Biography from TMDB
3 in 4K
UHD Blu-ray or 4K streaming
Supporting role · Director: Billy Wilder
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Capelight/Kino Lorber which has heavy noise reduction and opening snare hit is missing, Capelight is slightly better encoded than Kino Lorber
But still a bit overly noise-managed.
1984 CBS/Fox Hi-Fi VHS maybe better?
Supporting role · Director: Billy Wilder
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
(transfer of the 1989 MGM LaserDisc, without problems plaguing Kino Lorber's release)
Arrow UHD is an update of the original 4K scan done for their BD. It is also visually far superior to the Kino version and adds Dolby Vision HDR. The Arrow UHD uses a new LD mono capture and has none of the issues or processing found in the Kino UHD which also used an LD mono capture and somehow mucked it up. Short of a brand new scan, the Arrow UHD is as good as it possibly can be.
Small role · Director: Fred Zinnemann
Sony Columbia Classics Vol 3 4K Blu-ray
3 in HD
Blu-ray or HD streaming
Small role · Director: George Cukor
1 in SD
DVD, SD streaming, LaserDisc or VHS
Supporting role · Director: Billy Wilder
Sources: therokuchannel.roku.com (opens in a new tab)
Spanish Region 0 PAL DVD or original VHS and Beta MGM releases
There is very low quality streaming on Roku
This film is cursed with only an early 80's tape master in 4:3 and a letterbox standard def master that was apparently made and abandoned without even a Laserdisc or DVD release. The only passable widescreen version is the Spanish PAL DVD which is low quality and noisy using this abandoned standard def master but sped up due to PAL. It uses the title Aqui, un Amigo. This film cries out for a proper transfer to happen at least once.
Missing a Joan Shawlee film? Suggest it