The Phoenician Scheme (2025)
Adventure, Comedy • 1h 42m
Overview
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Alex Jennings, Charlotte Gainsbourg, F. Murray Abraham, Steve Park, Scott Shepherd, Donald Sumpter, Jason Watkins, Stéphane Bak, Antonia Desplat, Tonio Arango, Aysha Joy Samuel, Mohamed Chahrour, Imke Büchel, Anna Bardorf, Imad Mardnli, Jaime Krsto Ferkic, Sabine Hollweck, Volker Michalowski, Mike Maggart, Truman Hanks, Carmen-Maja Antoni, Mattia Moreno Leonidas, Alexandra Wysoczanska, Shabnam Kohestani, Thuli Wolf, Jenny Behnke, Luisa Steimann, Yekta Arman, Giuseppe O'Bruadair, Sanjay Hari, Alexander Kühne, Kim Young-sam, Andreas Krafft, Faysal Omer, Werner Ort, Alexander Yassin, Hans Carl von Werthern, Harry Wiggins, Simon Weisse, Matthew Jordan, Sönke Möhring, Max Mauff, Philipp Droste, Merlin Sandmeyer, Edward Hyland, Kit Rakusen, Milo James, Ogden Dawson, Hector Bateman-Harden, Benjamin Lake, Gunes Taner, Gabriel Ryan, Momo Ramadan, Jonathan Wirtz, Gabriele Pacchia, Mohamad Younes, Daniel Steiner, Benoît Herlin, Tobias Schüler, Simon Baptiste Mayer, Michel Hüttner, Till Sennhenn, Roman Berger, Antonia Schröter, Fuasi Abdul Khaliq, Christian Grabandt, Robert Gutowski, Kelvin Sholar, Erik Unsworth, Eric Vaughan, Anna Henschel, Arsal Jalib, Ashkan Olfati, Emile Buchheister, Nicolas Avinée, Mohamed Belhadjine, Sébastien Fouassier, Eliel Ford, Martin Scali, Aya Nour Ayache, Maksude Cerdik, Sogol Faghani, Michael Maggart, Julian-Andres Arango, Anton Arnold, Carlo Milillo, Bernd Rautenberg, Freya Feyrouz, Karl Markovics, Abdul Aziz Mardini, Adrian Lohnert, Edgars Gluhovs, Eduardo Miranda, Jakob Jaromir Gerhardt, Johannes Löhr, Samuel Gehrke Rios, Johannes Krisch
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps and Chris's review
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps and Chris's review
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray see Chris's review
It's a conservative regrade over previous Blu-ray https://slow.pics/c/CyqhRf9W
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray see Chris's review
It's a conservative regrade over previous Blu-ray https://slow.pics/c/CyqhRf9W
Criterion 4K Blu-ray was an upgrade over previous Blu-ray, removed the orientalist yellow tint, but not much besides that https://slow.pics/c/4b9tem5K
Criterion 4K Blu-ray was an upgrade over previous Blu-ray, removed the orientalist yellow tint, but not much besides that https://slow.pics/c/4b9tem5K
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, 2K DI Upscale, see caps. SDR grade in HDR container
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, 2K DI Upscale, see caps. SDR grade in HDR container
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, 2K DI Upscale, see caps
4K Blu-ray is slightly cropped on all sides compared to Blu-ray, but "that appears to be a conscious choice as the compositions don’t seem to suffer. They also slightly expanded the black bars in order to hide the ringing on the borders."
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray, surround levels are 3 dB too high, but the Fox Blu-ray has channel leakage
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, 2K DI Upscale, see caps
4K Blu-ray is slightly cropped on all sides compared to Blu-ray, but "that appears to be a conscious choice as the compositions don’t seem to suffer. They also slightly expanded the black bars in order to hide the ringing on the borders."
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray, surround levels are 3 dB too high, but the Fox Blu-ray has channel leakage
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is best, but has surrounds 3 dB too loud
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is best, but has surrounds 3 dB too loud
Director: Wes Anderson
Director: Wes Anderson
Director: Wes Anderson
Director: Wes Anderson
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is 2K DI upscale but better encoded than the previous Blu-ray see caps
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is 2K DI upscale but better encoded than the previous Blu-ray see caps
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, 2K DI upscale, see Chris's review
Director: Wes Anderson
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, 2K DI upscale, see Chris's review
Director: Vincent Ward
Director: Vincent Ward
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Director: Ridley Scott
UK Universal 4K Blu-ray is missing Kino Lorber extras
Director: Ridley Scott
UK Universal 4K Blu-ray is missing Kino Lorber extras
Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Director: Brian De Palma
Director: Brian De Palma
Director: John Waters
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has poor encoding see caps but still a huge improvement over the 2014 Universal Blu-ray
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray Both the 2.0 and 5.1 tracks are improvements over the 2014 Universal Blu-ray
Theatrical cut is on the 4K disc, but the restored Director's Cut is only on the Blu-Ray disc. Director's Cut utilizes the same 4K transfer as the theatrical cut for 86 minutes, but the 6 minutes of restored footage could only be salvaged from a standard definition source and are thus needed to be upscaled.
Director: John Waters
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has poor encoding see caps but still a huge improvement over the 2014 Universal Blu-ray
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray Both the 2.0 and 5.1 tracks are improvements over the 2014 Universal Blu-ray
Theatrical cut is on the 4K disc, but the restored Director's Cut is only on the Blu-Ray disc. Director's Cut utilizes the same 4K transfer as the theatrical cut for 86 minutes, but the 6 minutes of restored footage could only be salvaged from a standard definition source and are thus needed to be upscaled.
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Director: Wesley Ruggles
More Adventure 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.
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray has better detail and grain, 2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray from the Hayao Miyazaki box set for MGVC with added bit-depth for supported players
2011/2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray for original 6.1 audio mix, Cinema DTS for the English dub
2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray has better detail and grain, 2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray from the Hayao Miyazaki box set for MGVC with added bit-depth for supported players
2011/2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray for original 6.1 audio mix, Cinema DTS for the English dub
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: James Cameron
Disney 4K Blu-ray's artificial smoothening of facial textures making actors look unnatural, grain reduction and other changes to make the film look less like a product of its time
Old WEB-DL or HDTV rip for non AI version
Director: James Cameron
Disney 4K Blu-ray's artificial smoothening of facial textures making actors look unnatural, grain reduction and other changes to make the film look less like a product of its time
Old WEB-DL or HDTV rip for non AI version
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
caps #1 (with FEL), caps #2
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
The compression is underwhelming on all discs, but despite trading blows in various frames, Lionsgate's re-released 4K disc wins.
The Lionsgate 4K re-release includes original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix, transferred from a LaserDisc, with missing cues at side changeover points corrected, and consistent volume throughout, as well as two remixed variants in 5.1 and 7.1 Atmos. The 5.1 is incorrectly labeled as original on the menu.
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
caps #1 (with FEL), caps #2
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
The compression is underwhelming on all discs, but despite trading blows in various frames, Lionsgate's re-released 4K disc wins.
The Lionsgate 4K re-release includes original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix, transferred from a LaserDisc, with missing cues at side changeover points corrected, and consistent volume throughout, as well as two remixed variants in 5.1 and 7.1 Atmos. The 5.1 is incorrectly labeled as original on the menu.
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Director: John Ford
Director: John Ford
Edit History
12/25/2025
Best Video Release
From
Universal 4K Blu-ray caps. The Blu-ray was clearly low-pass filtered. Luckily, the 4K looks excellent.
To
Universal 4K Blu-ray caps. The Blu-ray was clearly low-pass filtered. Luckily, the 4K looks excellent.
From
Universal 4K Blu-ray caps. The Blu-ray was clearly low-pass filtered. Luckily, the 4K looks excellent.
To
Universal 4K Blu-ray caps. The Blu-ray was clearly low-pass filtered. Luckily, the 4K looks excellent.
7/28/2025
