The Red Spectacles (1987)
紅い眼鏡
Action, Science Fiction, Comedy • 1h 56m
Overview
Summer 1995. With the arrival of the "Age of Cats", the former Kerberos police unit is now disbanded. However one member remains, a stray dog who returns to his old roost after a three-years exile. This wild dog no longer has a master, but now the "Young Lady of Fate" will guide him on his journey.
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Cast: Shigeru Chiba, Machiko Washio, Hideyuki Tanaka, Tessyo Genda, Hideyo Amamoto, Mako Hyodo, Ichiro Nagai, Yasuo Otsuka, Hirô Oikawa, Takashi Kanematsu, Toshio Furukawa, Tomohiro Nishimura, Hidetoshi Nakamura, Takahiro Hirai, Fumihiko Tachiki, Takeyuki Funato, Daiki Nakamura, Zenchû Mitsui, Mitsuhiro Uwabe, Fuyuki Shinada, Kazuo Tauchi, Norio Kurisaki, Fumi Hirano, Takayoshi Ito, Kintaro Sakata, Takeshi Kusao, Naoyuki Yoshinaga
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Umbrella 4K Blu-ray see caps
Umbrella 4K Blu-ray’s 5.1 is a high-fidelity remix sourced from new transfers of original magnetic elements, with inconsequential differences from the original mix.
Its 2.0 mono is a downmix of this 5.1 remix.
Older BDs and LDs have the original mono mix in varying quality, but are all inferior fidelity-wise to the new 5.1 remix. The digital track on the Bandai/Emotion Japan LD BELL-942 is possibly the best of the bunch.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23714400&postcount=159
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Umbrella 4K Blu-ray see caps
Umbrella 4K Blu-ray’s 5.1 is a high-fidelity remix sourced from new transfers of original magnetic elements, with inconsequential differences from the original mix.
Its 2.0 mono is a downmix of this 5.1 remix.
Older BDs and LDs have the original mono mix in varying quality, but are all inferior fidelity-wise to the new 5.1 remix. The digital track on the Bandai/Emotion Japan LD BELL-942 is possibly the best of the bunch.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23714400&postcount=159
Director: Mamoru Oshii
2008 Japan Blu-ray (BCXA-0085): has English subtitles, better than 2015 Maiden Blu-ray which lacks the original mix
2026 Bandai 4K Blu-ray, but completely DNR'd.
For grain, most release starting from 2007 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0003) are ok.
Bandai 4K Blu-ray? vs 2008 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0085): same video but includes Bandai English dub and original mix
Director: Mamoru Oshii
2008 Japan Blu-ray (BCXA-0085): has English subtitles, better than 2015 Maiden Blu-ray which lacks the original mix
2026 Bandai 4K Blu-ray, but completely DNR'd.
For grain, most release starting from 2007 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0003) are ok.
Bandai 4K Blu-ray? vs 2008 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0085): same video but includes Bandai English dub and original mix
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Bandai Japan 4K Blu-ray
Bandai Japan 4K Blu-ray > Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray, more accurate images
Bandai Japan has the correct song over the end credits
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Bandai Japan 4K Blu-ray
Bandai Japan 4K Blu-ray > Lionsgate US 4K Blu-ray, more accurate images
Bandai Japan has the correct song over the end credits
More Action on Blu-ray
Director: Akira Kurosawa
BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR
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.
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.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR
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.
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.
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
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.
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
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.
Director: John McTiernan
Director: John McTiernan
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: Moritz Mohr
Italy Plaion has Dolby Vision, but the metadata is static: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22742198&postcount=92
Director: Moritz Mohr
Italy Plaion has Dolby Vision, but the metadata is static: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22742198&postcount=92
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
Edit History
12/13/2025
Best Video Release
From
2025 Japanese 4K Blu-ray Blu-ray (crowdfund project)
To
2025 Japan 4K Blu-ray (crowdfunded project)
From
2025 Japanese 4K Blu-ray Blu-ray (crowdfund project)
To
2025 Japan 4K Blu-ray (crowdfunded project)
