The Phoenician Scheme 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

Shot on 35mm and finished from a native 4K digital intermediate, The Phoenician Scheme arrives on 4K UHD in an Academy-style 1.47:1–1.48:1 presentation (pillarboxed on 16:9 displays). The HEVC/H.265, 2160p encode sits on a BD-66 and is graded in Dolby Vision with HDR10 compatibility. Detail is outstanding: prosthetics, stage makeup, textured sets, upholstery in vintage aircraft, tiled floors, hall trappings, and the leafy jungle read with crisp, filmic precision. Anderson’s exacting compositions, elaborate dolly moves, and deep focus are rendered sharp as a tack, with strong depth and dimensionality. Black levels are deep without crush; whites can be brilliantly hot—most notably Liesl’s stark habit—while one blinding desert sequence skews intentionally blown-out. Grain is fine and organic, with no visible noise or compression artifacts.

Color reproduction is sumptuous and era-evocative: pastels, cotton-candy hues, and occasional black-and-white interplay with dominant reds and oranges, blue skies, beige sands, and pristine whites. Skin tones remain natural—not overcooked—while the production’s tactile design benefits from the Dolby Vision grade, which adds nuance to highlights and maintains stable shadow detail. A few shots in the Marseilles Bob sequences exhibit mild softness, but they’re outliers in an otherwise precise transfer. The result is a clean, highly resolved image that celebrates the film’s handcrafted textures and meticulous palette without sacrificing the organic character of its 35mm origins.

The Phoenician Scheme arrives with an English Dolby Atmos mix (also present on the Blu-ray), plus French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 options; subtitles include English SDH, Spanish, and French. The Atmos track is mastered on the hot side—many will prefer dialing volume down about 3 dB from reference. This isn’t a wall-shaker; instead it favors immersive subtlety and precise object placement. Heights and surrounds are active with ambient detail—desert winds, air rustle, chirping birds, echoing halls and tunnels, claustrophobic train cars and plane fuselages—while interiors of Zsa-zsa’s airplanes, the tunnel rendezvous with Leland and Reagan (Tom Hanks and Brian Cranston), and Marseille Bob’s club are convincingly enveloping. Directionality is crisp; crossbow bolts arc cleanly through the field. The score breathes across the stage and occasionally takes center focus in the club sequence.

Low-frequency extension is tastefully integrated: complementary warmth and weight for dialogue scenes, with authoritative punch for action beats—gunshots, airplane engines, the opening and mid-film crashes, and the explosive moment involving Benedict Cumberbatch’s character. Dialogue remains front-and-center and consistently intelligible even amid chaos. Surrounds support the score, subtle ambience, and occasional dialogue movement, while overheads add scale and dimension rather than constant bombast. The result is a playful, atmosphere-first Atmos presentation that expands and contracts space with finesse, surprising with bursts of LFE when required and otherwise letting the film’s wit and sound design take the spotlight.

A slim but serviceable package: the on-disc supplements are confined to a single “Behind The Phoenician Scheme” suite comprising four short EPK-style vignettes. They’re light and brisk, best consumed via the Play All option. Only The Cast runs beyond five minutes; the others feel more like extended promos. Coverage touches on casting choices, construction of the airplane set and a signature effects gag, and environment-building around Marseille Bob’s and Zsa-zsa’s milieu. No commentary, archival materials, or longer-form making-ofs are included. Extras reside on the 66GB 4K disc.

Extras included in this disc:

• Behind The Phoenician Scheme: The Cast: Brief casting overview with select insights.
• Behind The Phoenician Scheme: The Airplane: Look at the airplane set and a key effects sequence.
• Behind The Phoenician Scheme: Marseille Bob’s: Snapshot of the club’s design and atmosphere.
• Behind The Phoenician Scheme: Zsa-zsa’s World: Glimpses of character world-building.

Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme is quintessentially Andersonian yet sharper in bite: a 1950s-set, vignette-driven caper following Anatole “Zsa‑zsa” Korda (Benicio Del Toro), aka “Mr. 5%,” a globe‑spanning tycoon/arms dealer with nine adopted sons and an adult daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a novitiate nun he unexpectedly selects as heir after surviving his sixth assassination attempt. The narrative hopscotches from Prague to Marrakesh to the Mediterranean and toward a massive, multi‑pronged venture in Phoenicia, mixing boardroom maneuvering with brisk absurdism and afterlife interludes where Korda encounters family, wives, and even God.

Del Toro anchors the film with controlled menace and weary charm; the passage of time is ingeniously tracked by the evolving wounds on his face. Threapleton’s quiet gravity reframes the patriarch’s empire, while Michael Cera’s Bjorn—bug‑obsessed tutor and emotional buffer—adds gentle levity. The ensemble is stacked and deadpan: Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray. Dialogue is rapid‑fire, the cast largely straight-faced; momentum is high, the 101‑minute runtime unusually taut for Anderson.

Visual and comic signatures abound: the iconic overhead of Korda in a bathtub as nurses choreograph across tiled floors; tableau holds that break into action; Korda handing out grenades with disarming nonchalance; Bjorn communing with insects. The film is less about plot resolution than experiential rhythm—self‑contained set pieces that advance character over conventional three‑act propulsion. Themes of control, legacy, and reluctant transformation surface as Liesl humanizes Korda’s methods and liberates his sons, even as his world reshapes hers. It’s funny, weird, and quietly affecting—classic Anderson craft calibrated to a colder, more dangerous protagonist who still finds slivers of grace.

Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme plays like a casually serious caper—espionage, comedy, and drama in a warm, offbeat blend. Benicio Del Toro anchors the film with an effortless, lived-in turn as Zsa-zsa Korda; he carries a star-studded ensemble while the film’s different tone gradually clicks on revisit. Highlights abound—the Bryan Cranston/Tom Hanks basketball scene is a riot—and the humor stays witty without tipping into silliness. The final act can feel a touch underwhelming, and it’s neither as intricate as The Royal Tenenbaums nor as charming as The Grand Budapest Hotel, but the overall effect remains engaging and surprisingly sweet.

Universal’s 4K UHD impresses on the video front, delivering a crisp 1.47:1 HEVC presentation that flatters Anderson’s meticulous framing. Audio is cited as a solid Dolby Atmos experience in some coverage, while the listed disc specifications state English DTS-HD MA Mono; subtitles include English SDH, French, and Spanish. Rated PG-13 with a 101-minute runtime, and released on Blu-ray July 29, 2025, the package’s supplements are serviceable if modest. Overall, the disc both looks and sounds the part, even if extras lean middle-of-the-road.

Conclusion: I didn’t dislike The Phoenician Scheme in the slightest, but I did find it to be one of the weaker “enjoyable ones” from the famed director. It’s quick-tongued, charming, and Benicio Del Toro does an amazing job, but that final act was a little underwhelming. It wasn’t as complicated as The Royal Tenenbaums, nor was it as charming as The Grand Budapest Hotel, but I still enjoyed the outing nonetheless. As always, Wes Anderson films are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re a fan of his movies, then this is most certainly at least worth checking out. The 4K UHD from Universal is frankly fantastic on the video front, and sports a solid audio track as well. Extras are middling, but the package remains pleasing.