Blu-ray Review: Westworld Limited Edition

4K UHD, Blu-ray Release Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Price: 4K UHD $38.97, Blu-ray $32.47
Studio: Arrow/MVD

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie  | Audio  | Video  | Overall

When Westworld rode into theaters in 1973, it played like a smart, slightly pulpy genre hybrid: a Western with a science-fiction sting in its tail. Seen now, Michael Crichton’s directorial debut feels uncannily like a dry run for the anxieties that would later fuel Jurassic Park, another Crichton-penned story—and, eventually, dominate real-world conversations about artificial intelligence, automation, and spectacle.

Set in Delos, a futuristic amusement resort where affluent guests indulge in consequence-free fantasy, the film follows friends Peter (Richard Benjamin, Diary of a Mad Housewife) and John (James Brolin, Burlesque) as they vacation in the park’s Old West zone. There, they drink, duel, make love to and kill lifelike android–“hosts programmed never to harm humans.” When an inevitable system-wide malfunction causes the robots to stop following their rules, the fantasy curdles fast. Yul Brynner’s (Anastasia) black-clad Gunslinger, once a novelty attraction, becomes a mechanical force of nature, stalking Peter and John with pitiless efficiency.

Crichton’s genius lies in how little he overstates the danger. The catastrophe isn’t caused by malice or rebellion but by scale: too many systems, too much complexity, and the fatal assumption that control can always be restored. Again, the film’s DNA unmistakably anticipates Jurassic Park and its tale about rich tourists, cutting-edge attractions, ignored warnings, and the arrogance of believing nature (or technology) can be neatly contained.

Arrow’s new Blu-ray and 4K UHD limited editions offer a glittery restoration that greatly sharpen the film’s details (along with its stark desert imagery), while bonus features deepen its legacy. Included among these is a lively new commentary by filmmaker and historian Daniel Kremer and new interviews with Benjamin, Brolin and producer Paul N. Lazarus III. Together, they reinforce what time has already proven: Westworld wasn’t just ahead of its time—it was a warning shot we’re still pretending not to hear.