Primary Colors (1998)
Drama, Comedy • 2h 23m
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Adrian Lester, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, Kathy Bates, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Walker, Caroline Aaron, Tommy Hollis, Rob Reiner, Ben Jones, J.C. Quinn, Allison Janney, Robert Klein, Mykelti Williamson, James Denton, Leontine Guilliard, Monique Ridge-Williams, Ned Eisenberg, Brian Markinson, Geraldo Rivera, Charlie Rose, Larry King, O'Neal Compton, Kevin Cooney, Bonnie Bartlett, Cynthia O'Neal, Chelcie Ross, John Vargas, Tony Shalhoub, Bianca Lawson, Robert Cicchini, William Stanford Davis, Rolando Molina, Ross Benjamin, Stacy Edwards, Kristoffer Ryan Winters, Susan Kussman, Vickilyn Reynolds, Robert Symonds, Gia Carides, Robert Easton, Scott Burkholder, Bill Maher, Lu Elrod, Michael Haley, Henry Woronicz, Daryce Richman, Rosalie Peck, Susan Forristal, James Earl Jones, Clark Heathcliffe Brolly, James DuMont, Amaris Dupree, Noah Michael Levine, Brian Shakti, Tony Winters, Jordan Ancel, Allan Wayne Anderson, Stephen Austin-Skordiles, Greg Bronson, Michael W. Broomer, Marian Caparrós, Sophia Choi, Barbara Conway, Kacee DeMassi, Anthony Michael Frederick, Nick Loeb, Larry Mendte, Msaada Nia, Gary Pike, Kevin Richardson, Rocco Salata, Larry F. Scott, Lorna Scott, Sandy E. Scott, Renee Spei, Lynn Wanlass, Charlie Weirauch, Tim R. Worley
Best English-friendly & video release
The new master is nicely graded, HDR/DV is film-like, there’s no discernible filtering or any other processing. Encoding is excellent See positive review and nicolas's review
Updated 10 months ago
UHD tiers
Compare the discs
About the film
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.
Director: Mike Nichols
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
StudioCanal 4K
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
StudioCanal 4K caps.Criterion Blu-ray better encode than StudioCanal Blu-ray.
Director: Mike Nichols
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: John Woo
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Arrow has a different grade and a better encode than the Shout! Factory, though the difference in either is not major. Imprint release, which leaves Shout! Factory's master and subtitles as is, is encoded by FiM. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24473097&postcount=56
Original mix: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Alternate mix: Scanbox Nordic PAL DVD
Surround remix: HK Video France 4K Blu-ray (5.0)
Original mix: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray (similar to Criterion LaserDisc, but less distorted)
Alternate mix: Scanbox Nordic PAL DVD
Surround remix: HK Video France 4K Blu-ray (5.0)
Arrow used the alternate mix, but with extra filtering and lowered dynamic range. The alternate mix has much better fidelity.
Imprint presumably used the Shout! Factory original mix and left it as is, though no official confirmation.
Director: Michael Cimino
2020 Shout! Factory 4K
2020 Shout! Factory 4K slightly better than StudioCanal in HDR10. Similar in DV
35mm mix: 1991 Universal LaserDisc
70mm mix: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
35mm mix: 1991 Universal LaserDisc marginally better than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is downmix.
70mm mix: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is remix.
Director: Rob Reiner
Arrow 4K Blu-ray releasing December 14 2026
Like many of Capelight's other releases, the 4K Blu-ray is low-passed but still looks good.
30th Anniversary Shout! Factory BD has the original stereo mix
Director: Gary Ross
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray, but a shot was cut from the film
Warner Bros Blu-ray for the uncut version, but it's an older master.
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray, but a shot was cut from the film. See comparison
Warner Bros Blu-ray for the uncut version, but it's an older master.
Director: John Woo
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
US Shout! Factory or UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Disk Kino/WCL China import
review: Disk Kino
Both have better encoding than Disk Kino, some shots are better on Shout! Factory, others on Arrow
Shout Factory still has the best video while Arrow did a questionable regrade. Arrow definitely has less grain in most shots, has a worse encode and is cm v2.9 compared to Shout’s cm v4.0.
Shout! Factory/Arrow 4K Blu-ray has the original mono
Director: Gus Van Sant
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Shout! Factory and Carlotta use the same scan https://slow.pics/c/Wcn5YFlw, the Carlotta has two extra bonus features
Director: Michael Mann
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Robert Altman
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Cinematrographe's HDR grading is overcooked, which is a known VinSyn tendency. Additionally, their booklet mis-credits the encode to FiM.
YMMV, but for some, the included BD encoded by Marcus Johnson—ironically may make for a more pleasing experience.
Director: Roman Polanski
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
UK 4K teased by 88 Films https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=24252379
Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray > Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)
Director: Richard Brooks
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Vincent Sherman
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
Director: Compton Bennett
4K restoration from original technicolor negatives
Edit history
Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.