The jump from DVD to 4K Blu-ray is a big one, and comparably, the leap from Blu-ray to 4K Blu-ray isn’t nearly as large. 1080p content still looks great on a 4K TV in a way that 480p content just doesn’t. That doesn’t mean you don’t see gains from Blu-ray to 4K, because you very much do. The big one, especially if you have a nice TV, is HDR. This is a transformative experience, and it helps make those black levels actually look black, and the bright scenes pop off the screen. This is something only available on the 4K UHD format.

Again, it’s not worth it to solely upgrade for these reasons, but I don’t see a problem with upgrading your favorites to the format. It’s what I’ve done, and the discs I’ve chosen to do this with have been well worth the upgrade. Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong with this, barring some exceptions, but I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars replacing my collection if I don’t have to. These are four discs you can upgrade to 4K that I think are worth the price.

Interstellar is great in 4K, and it’s worth upgrading from any format

One of Nolan’s best

Interstellar is often called one of the best Sci-Fi films of all time, and it’s hard to argue with that. It’s managed to stand the test of time, and I still see memes of it to this day, which isn’t always an indication of good quality, but I’m using it as one here. The 4K UHD version of this movie has all the IMAX scenes intact, it comes to you with a beautiful HDR scan, and it has great audio, although an Atmos track is missing. The lack of Atmos is something that’s common with Christopher Nolan releases, so I won’t dock it too hard.

There’s really not much to complain about with a Nolan 4K release, as you know you’re getting something that’s high-quality. I’m excited for Memento to get the 4K upgrade. This is a movie that’s worthy of the 100 GB 4K Blu-ray disc it’s printed on.

Both of the new Dune movies

And the third one is on the way

Dune Part One and Two are absolute spectacles, and the 4K Blu-ray versions are massive upgrades from their Blu-ray and DVD counterparts. Sadly, these releases don’t include any at-home IMAX scenes, but they still look great. Dolby Vision does a lot of heavy lifting for these movies, and I’d say it’s well worth the upgrade price if you have a Dolby Vision-capable TV. These movies are also an excellent example of how a movie can still look great if it’s shot digitally instead of on film.

The Atmos track is also an all-timer. If you have a good subwoofer that can handle LFE (low-frequency effects), you’ll be blown away by how good the sandworm scenes sound in both of the movies. One thing I’m afraid of is a box set that bundles all three of the movies together and includes the IMAX scenes. I don’t want to double-dip on movies if I don’t have to, but this would be a case where I think it’s worth it. These are some of my favorite discs in my entire 4K collection.

2001: A Space Odyssey should be on your list of upgrades

An oldie, but a very, very goodie

It’s hard to believe that 2001: A Space Odyssey came out in 1968, because it looks like a brand-new movie on 4K Blu-ray. I love popping in these old movies when they get a 4K upgrade, because it’s proof to me that this is all worth it. Not only is a movie that came out nearly 60 years ago perfectly preserved, but it’s also available in the best format available.

It looks great, it sounds great, and it’s an extremely influential movie for the Sci-Fi genre. It’s easy to find this movie in any movie lover’s collection, regardless of whether Sci-Fi is one of your favorite genres or not. The good news is that this movie goes on sale quite a bit, so you don’t have to pay full price if you’re patient enough.

Alien feels like a cop out, but it’s really one of the best

An easy recommendation

Pretty much everything I said about 2001 applies to Alien. We’re talking about a several-decades-old movie that feels as modern as ever, and with the Alien franchise still continuing to this day, there’s no reason not to have the original in your collection. I’m of the mind that all of the Alien movies have a reason to be watched, even if some of the later entries are lacking compared to the earlier ones.

Alien is also one of the increasingly rare 4K Blu-ray movies to have an HDR10+ scan, so it’s worth grabbing for that reason if you have an HDR10+ TV. The main reason is this is also one of the best and most influential movies of all time, and it’s why I can never hate Ridley Scott, even if his output has become rather questionable over the years.