Cast
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Ian Holm

Ian Holm

16 films on Best Blurays12 in 4K4 in HD

Ian Holm photo

Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert CBE (September 12, 1931 – June 19, 2020) was an English actor. After beginning his career on the British stage as a leading member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a successful and prolific performer on television and in films. He received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award, along with nominations for an Academy Award and two Emmy Awards. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989 by Queen Elizabeth II. Holm won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in the Harold Pinter play The Homecoming. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role in the 1998 West End production of King Lear. For his television roles he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for King Lear (1998), and the HBO film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2003). He gained acclaim for his role in The Bofors Gun (1968) winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA Award win for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981). Other notable films he appeared in include Alien (1979), Brazil (1985), Henry V (1989), The Madness of King George (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and The Aviator (2004). He gained wider appreciation for his role as the elderly Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He also voiced Chef Skinner in the Pixar animated film Ratatouille (2007). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ian Holm, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Biography from Wikipedia via TMDB

Leading role · Director: Gavin Millar

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Sources: lddb.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

Japan Tohokushinsha Home Video LaserDisc [K88L-5085]

Audio Notes:

Japan Tohokushinsha Home Video LaserDisc [K88L-5085] possibly?

Leading role · Director: David Cronenberg

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Leading role · Director: David Cronenberg

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray

Supporting role · Director: Hugh Hudson

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Supporting role · Director: Luc Besson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · fanrestore.com (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.

  • StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.

  • 2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.

  • 2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps

Audio Notes:

The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.

Additional Info:

Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.

Supporting role · Director: Terry Gilliam

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Director's Cut: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-Ray

Love Conquers All Cut: Criterion Blu-Ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Supporting role · Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays

The 2020 Blu-ray (the one without the green tint) may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?

Best Audio:

New Line Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases

The 2011 Blu-ray notoriously had a green tint, the 2020 one removes it.

Supporting role · Director: Andrew Niccol

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Supporting role · Director: Hugh Hudson

Best English-Friendly:

US Cut: US WB Blu-ray

UK Cut: Britain Fox Blu-ray

Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

US Cut: US Warner Bros Blu-ray

UK Cut: Britain Fox Blu-ray

Video Notes:

However it seems like the Britain Fox Blu-ray is slightly cropped see caps

Supporting role · Director: Ridley Scott

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Theatrical Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray 

2003 Directors Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray 

Video Notes:

(additional scenes appear to be upscaled)

Best Audio:

Original Theatrical 70mm 6-Track Stereo: Fox 4K Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 4.1)

Original Theatrical 35mm Matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1999 DVD? (2.0 mix on the UHD is a downmix)

2003 Directors Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray, Fox Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Supporting role · Director: Kenneth Branagh

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Supporting role · Director: Martin Scorsese

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Japan Blu-ray

Supporting role · Director: Terry Gilliam

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Additional Info:

Criterion and Arrow have exclusive extras

Small role · Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K Blu-ray caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays

The 2020 Blu-ray may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?

Best Audio:

New Line Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases

Small role · Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

WB 4K Blu-ray is significant upgrades compared to the BDs, but has noticeable artificial sharpening

Small role · Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

WB 4K Blu-ray is significant upgrades compared to the BDs, but has noticeable artificial sharpening

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