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Thesis (1996)
Thesis (1996) poster
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3.9

Thesis (1996)

Tesis

Horror, Thriller • 2h 5m

Overview

While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured to death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student at her college...

Best Video Release

Format

UHD Blu-ray

UHD Tiers

Disappointing
Umbrella:

(Australian import) review

Length

125 mins

Type

Movie

Last Updated

2 years ago

Contributors

Best Video Release
Format
UHD Blu-ray
UHD Tiers
Disappointing
Umbrella:

(Australian import) review

Length
125 mins
Type
Movie
Last Updated
2 years ago
Contributors

More from Alejandro Amenábar

See more →
The Others poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal or Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

StudioCanal/Criterion 4K Blu-ray (StudioCanal has 5.1 and is slightly sharper and not low-pass filtered, both have differing extras) (capsule review)

Best Audio:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1 audio

Additional Info:

both 4K Blu-rays have differing extras

Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal or Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

StudioCanal/Criterion 4K Blu-ray (StudioCanal has 5.1 and is slightly sharper and not low-pass filtered, both have differing extras) (capsule review)

Best Audio:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1 audio

Additional Info:

both 4K Blu-rays have differing extras

More from Umbrella

See more →
Caché poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2025 Curzon UK Blu-ray (Haneke boxset)

Best Video:

2025 Curzon UK Blu-ray or 2013 TF1 FR Blu-ray (caps)

Curzon has a slightly better encode and preserves all the noise of the digital source, but ends up obscuring actual detail in some shots. Both are quite good, only caveat being that the TF1 disc is slightly cropped and has a black bar on top.

Best Audio:

2025 Curzon UK Blu-ray

2008 Artificial Eye UK and 2025 Umbrella AU discs have incorrect pitch. TF1 FR disc is missing 7 minutes of audio in the left channel. See spectrograms.

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

2025 Curzon UK Blu-ray (Haneke boxset)

Best Video:

2025 Curzon UK Blu-ray or 2013 TF1 FR Blu-ray (caps)

Curzon has a slightly better encode and preserves all the noise of the digital source, but ends up obscuring actual detail in some shots. Both are quite good, only caveat being that the TF1 disc is slightly cropped and has a black bar on top.

Best Audio:

2025 Curzon UK Blu-ray

2008 Artificial Eye UK and 2025 Umbrella AU discs have incorrect pitch. TF1 FR disc is missing 7 minutes of audio in the left channel. See spectrograms.

Angel's Egg poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray see caps

Best Audio:

4K restoration includes a high-fidelity remix sourced from new transfers of original magnetic elements, with inconsequential content differences from the original mono mix. Umbrella 4K Blu-ray only includes a 5.1 mixdown of the remix, other discs have it in Dolby Atmos.

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray's 2.0 track is a stereo downmix. Older BDs and LDs have the original mono mix in varying quality, but are all inferior in fidelity to the new 5.1 remix. The digital track on the Bandai/Emotion Japan LaserDisc BELL-942 is the best of the bunch.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23714400&postcount=159

Angel's Egg poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray see caps

Best Audio:

4K restoration includes a high-fidelity remix sourced from new transfers of original magnetic elements, with inconsequential content differences from the original mono mix. Umbrella 4K Blu-ray only includes a 5.1 mixdown of the remix, other discs have it in Dolby Atmos.

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray's 2.0 track is a stereo downmix. Older BDs and LDs have the original mono mix in varying quality, but are all inferior in fidelity to the new 5.1 remix. The digital track on the Bandai/Emotion Japan LaserDisc BELL-942 is the best of the bunch.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23714400&postcount=159

Memento poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Spain Selecta Vision 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Collector's edition of a new restoration from Umbrella

Best Video:

Spain Selecta Vision 4K Blu-ray > other releases and old 2006 release - impressions of Selecta Vision release

Memento poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Spain Selecta Vision 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Collector's edition of a new restoration from Umbrella

Best Video:

Spain Selecta Vision 4K Blu-ray > other releases and old 2006 release - impressions of Selecta Vision release

Wake in Fright poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella/Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Umbrella/Arrow 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode but the mastering shows signs of DNR albeit only momentarily); all other BDs pretty bad.

Best Audio:

Umbrella/Arrow 4K Blu-ray, but whether in the correct speed/pitch is TBC.

Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella/Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Umbrella/Arrow 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode but the mastering shows signs of DNR albeit only momentarily); all other BDs pretty bad.

Best Audio:

Umbrella/Arrow 4K Blu-ray, but whether in the correct speed/pitch is TBC.

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

Umbrella Blu-ray

Best Video:

Australia Umbrella Blu-ray or French Intersections Blu-ray no comparison available

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

Umbrella Blu-ray

Best Video:

Australia Umbrella Blu-ray or French Intersections Blu-ray no comparison available

Day of the Dead poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Mono: 35mm scan, old Shout! Factory and Australia Umbrella Blu-ray sounds better than the rest of the discs, but has noise reduction

Stereo: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray has a transfer of the 1986 Japan LaserDisc Stereo

Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Mono: 35mm scan, old Shout! Factory and Australia Umbrella Blu-ray sounds better than the rest of the discs, but has noise reduction

Stereo: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray has a transfer of the 1986 Japan LaserDisc Stereo

Dust Devil poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray 

The US/Theatrical Cut on the Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled and has DNR, along with Kino Lorber's usual poor compression.

Director's Cut uses a proper transfer but suffers from terrible compression, even by Kino standards.

The Umbrella with its FiM encode looks blurrier due to a slight low-pass filter, but is still far better than Kino.

Best Audio:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray and US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are the same.

The 5.1 track is a direct port of the lossy NTSC DVD track.

Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray 

The US/Theatrical Cut on the Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled and has DNR, along with Kino Lorber's usual poor compression.

Director's Cut uses a proper transfer but suffers from terrible compression, even by Kino standards.

The Umbrella with its FiM encode looks blurrier due to a slight low-pass filter, but is still far better than Kino.

Best Audio:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray and US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are the same.

The 5.1 track is a direct port of the lossy NTSC DVD track.

Infernal Affairs III poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Infernal Affairs poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

The master is heavily DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

The master is heavily DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Infernal Affairs II poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

The master is heavily DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

The master is heavily DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

More Horror on Blu-ray

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

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has terrible compression, but still beats out the old disc which was sourced from a mediocre old scan with edge enhancement, and which has compression issues of its own.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 mix: 1997 Pioneer LaserDisc or 1997 Live Entertainment NTSC DVD
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

The film originally premiered with two mixes, a 5.1 for upgraded theaters, and a distinct matrixed Dolby Stereo mix for older venues. The original 5.1 mix can only be found on the earliest LD/DVD releases, as all later releases replace it with a mediocre 7.1 mix with reduced dynamic range.

The Atmos mix is based off of the previous 7.1 remix, but with futher alterations as per director's wishes. One scene intentionally drops out into silence, see this post for details.

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

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has terrible compression, but still beats out the old disc which was sourced from a mediocre old scan with edge enhancement, and which has compression issues of its own.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 mix: 1997 Pioneer LaserDisc or 1997 Live Entertainment NTSC DVD
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

The film originally premiered with two mixes, a 5.1 for upgraded theaters, and a distinct matrixed Dolby Stereo mix for older venues. The original 5.1 mix can only be found on the earliest LD/DVD releases, as all later releases replace it with a mediocre 7.1 mix with reduced dynamic range.

The Atmos mix is based off of the previous 7.1 remix, but with futher alterations as per director's wishes. One scene intentionally drops out into silence, see this post for details.

The 'Burbs poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

MCA 1989 LaserDisc or Universal 1999 NTSC DVD

The 'Burbs poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

MCA 1989 LaserDisc or Universal 1999 NTSC DVD

Leprechaun poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Best Video:

Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Ultra Stereo mix: Lionsgate 2014 US Blu-ray
5.1 remix: Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray

Both 4K discs include a mono downmix instead of a proper stereo.

Additional Info:

Original Lionsgate disc was encoded in incorrect colorspace and used a lossy->lossless transcode for the 5.1 mix.

Leprechaun poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Best Video:

Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Ultra Stereo mix: Lionsgate 2014 US Blu-ray
5.1 remix: Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray

Both 4K discs include a mono downmix instead of a proper stereo.

Additional Info:

Original Lionsgate disc was encoded in incorrect colorspace and used a lossy->lossless transcode for the 5.1 mix.

Shin Godzilla poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray > France 4K Blu-ray > Japan Toho 4K Blu-raycaps

US disc includes original Japanese intertitles, as well as stylized English translations for all of them, both burned-in.

Best Audio:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has no limiting, unlike other releases.

Additional Info:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has a new English dub, different from the old Funimation US Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray > France 4K Blu-ray > Japan Toho 4K Blu-raycaps

US disc includes original Japanese intertitles, as well as stylized English translations for all of them, both burned-in.

Best Audio:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has no limiting, unlike other releases.

Additional Info:

US Toho/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has a new English dub, different from the old Funimation US Blu-ray

The Descent poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best Video:

UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs Germany Vuelta 4K Blu-ray, different encode.

Best Audio:

The new 7.1 mix is said to be spectacular

The Descent poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best Video:

UK StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs Germany Vuelta 4K Blu-ray, different encode.

Best Audio:

The new 7.1 mix is said to be spectacular

Visitor Q poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Japan / Australia New Wave Video Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Radiance Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release

Best Video:

Japan / Australia New Wave Video Blu-ray

Visitor Q poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Japan / Australia New Wave Video Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Radiance Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release

Best Video:

Japan / Australia New Wave Video Blu-ray

The Old Dark House poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC 4K Blu-ray. Here are some screenshots that include the Cohen Blu-ray and the poor Germany 4K with terrible fake HDR. David’s DV grade is way more subtle and doesn’t blow out the highlights

Best English-Friendly:

MoC 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC 4K Blu-ray. Here are some screenshots that include the Cohen Blu-ray and the poor Germany 4K with terrible fake HDR. David’s DV grade is way more subtle and doesn’t blow out the highlights

Body Snatchers poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray in July

Best English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray in July

The Stendhal Syndrome poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Plaion GER 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Plaion GER 4K Blu-ray caps

Best Audio:

Plaion GER 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

German release from Plaion has better grading and encode than the US Vinegar Syndrome releases.

Both UHDs come with Italian and English audio, as well as English subtitles.

Best English-Friendly:

Plaion GER 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Plaion GER 4K Blu-ray caps

Best Audio:

Plaion GER 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

German release from Plaion has better grading and encode than the US Vinegar Syndrome releases.

Both UHDs come with Italian and English audio, as well as English subtitles.

The Evil Dead poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook

Unaltered version: 2007 Ultimate Edition DVD? Or 35mm scan

Upcoming Release:

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook, correct audio pitch and more bonus features

Confirmed to be a port of Sony's international 4K, encode different to Lionsgate's. Audio in the correct pitch and a cross-selection of archive extras where the Lionsgate had only one audio commentary. High Def reviewer thought the 2.0 was a mixdown of the 5.1 track.

Unaltered version: 2007 Ultimate Edition DVD? Or 35mm scan

Best Audio:

LaserDisc has the original Mono

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray audio is in the wrong pitch while the Sony release is in the right pitch

Additional Info:

All releases after 2010 have digital alterations to some scenes. https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=999332

The Evil Dead poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook

Unaltered version: 2007 Ultimate Edition DVD? Or 35mm scan

Upcoming Release:

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook, correct audio pitch and more bonus features

Confirmed to be a port of Sony's international 4K, encode different to Lionsgate's. Audio in the correct pitch and a cross-selection of archive extras where the Lionsgate had only one audio commentary. High Def reviewer thought the 2.0 was a mixdown of the 5.1 track.

Unaltered version: 2007 Ultimate Edition DVD? Or 35mm scan

Best Audio:

LaserDisc has the original Mono

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray audio is in the wrong pitch while the Sony release is in the right pitch

Additional Info:

All releases after 2010 have digital alterations to some scenes. https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=999332

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Thesis (1996) backdrop

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