Heavy Metal (1981)
Animation, Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy, Music • 1h 30m
Overview
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
Directors: Gerald Potterton & John Bruno & John Halas & Julian Harris & Jimmy T. Murakami & Barrie Nelson & Paul Sabella & Jack Stokes & Pino Van Lamsweerde & Harold Whitaker
Cast: Rodger Bumpass, John Candy, Jackie Burroughs, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Marilyn Lightstone, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, Caroline Semple, Richard Romanus, Susan Roman, Al Waxman, Harvey Atkin, Glenis Wootton Gross, John Vernon, George Touliatos, August Schellenberg, Vlasta Vrana, Alice Playten, Percy Rodriguez
Director: David Greene
Director: David Greene
Director: Richard Linklater
Criterion Blu-ray uses the same transfer as Sony but the encoding is slightly worse than Sony and barely noticeable see caps
Germany StudioCanal Blu-ray in viewing looks very similar to both the Criterion and Sony caps, but no side by side comparison available
Germany StudioCanal Blu-ray is part of a 3-film box set like the Criterion
Director: Richard Linklater
Criterion Blu-ray uses the same transfer as Sony but the encoding is slightly worse than Sony and barely noticeable see caps
Germany StudioCanal Blu-ray in viewing looks very similar to both the Criterion and Sony caps, but no side by side comparison available
Germany StudioCanal Blu-ray is part of a 3-film box set like the Criterion
Director: Damien Chazelle
Director: Damien Chazelle
Director: Neill Blomkamp
France Metropolitan 4K Blu-ray, glitch fixed from Sony
The Sony 4K Blu-ray has a glitch around the 40 min mark where a shot is repeated; no word from Sony about a replacement at the time of writing, i.e. 8/1/8/22
Director: Neill Blomkamp
France Metropolitan 4K Blu-ray, glitch fixed from Sony
The Sony 4K Blu-ray has a glitch around the 40 min mark where a shot is repeated; no word from Sony about a replacement at the time of writing, i.e. 8/1/8/22
Directors: Frank Oz & Jim Henson
Directors: Frank Oz & Jim Henson
Director: Jim Henson
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray, Shout! Factory doesn't have the low-pass filter that's on the Sony US 4K Blu-ray from 2021 with Dolby Vision (or the worse HDR10 only release from 2016). Shout! Factory retains more high-frequency grain and detail.
Embassy Home Entertainment JPN LaserDisc or 1999 Sony US DVD 2.0
Director: Jim Henson
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray, Shout! Factory doesn't have the low-pass filter that's on the Sony US 4K Blu-ray from 2021 with Dolby Vision (or the worse HDR10 only release from 2016). Shout! Factory retains more high-frequency grain and detail.
Embassy Home Entertainment JPN LaserDisc or 1999 Sony US DVD 2.0
Director: Luc Besson
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
2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1.
The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.
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.
Director: Luc Besson
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
2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1.
The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.
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.
Director: Will Gluck
Director: Will Gluck
Director: George Sidney
Director: George Sidney
More Animation on Blu-ray
Director: Marcell Jankovics
Director: Marcell Jankovics
2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray
3D version: Turbine Germany 3D Blu-ray
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2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray
3D version: Turbine Germany 3D Blu-ray
-
Director: John Lasseter
Original theatrical render: 35mm scans or 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
Digital render: 2010 3D Blu-ray
Original theatrical render: 35mm scans or 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
Digital render: 2010 3D Blu-ray (every version since the 2000 DVD release, including the 2010 2D Blu-ray, has animation errors. The majority of those were corrected for the 3D rerelease.) The 4K Blu-ray is merely upscaled from the 2K render.
Stereo Mix: 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
5.1 AC3 Mix: 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
The 1997 DTS LaserDisc is a virtually untouched transfer of the theatrical 5.1 mix and should theoretically sound the best being that DTS has higher bitrates than AC3. However, the original pressing of the DTS LaserDisc has an error where the right channel is 8.5db lower than the rest. This is an easy fix in a program like Audacity, and if you can find a corrected transfer, like the ones on various fan projects online, it should be the best sounding version of the film.
The AC3 audio on Side 2 of the CLV LaserDisc has the LFE channel muted. This was left intact for the CAV release.
The 2000 and 2005 UK DVD has an error where one of the shots is brightened up way too high (when the rest of the toys hold onto Slinky as he clings onto Woody during the moving truck rescue). Plus the end credits are interlaced (the PSP UMD video is the only way to get that version of the credits without interlacing).
The 4K Blu-ray has a further remixed Atmos track.
Director: John Lasseter
Original theatrical render: 35mm scans or 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
Digital render: 2010 3D Blu-ray
Original theatrical render: 35mm scans or 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
Digital render: 2010 3D Blu-ray (every version since the 2000 DVD release, including the 2010 2D Blu-ray, has animation errors. The majority of those were corrected for the 3D rerelease.) The 4K Blu-ray is merely upscaled from the 2K render.
Stereo Mix: 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
5.1 AC3 Mix: 1996 Disney Deluxe Edition CAV LaserDisc boxset
The 1997 DTS LaserDisc is a virtually untouched transfer of the theatrical 5.1 mix and should theoretically sound the best being that DTS has higher bitrates than AC3. However, the original pressing of the DTS LaserDisc has an error where the right channel is 8.5db lower than the rest. This is an easy fix in a program like Audacity, and if you can find a corrected transfer, like the ones on various fan projects online, it should be the best sounding version of the film.
The AC3 audio on Side 2 of the CLV LaserDisc has the LFE channel muted. This was left intact for the CAV release.
The 2000 and 2005 UK DVD has an error where one of the shots is brightened up way too high (when the rest of the toys hold onto Slinky as he clings onto Woody during the moving truck rescue). Plus the end credits are interlaced (the PSP UMD video is the only way to get that version of the credits without interlacing).
The 4K Blu-ray has a further remixed Atmos track.
Directors: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Directors: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Directors: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Directors: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Directors: Neil Nightingale & Barry Cook
Fox 3D Blu-ray has both the theatrical cut and the "Cretaceous Cut"
Fox 3D Blu-ray has both the theatrical cut and the "Cretaceous Cut" which removes the dialogue and the framing device, essentially serving as a director's cut of the film. The "Cretaceous Cut" is not available on the 2D Blu-ray or on digital streaming.
Directors: Neil Nightingale & Barry Cook
Fox 3D Blu-ray has both the theatrical cut and the "Cretaceous Cut"
Fox 3D Blu-ray has both the theatrical cut and the "Cretaceous Cut" which removes the dialogue and the framing device, essentially serving as a director's cut of the film. The "Cretaceous Cut" is not available on the 2D Blu-ray or on digital streaming.
Director: Domee Shi
Director: Domee Shi
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
2001 DVD for uncensored cut with rock and extras
Disney Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray only has an Atmos remix with a phasing issue
2001 DVD for uncensored cut with rock and extras
Disney Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray only has an Atmos remix with a phasing issue
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