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Police Story (1985)
Police Story (1985) poster
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4.0

Best English-Friendly Release

Best Video Release

Eureka 4K Blu-ray, good 4K Blu-ray upgrades of Ritrovata's flawed restorations

Format

UHD Blu-ray

UHD Tiers

Solid
Eureka:

good UHD upgrades of Ritrovata's flawed restorations

Criterion Forum

Review

Picture: 8, Audio: 7, Extras: 9

Length

99 mins

Type

Movie

Last Updated

a year ago

Contributors

Best English-Friendly Release
Best Video Release

Eureka 4K Blu-ray, good 4K Blu-ray upgrades of Ritrovata's flawed restorations

Format
UHD Blu-ray
UHD Tiers
Solid
Eureka:

good UHD upgrades of Ritrovata's flawed restorations

Criterion Forum
Review

Picture: 8, Audio: 7, Extras: 9

Length
99 mins
Type
Movie
Last Updated
a year ago
Contributors

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UHD Blu-ray
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88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Project A poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Operation Condor poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray > Germany Nameless Media 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

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88 Films 4K Blu-ray > Germany Nameless Media 4K Blu-ray

Miracles: The Canton Godfather poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Police Story 2 poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Eureka 4K Blu-ray, good 4K Blu-ray upgrades of Ritrovata's flawed restorations

Best English-Friendly:

Eureka 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Eureka 4K Blu-ray, good 4K Blu-ray upgrades of Ritrovata's flawed restorations

Project A: Part II poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

88 Films 4K Blu-ray

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Touch of Evil poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best Video:

MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar

Best Video:

MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar

The General poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Eureka MoC 4K Blu-ray, probably. No comparison with French Factoris Films 4K Blu-ray, but former has Dolby Vision and higher bitrate.

Additional Info:

For standard Blu-ray, the MoC/Cohen are a 4k transfer https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=112722&page=5

Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Eureka MoC 4K Blu-ray, probably. No comparison with French Factoris Films 4K Blu-ray, but former has Dolby Vision and higher bitrate.

Additional Info:

For standard Blu-ray, the MoC/Cohen are a 4k transfer https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=112722&page=5

La Notte poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best Video:

Eureka MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Fox Lorber DVD

Best Video:

Eureka MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Fox Lorber DVD

Johnny Guitar poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC better encode than 2016 Olive Films Signature

Johnny Guitar poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC better encode than 2016 Olive Films Signature

Irma la Douce poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray/2025 Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Best Video:

2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray/2025 Germany Plaion Blu-ray. Eureka Blu-ray has worse encoding.

Best Audio:

1985 Key Video Hi-Fi VHS

Irma la Douce poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray/2025 Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Best Video:

2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray/2025 Germany Plaion Blu-ray. Eureka Blu-ray has worse encoding.

Best Audio:

1985 Key Video Hi-Fi VHS

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC > Kino Lorber (see slowpics for comparison). No information on Potemkine.

Additional Info:

MoC has higher bitrate than Kino Lorber, also the contrast is increased. But there is no noticeable reduction in visible film damage presented between the two offerings.

Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC > Kino Lorber (see slowpics for comparison). No information on Potemkine.

Additional Info:

MoC has higher bitrate than Kino Lorber, also the contrast is increased. But there is no noticeable reduction in visible film damage presented between the two offerings.

Woman in the Moon poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Additional Info:

MoC > Kino Lorber, former has correct aspect ratio (and higher bitrate and looks better/less compressed) while the latter has a squished aspect ratio, see DVDBeaver for comparison

Woman in the Moon poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Additional Info:

MoC > Kino Lorber, former has correct aspect ratio (and higher bitrate and looks better/less compressed) while the latter has a squished aspect ratio, see DVDBeaver for comparison

High Noon poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC 4K Blu-ray, both Kino Lorber and Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray have poor encode. See nicolas review on Eureka Blu-ray. It seems the 4K restoration on that disc and the Olive Films Signature US release served as the basis for the HDR master Kino Lorber commissioned. There are the same traces of grain management in the opticals and the small number of shots from a lower quality source that were spliced in between the Original Camera Negative footage. The SDR grayscale looks great though and after having compared everything, I would’ve preferred a 4K SDR release. The Eureka Blu-ray release wasn’t encoded by FiM and it shows. For those with the Blu-ray and an appreciation for optimal encoding, consider an upgrade.

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray: It seems that Kino Lorber commissioned the HDR/DV grade and some additional cosmetic work on the master. They used to mention "… brand new master by studio X" on their back covers when they were supplied with ready-made materials. This isn’t the case here but maybe someone’s in the know and things are different. The HDR grade is darker than the SDR one and flattened the grayscale quite significantly. I mentioned this in the Sabrina and Sunset Boulevard thread as well but I’m not really a fan of these grades and doubt that they’re enhancing the grayscales to make them appear more film-like. I’ve seen worse and it’s not the end of the world when the film is viewed in a dark environment but don’t expect anything as luminous and sparkly as The Big Heat. Kino Lorber’s encoding can be seen here via ko8ebryant’s caps.

Eureka 4K Blu-ray (BD-100): Same 4K master and same HDR grade as on the Kino Lorber 4K but now expertly encoded. Thanks to no compression anomalies standing in the way, we can now scrutinize the master much better. In comparison with the SDR master, I noticed that there are opticals that got hit with further noise reduction and sometimes egregiously so, such as in the scene with Grace Kelly at the train station at roughly 18 minutes into the film. Parts of that scene were sourced from a lower-quality source. In the HDR master, grain was practically erased altogether whereas in the 4K SDR master on the Eureka Blu-ray, grain is visible in the same shot despite the iffy encoding.

I’d still recommend the Eureka 4K Blu-ray as the Original Camera Negative shots and scenes are frequently gorgeous, beautifully detailed and at most only minimally tampered with. The imperfect HDR grade bugs me but I’ll still use Eureka’s 4K Blu-ray for my future viewings due to the FiM encode.

Eureka 4K UHD image is frequently stunning and far better than the Kino UHD using the same master. (no surprise) However there is frozen grain throughout baked into the Paramount master, some shots are soft due to management (some are inherently soft) and the HDR is questionable in areas. In some areas the old Eureka BD using the same scan in SDR is preferable. As usual, the issues are Paramount's doing and the only way to escape them would be starting from scratch.

Best Audio:

1992 Republic LaserDisc

Additional Info:

Kino and Eureka UHDs have a mix of new and legacy extras. To have every supplement you will need both UHDs and the original Criterion Laserdisc for the exclusive commentary.

High Noon poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC 4K Blu-ray, both Kino Lorber and Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray have poor encode. See nicolas review on Eureka Blu-ray. It seems the 4K restoration on that disc and the Olive Films Signature US release served as the basis for the HDR master Kino Lorber commissioned. There are the same traces of grain management in the opticals and the small number of shots from a lower quality source that were spliced in between the Original Camera Negative footage. The SDR grayscale looks great though and after having compared everything, I would’ve preferred a 4K SDR release. The Eureka Blu-ray release wasn’t encoded by FiM and it shows. For those with the Blu-ray and an appreciation for optimal encoding, consider an upgrade.

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray: It seems that Kino Lorber commissioned the HDR/DV grade and some additional cosmetic work on the master. They used to mention "… brand new master by studio X" on their back covers when they were supplied with ready-made materials. This isn’t the case here but maybe someone’s in the know and things are different. The HDR grade is darker than the SDR one and flattened the grayscale quite significantly. I mentioned this in the Sabrina and Sunset Boulevard thread as well but I’m not really a fan of these grades and doubt that they’re enhancing the grayscales to make them appear more film-like. I’ve seen worse and it’s not the end of the world when the film is viewed in a dark environment but don’t expect anything as luminous and sparkly as The Big Heat. Kino Lorber’s encoding can be seen here via ko8ebryant’s caps.

Eureka 4K Blu-ray (BD-100): Same 4K master and same HDR grade as on the Kino Lorber 4K but now expertly encoded. Thanks to no compression anomalies standing in the way, we can now scrutinize the master much better. In comparison with the SDR master, I noticed that there are opticals that got hit with further noise reduction and sometimes egregiously so, such as in the scene with Grace Kelly at the train station at roughly 18 minutes into the film. Parts of that scene were sourced from a lower-quality source. In the HDR master, grain was practically erased altogether whereas in the 4K SDR master on the Eureka Blu-ray, grain is visible in the same shot despite the iffy encoding.

I’d still recommend the Eureka 4K Blu-ray as the Original Camera Negative shots and scenes are frequently gorgeous, beautifully detailed and at most only minimally tampered with. The imperfect HDR grade bugs me but I’ll still use Eureka’s 4K Blu-ray for my future viewings due to the FiM encode.

Eureka 4K UHD image is frequently stunning and far better than the Kino UHD using the same master. (no surprise) However there is frozen grain throughout baked into the Paramount master, some shots are soft due to management (some are inherently soft) and the HDR is questionable in areas. In some areas the old Eureka BD using the same scan in SDR is preferable. As usual, the issues are Paramount's doing and the only way to escape them would be starting from scratch.

Best Audio:

1992 Republic LaserDisc

Additional Info:

Kino and Eureka UHDs have a mix of new and legacy extras. To have every supplement you will need both UHDs and the original Criterion Laserdisc for the exclusive commentary.

Nosferatu poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MoC and BFI differing restorations and scores

Best Video:

2006 Restoration: Eureka Blu-ray
1995 photochemical restoration: BFI Blu-ray that some may prefer

Best Audio:

Eureka with Murnau institute restoration featuring score based on original score, BFI uses Photoplay restoration with James Bernard score

Additional Info:

Both Eureka and BFI BDs are worthy of owning. Each restoration has unique positives and extras. The James Bernard score on the BFI is outstanding and the image tinting is different to how the Murnau institute official restoration was done. The Eureka MOC BD is stuffed with extras and remains one of the best made BDs of all time. Whatever you do: AVOID THE KINO BD!!! It uses the same Murnau institute restoration but drops frames for the whole feature-thus it loses a significant portion of the film! This was never acknowledged or addressed. The Kino BD remains one of the worst BDs of all time for this reason.

Nosferatu poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MoC and BFI differing restorations and scores

Best Video:

2006 Restoration: Eureka Blu-ray
1995 photochemical restoration: BFI Blu-ray that some may prefer

Best Audio:

Eureka with Murnau institute restoration featuring score based on original score, BFI uses Photoplay restoration with James Bernard score

Additional Info:

Both Eureka and BFI BDs are worthy of owning. Each restoration has unique positives and extras. The James Bernard score on the BFI is outstanding and the image tinting is different to how the Murnau institute official restoration was done. The Eureka MOC BD is stuffed with extras and remains one of the best made BDs of all time. Whatever you do: AVOID THE KINO BD!!! It uses the same Murnau institute restoration but drops frames for the whole feature-thus it loses a significant portion of the film! This was never acknowledged or addressed. The Kino BD remains one of the worst BDs of all time for this reason.

The Crucified Lovers poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan Kadokawa probably better encode than Criterion?

Best Audio:

Eureka MoC DVD

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan Kadokawa probably better encode than Criterion?

Best Audio:

Eureka MoC DVD

More Action on Blu-ray

The Hidden Fortress poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR

Best Audio:

Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray

BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.

Additional Info:

The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.

Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.

Best English-Friendly:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR

Best Audio:

Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray

BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.

Additional Info:

The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.

Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.

Mortal Kombat poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Arrow includes the original theatrical sound mix in all its glory. All previous releases other than the 1996 AC-3 LaserDisc were tamed relative to the original theatrical DTS track.

The disc is authored by Duplitech, but doesn't exhibit any compression issues, though the image is pretty soft, that's likely just down to the stock used.

Old New Line Video LaserDiscs include an exclusive commentary track.

Best English-Friendly:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Arrow includes the original theatrical sound mix in all its glory. All previous releases other than the 1996 AC-3 LaserDisc were tamed relative to the original theatrical DTS track.

The disc is authored by Duplitech, but doesn't exhibit any compression issues, though the image is pretty soft, that's likely just down to the stock used.

Old New Line Video LaserDiscs include an exclusive commentary track.

Die Hard poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

70mm Six-track mix: THX AC3 or DTS LaserDisc

Die Hard poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

70mm Six-track mix: THX AC3 or DTS LaserDisc

Windtalkers poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MVD Blu-ray (2018 version with both cuts)

Best Video:

MVD Blu-ray (2018 version with both cuts)

Best Audio:

Director's Cut: Scandinavia/UK MGM DVD DTS 5.1

Additional Info:

Germany Century³ Cinedition - Director's Cut Blu-ray has exclusive extras

Windtalkers poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MVD Blu-ray (2018 version with both cuts)

Best Video:

MVD Blu-ray (2018 version with both cuts)

Best Audio:

Director's Cut: Scandinavia/UK MGM DVD DTS 5.1

Additional Info:

Germany Century³ Cinedition - Director's Cut Blu-ray has exclusive extras

Red Cliff II poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Best Video:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Blu-ray has extras not on the US release

Red Cliff II poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Best Video:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Blu-ray has extras not on the US release

Red Cliff poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Best Video:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Blu-ray has extras not on the US release

Red Cliff poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Best Video:

International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray

Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Blu-ray has extras not on the US release

Boy Kills World poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Italy Plaion has Dolby Vision, but the metadata is static: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22742198&postcount=92

Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Italy Plaion has Dolby Vision, but the metadata is static: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22742198&postcount=92

Violent Night poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Silent Night poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Silent Night poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

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Police Story (1985) backdrop

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