The Grand Finale’ 4K Blu-Ray Details Revealed—Including Hours Of Bonus Features

Downton Abbey has earned a huge fanbase since its first TV episode aired 15 years ago, so it’s gratifying to see such a popular TV and movie series signing off in fine style with both a strong final film instalment currently still packing cinemas and, from November 11, a promising 4K Blu-ray release of that movie that fans can keep watching over and over again in today’s finest picture and sound quality.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has confirmed that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will arrive on 4K Blu-ray mastered in the HDR10 high dynamic range format alongside its 4K resolution, with its hopefully pristine visuals joined by an immersive Dolby Atmos soundtrack to help transport you right into the heart of Downton’s gilded age.

It’s great to see, too, that even though the film isn’t particularly long at two hours and three minutes, Universal is mastering the 4K version of the film to a 100GB disc rather than the smaller 66GB alternative. That should really limit the amount of compression required to fit the film on 4K disc, hopefully making it easier for the mastering team to deliver every last beautiful detail of Downton Abbey’s period settings.

As well as delivering the film in the most pristine format currently available for home cinema fans, the 4K Blu-ray release of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will see the film accompanied by a fairly substantial set of bonus features.

The meatiest and most surprising of these is a feature-length commentary by director Simon Curtis and one of the series’ lead actresses, Elizabeth McGovern. A Changing Times featurette, meanwhile, will feature members of the cast and crew discussing how the changing times of the era in which Downton Abbey is set helped to lay the groundwork for how the series’ characters end up as they move forward into a more modern world.

Society Season is another mini documentary that this time features cast and crew members exploring the details of how they created a trio of key social events in The Grand Finale: Lady Petersfield’s Ball, the Ascot Races, and The County Show.

Authentic To The Core is up next, in which the cast and crew are joined by historical advisor Alastair Bruce to reveal the work and details that went into bringing historical authenticity to the final Downton Abbey film.

From here the bonus features move into more emotional territory, focusing on the fact that The Grand Finale marks the end of a 15 year love affair with its fans. First, A Farewell To Fans shows the cast and filmmakers sharing heartfelt messages in which they express their gratitude for so many people loving the show for so long. Finally, Downton Abbey Celebrates The Grand Finale sees star Hugh Bonneville inviting the whole Downton Abbey cast to a high-tea celebration of the franchise’s huge global reach and success, during which the stars share stories, confessions and even music associated with their time on the show and in the films. All wrapped up with a final toast to the third and final film, complete with a world-exclusive extra scene.

While the 4K Blu-ray of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will present the film in its fullest AV glory, completionists should note that Universal is also marking the end of the Downton Abbey era by launching a Downton Abbey Ultimate Legacy Collection containing all six TV seasons, all three films and more than 13 hours of bonus features spread across 24 HD Blu-ray discs. This complete Downton Abbey package will be presented in elegant 52-page book packing featuring commentary, sketches, bios and photos alongside the epic collection of discs. This Ultimate Legacy Collection will also be available to buy on November 11.

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