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The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) poster

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Drama • 2h 9m

Director: John Ford

Cast: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Dorris Bowdon, Russell Simpson, O.Z. Whitehead, John Qualen, Eddie Quillan, Zeffie Tilbury, Frank Sully, Frank Darien, Darryl Hickman, Shirley Mills, Roger Imhof, Grant Mitchell, Charles D. Brown, John Arledge, Ward Bond, Harry Tyler, William Pawley, Charles Tannen, Selmer Jackson, Charles Middleton, Eddy Waller, Paul Guilfoyle, Cliff Clark, Joe Sawyer, Frank Faylen, Adrian Morris, Hollis Jewell, Robert Homans, Irving Bacon, Kitty McHugh, Gino Corrado, Pat Flaherty, Francis Ford, Herbert Heywood, Mae Marsh, Dan White, Wally Albright, Erville Alderson, Robert J. Anderson, Arthur Aylesworth, Trevor Bardette, Joe Bordeaux, George P. Breakston, Buster Brodie, Delmar Costello, W.H. Davis, Emily Gerdes, Barney Gilmore, Edna Hall, Charles Herzinger, Harry Holden, David Kirkland, Lillian Lawrence, Scotty Mattraw, Frank Newburg, Walter Perry, Rose Plumer, Al Stewart, Charles Thurston, D.H. Turner, John Wallace, Charles West, Russ Clark, James Flavin, Philip Morris, Max Wagner, Harry Cording, Ralph Dunn, Bob Reeves, Lee Shumway, Paul Sutton, William Haade, Frank O'Connor, Harry Tenbrook, Tom Tyler, Thornton Edwards, Rex Lease, Ben Hall, Louis Mason, Walter McGrail, Walter Miller, George O'Hara, Ted Oliver, Inez Palange, Steve Pendleton, Jack Pennick, Dick Rich, Gloria Roy, Peggy Ryan, Georgia Simmons, Harry Strang, Glen Walters, Norman Willis, Bill Wolfe, Waclaw Rekwart, Josephine Allen, John Binns, Leon Brace, Henry Brahe, Scotty Brown, Hal Budlong, Nora Bush, Shirley Coates, Cal Cohen, Cecil Cook, Jim Corey, Jane Crowley, Helen Dean, John Dilson, Lillian Drew, Tex Cooper, Billy Elmer, William Gillis, Don Hawks, Jules Michelson, Richard Neill, Jack Perrin, Spencer Quinn, Brick Sullivan, William Sundholm, Pearl Varvalle, Eleanore Vogel, Harry Wallace, Jack Walters, Jim Welch, Bill Worth

Fox Blu-ray

Best English-friendly & video release · updated 1 year ago

Overview

Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.

Release details

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TSPDT
2026: #226
2025: #223
2024: #221
2023: #222
2022: #222
Length
129 mins
Type
Movie

Featured in National Film Registry

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Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering, 1.85 ratio restored for US Cut; both US and International Cuts are 4K.

Best Audio:

US Cut: 1999 WB DVD/Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

No Blu-ray or DVD release until the Criterion 4K Blu-ray has presented the US in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The International Cut has never been presented in it's OAR of 1.66:1 in any home video releases.

The packaging on the back of the WB 4K Blu-ray incorrectly states it as 1.85:1 when the movie is actually 1.78:1 as is the original Blu-ray. 

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray 

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

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Sony release without the filtering; Comparison between Sony and Criterion.

Best Audio:

Mono: 1994 LaserDisc (marginally, unfiltered) or Criterion 4K Blu-ray (filtered)
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering Comparison between the Criterion and WB.

Best Audio:

5.1: WB 4K Blu-ray, a remix but has higher fidelity

Mono: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering; WB 4K early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed. Comparison between Criterion and WB.

Best Audio:

6-Track 70mm mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set), 1997 MGM LaserDisc, 1998 MGM DVD
35mm Mono Mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Matrixed Stereo Remix: MGM Japan LaserDisc (1985) [G158F5509]
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Steve James

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray and UK Dogwoof Blu-ray probably similar

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Victor Fleming

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2D: Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro

Best Audio:

1989 MGM LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

(caveat: "there's" in first "there's no place like home" utterance in final Kansas scene truncated)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991 MGM LaserDisc

Director: Morton DaCosta

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray Nov 24th

Director: Tony Scott

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

70mm 6-track mix in 5.1: Paramount THX LaserDisc

Dolby Stereo mix in 2.0: Paramount THX LaserDisc

Additional Info:

The 70mm 6-track mix has a higher bitrate on the Paramount 1998 DVD, but is more limited than on the THX LaserDisc The Paramount 1998 DVD also has open matte versions in fullscreen 1.33:1 and widescreen 2.00:1 instead of the theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1, but the 2.00:1 widescreen presentation is non-anamorphic. The THX LaserDisc is available in both fullscreen 1.33:1 and widescreen 2.00:1 variants.

Director: Terrence Malick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Lovely underlying remaster by Criterion and Resillion but encode is sadly low-pass filtered by Pixelogic, and even then, the encode is still less than ideal. Still easily obliterates any prior disc release, but certainly wouldn't hurt to have a UK or German label take a crack at this same master.

Best Audio:

1999 Paramount DVD

More from John Ford

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Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japan IVC Blu-ray

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Sources: ibb.co (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Warner Archive Blu-ray is 4K restoration from nitrate projection elements

Germany Filmjuwelen Blu-ray is AI upscaled https://ibb.co/album/mCJ7RQ

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Indicator Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: John Ford

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray

Sources: bsky.app (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

1988/1990 WB Hi-Fi VHS

Audio Notes:

Crystal clear, albeit with some distortion in louder areas

The 4K Blu-ray reuses the same poor mastering used on the 2006 WB Blu-ray, only with a completely unnecessary bass cut and extra noise reduction.

Additional Info:

Even putting resolution aside, the Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray has the best video. The old Blu-ray master and earlier DVD both had massive issues with colour.

That said, picture on the 4K Blu-ray isn't perfect, with strange posterized magenta glints and some instances of DNR: https://bsky.app/profile/dagscott.bsky.social/post/3leahavqi7k2l

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion Blu-ray, 4K restoration

Director: John Ford

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2022 Paramount Presents Blu-ray disc included in 4K Blu-ray set

Sources: x.com (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Same master, but less bitrate starved.

Best Audio:

1980s Paramount VHS

Additional Info:

The encode on the BD is preferable to the UHD. Same master, but less bitrate starved: https://x.com/SadHillDevan/status/1530057783885721607?s=20 and see caps

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2023 Paramount Blu-ray

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

Best Audio:

2023 Paramount Blu-ray or Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Additional Info:

USA Paramount has the best video transfer with the least amount of artifacts: https://slow.pics/c/sjZ3mqF6

Olive Films Blu-ray and Eureka MoC Blu-ray are sourced from the same restoration and are both very good.

Apart from some mild attenuation, the audio is the same on all releases of the newest restoration and is relatively untampered with: https://slow.pics/c/bWF9EGuM

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1992 MGM LaserDisc

Additional Info:

The audio on the Warner Archive Blu-ray is appalling. It starts to cutoff at around 6kHz to have nothing above 10kHz. The LaserDisc is much more full-frequency.

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Fox Blu-ray

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

Best Audio:

Fox Blu-ray mono mix

Audio Notes:

As noted at Blah-Ray, the mono mix on the Fox Blu-ray, although not perfect, sounds better than the 5.1 remix and at least as good as earlier LaserDiscs, which suffer from being murky.

Director: John Ford

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

More from Fox

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Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray/BFI Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion and BFI very similar

Best Audio:

Fox Lorber DVD

Director: Chris Columbus

Video format: 4K Streaming

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Disney+ has Streaming in 4K

Video Notes:

Fox has Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1995 Fox LaserDisc

Director: Terence Young

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain

Best Audio:

UK mix: 1984 CBS Fox VHS Hifi but missing one scene
International mix: WB 4K Blu-ray though source origin is unknown

1995 MGM stereo remix: 1998 LaserDisc and 2000 DVD fix gunbarrel dropout

Director: David Butler

Video format: Only Unofficial Sources

Sources: archive.org (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

The DVD isn't an official one, and according to a user review on Amazon:

This DVD comes from Archive.org, where the movie can be viewed for free. The original source, comes from the Fox Movie Channel

Director: James Cameron

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Fox Blu-ray

Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Fox Blu-ray for original cuts without the extra scene added in the re-release and AI upscaling

Newer Blu-ray/4K has the extra scene, but is poor and has excessive AI upscaling

Additional Info:

An additional scene was added to the ending of the movie in the 2022 re-release: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=493908

Director: Peter Faiman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Australia Cut: Australia Fox DVD

International Cut: Paramount Blu-ray

Encore Cut: Germany Winkler Film 4K Blu-ray, censored but good encoding

Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut

Best Audio:

Australia Cut: Laserdisc

Additional Info:

The film exists in three versions:
- the original Australian cut (~104 minutes at 24fps/~100 minutes at 25fps);
- the American/international version (~98 minutes at 24fps/~94 minutes at 25fps) trimming some exposition in the Outback first half of the film and some shorter extensions of a few seconds in the New York section, altering some of the dialogue – including censoring a "fuck" to "screw" – but featuring one additional dialogue extension not in the Australian version (a comparison of the two cuts can be found at Movie Censorship);
- the Australian Encore Cut (~95 minutes at 24fps/~91 minutes at 25fps) which uses the international version source so it already has those alterations but also removes approximately three minutes consisting of parts of two scenes featuring Mick grabbing the crotch of a cross-dressing prostitute and a later sequence when he does the same thing at a party to a woman with a deep voice (a comparison of the international version and the Encore Cut can be found at Movie Censorship).

Director: Ridley Scott

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Theatrical Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray 

2003 Directors Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray 

Video Notes:

(additional scenes appear to be upscaled)

Best Audio:

Original Theatrical 70mm 6-Track Stereo: Fox 4K Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 4.1)

Original Theatrical 35mm Matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1999 DVD? (2.0 mix on the UHD is a downmix)

2003 Directors Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray, Fox Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

Director: David O. Russell

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Fox 4K Blu-ray

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· last reviewed 1 year ago

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