Best Audio:

2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1.

The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.

Additional Info:

Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.

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Best English-Friendly:

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Best Video:

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Additional Info:

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Best Audio:

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Best Audio:

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Additional Info:

Criterion's subtitles seem to be better than StudioCanal's which omits too much IMO.

Best English-Friendly:

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Best Video:

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Best Audio:

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Additional Info:

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comparison

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Best Audio:

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Samples

Popeye poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

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Best Audio:

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The older 5.1 track appearing on older DVD/BD releases sounds excellent. It appears to be a slight upmix of the original mix, only splitting the surrounds and adding LFE. It sounds close to the old analog LaserDisc, which is likely the original mix in a matrixed form.

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Details on the new mix from Paramount's former head of restoration: https://youtu.be/P-AmjqViJyE?t=788

The 2.0 tracks on all DVDs/BDs are just downmixes of their respective 5.1 mixes.

Samples

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Best Audio:

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The Saint poster
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Best Audio:

Old Paramount Blu-ray

The 4K has lowered dynamic range.

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The Descent (2005) backdrop