Starman (1984)
Science Fiction, Romance, Drama • 1h 55m
Director: John Carpenter
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Phalen, John Walter Davis, Ted White, Dirk Blocker, M.C. Gainey, Sean Stanek, George Buck Flower, Russ Benning, Ralph Cosham, David Wells, Anthony Grumbach, James Deeth, Carol Rosenthal, Mickey Jones, Lu Leonard, Charlie Hughes, Byron Walls, Betty Bunch, Victor McLemore, Steven Brennan, Pat Lee, Judith Kim, Robert Stein, Kenny Call, Jeff Ramsey, Jerry Gatlin, David Daniell, Randy Tutton, John Carpenter, Mark Jensen, Ronald L. Colby
Sony Columbia Classics Vol 4 4K Blu-ray
Best English-friendly & video release · updated 5 months ago
Sony Columbia Classics Vol 4 4K Blu-ray (review)
UHD tiers
Overview
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
Director: John Carpenter
Sony 4K Blu-ray or Carlotta 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode)
Sony 4K Blu-ray and France Carlotta 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode) are similar
Director: John Carpenter
Sources: blog.sporv.com (opens in a new tab)
1997? Signature Collection LD
Good: 2017 Arrow and 2016 Shout! Factory Blu-ray have the original audio options.
the only track on Universal 4K, which is in DTS:X, has a mixing error of around 6dB too low on side channels, otherwise very similar to other 5.1 mixes.
Director: John Carpenter
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray possibly teased?
Director: John Carpenter
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Fabulous Films 4K Blu-ray, some caps
Italy Koch Media Blu-ray is not stretched compared to US Shout! Factory and UK Arrow Blu-rays
As for the color grade, unsure whether the Italy or US/UK Blu-ray is more accurate to the theatrical colors.
Shout! Factory Blu-ray has the most extras with a lossless isolated score
> Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray > StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray (Shout! Factory has Dolby Vision while Eagle Pictures doesn't)
2.0: Shout! Factory
> StudioCanal. Italy Eagle Pictures doesn't have it.
Shout! Factory Blu-ray has slightly less rolloff of the higher frequencies
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Shout! Factory releasing 4k soon https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=32091
Director: John Carpenter
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is a strong upgrade in PQ compared to a poor old Blu-ray
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray sound was improved compared to the old mixes.
Director: John Carpenter
Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Director: Luc Besson
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · fanrestore.com (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
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
2007 Sony Blu-ray or LaserDisc AC3? (TBC) https://fanrestore.com/thread-7303.html
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: Frank Capra
Director: Michael Arias
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
GKIDS 4K Blu-ray is a sharpened upscale. Caps
GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has a true lossless English dub and correct volume levels for the Japanese audio
Director: David Fincher
4K Blu-ray has exclusive “unrated” audio with a small change to one line under the request of David Fincher (removed the poor dub over of frickin’ in the line “Screw it, let’s gut the f**kin’ nerd.”).
Director: Martin Scorsese
2024 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook
Sources: blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)
2024 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook fixes duplicate shot seen on the previous Columbia Classics release and has better encoding
Original mono mix: 1990 Criterion LaserDisc/1991 Columbia LaserDisc
The 4K Blu-ray mono is only minimally worse (see blah-ray).
5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Director: Michael Apted
Video format: HD Streaming
Director: Richard Linklater
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
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
More Science Fiction on Blu-ray
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering Comparison between the Criterion and WB.
5.1: WB 4K Blu-ray, a remix but has higher fidelity
Mono: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set)
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering; WB 4K early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed. Comparison between Criterion and WB.
6-Track 70mm mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set), 1997 MGM LaserDisc, 1998 MGM DVD
35mm Mono Mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Matrixed Stereo Remix: MGM Japan LaserDisc (1985) [G158F5509]
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Director: Steve De Jarnatt
2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray
UK Transmission 4K Blu-ray in January 2027
Either the 2015 Kino Lorber Blu-ray or the Arrow Blu-ray
The 2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray is botched.
Director: James Gunn
Commentary is only on Streaming
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
Bandai 4K Blu-ray? vs 2008 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0085): same video but includes Bandai English dub and original mix
2026 Bandai 4K Blu-ray
Director: James Cameron
Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)
Fox Blu-ray for original cuts without the extra scene added in the re-release and AI upscaling
Newer Blu-ray/4K has the extra scene, but is poor and has excessive AI upscaling
An additional scene was added to the ending of the movie in the 2022 re-release: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=493908
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
For 3D: 2014 Warner Bros 2D+3D Blu-ray
For ATMOS & music-less version: 2024 Blu-ray/2013 Diamond Luxe Edition Blu-ray
For 5.1: 2014 Warner Bros 2D+3D Blu-ray
This film received multiple blu-ray versions since its initial release. Be sure on whether the Dolby Atmos track, newer extras or 3D image is preferred. The 2024 release is a reprint of the Diamond Luxe.
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