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Breakdown (1997)
Breakdown (1997) poster

Breakdown (1997)

Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Action, Drama • 1h 33m

Director: Jonathan Mostow

Cast: Kurt Russell, J. T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M.C. Gainey, Jack Noseworthy, Rex Linn, Ritch Brinkley, Moira Sinise, Kim Robillard, Thomas Kopache, Jack McGee, Vincent Berry, Helen Duffy, Ancel Cook, Gene Hartline, Steve Waddington, Rick Sanders, Alitzah, Rick Zieff

Best English-friendly & video release

Video notes:

Turbine 4K Blu-ray has the better encode. Paramount 4K Blu-ray is disappointing review. But both have DNR?

Updated 5 months ago


UHD tiers

Solid
Turbine:

German Import


About the film

On their cross-country drive, a married couple, Jeff and Amy Taylor, experience car trouble after their SUV breaks down. Stranded in the New Mexico desert, the two catch a break when a passing truck driver offers Amy a ride to a nearby café to call for help. Meanwhile, Jeff is able to fix the car and make his way to the café, but Amy isn't there. He tracks down the trucker -- who tells the police he's never seen Jeff or his wife before. Jeff then begins a desperate, frenzied search for Amy.

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Is this Perfect?

difference between 5.1 tracks seems negligible

Part of Is this Perfect?

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Director: Jean Vigo

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray with much better encoding than the Gaumont Blu-ray with the same 4K restoration see caps

Criterion Blu-ray uses an older restoration

Director: Robert Bresson

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Directors: Alberto Cavalcanti & Charles Crichton & Basil Dearden & Robert Hamer

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Director: Otakar Vávra

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Deaf Crocodile 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Deaf Crocodile 4K Blu-ray see nic review

Best Audio:

Restored: Deaf Crocodile 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored: Czech PAL DVD

Audio Notes:

Preferences will vary, the restored track sounds good, but not necessarily faithful to the original elements.

Director: Basil Dearden

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Indicator 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

(Indicator 4K Blu-ray, based on review)

Director: Robert Rossen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: Anthony Mann

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray, Universal 2008 DVD

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2008 Universal DVD mono

Audio Notes:

The mono on the Criterion is severely filtered resulting in it sounding incredibly muffled. It is nearly as filtered as the 2003 original Universal DVD which had extreme filtering and sounds horribly thin. The 2008 DVD remaster and original Laserdisc analog mastering are mostly left alone. The original LD master is from a worn element but otherwise sounds very natural. The 2008 DVD is the highest quality version we have without the heavy filtering and the defects of the LD master. It isn't perfect but easily the best of the main four sources by a dramatic margin. 

Additional Info:

The existing 4K SDR restoration looks excellent, but the Criterion extras are limited and disappointing. The classic Stewart interview commentary from the LD is ported over but given a new mastering. Compared to past releases it has been very slightly noise reduced.

Directors: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

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

Imprint 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Imprint AU 4K is world UHD debut and encoded by FiM. Part of the The Cinema Of Powell & Pressburger - Collection Two set.

Director: Charles Crichton

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Director: Basil Dearden

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Indicator 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Excellent 4K master and encode, except for opticals grain is very fine, grading is beautifully silvery and luminous, nice HDR re-grade by Fidelity in Motion

More from Jonathan Mostow

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Director: Jonathan Mostow

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony International Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Sony International Blu-ray > WB US Blu-ray (better encoding on the Sony disc, missing a commentary from the WB)

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

Additional Info:

Warner Bros Blu-ray has an exclusive commentary

Director: Jonathan Mostow

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal 4K Blu-ray or StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray?

Video Notes:

Universal has burnt-in English subs for Germany dialogue, slightly different HDR and color grading to the StudioCanal.

More from Turbine

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Director: Peter Jackson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow US/UK 4K Blu-ray or Turbine Germany 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Both will look identical in motion but the Turbine looks marginally better due to a higher bitrate allocation by each cut being given its own disc, whereas Arrow had FiM seamlessly branch the two onto one. However, Arrow has both cuts in Open Matte (on Blu-Ray) and corrected the opening Universal logo's aspect ratio. https://slow.pics/c/McvVcYDG

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

Directors: Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic

Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Turbine Germany 3D Blu-ray

Best Audio:

-

Director: Zhang Yimou

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray has a superior MPEG-4 AVC encode over the US Sony Blu-ray's MPEG-2 or France/Australia Universal Blu-ray's VC-1. Open matte version also included

Best Audio:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray has a Dolby Atmos remix and the original audio in DTS 5.1.

Korea Blu-ray for lossless original 5.1 audio mix.

Additional Info:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray is completely uncut and uncensored, having none of Sony US's PG-13 edits or Pathé UK's BBFC horse trip cuts.

Director: Zhang Yimou

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray has no DNR or sharpening from past releases

Best Audio:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray for the Dolby Atmos remix on the director's cut and the original 5.1 mix on the theatrical cut

Korea Nova Media Blu-ray for the original 6.1 mix on the director's cut

Additional Info:

Germany Turbine Mediabook Blu-ray has the Hong Kong English subtitles instead of the censored Miramax subtitles.

Miramax Blu-ray has lossy Mandarin audio and does not have the director's cut.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Turbine Germany Blu-ray, WB DVD(?)

Director: Tony Scott

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Turbine Blu-ray or Australia Imprint Blu-ray?

Director: Jeff Rowe

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2D version: Paramount 4K Blu-ray (OOP Steelbook Edition for included Blu-ray)

3D version: Turbine Germany 3D Blu-ray

Best Audio:

-

Director: Rob Cohen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Turbine 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Germany Turbine 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

comparison between the Turbine and Kino grades. The former is director-supervised.

Best Audio:

(The Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray DTS HD5.1 seems to have stronger bass, but it's yet unclear which one has the original 5.1) Also see thread.

Additional Info:

The Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray was recalled shortly after inital releases for unknown reasons.

Director: David Twohy

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Turbine 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 is included on the Arrow 4K Blu-ray and the Old Universal Blu-ray

Director: Brandon Cronenberg

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Turbine Germany 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Turbine Germany 4K Blu-ray > Decal US 4K Blu-ray (Dolby Vision on the Germany 4K Blu-ray)

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· last reviewed 5 months ago

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