The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Drama, Romance • 2h 32m
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Cast: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, James Stewart, Henry Wilcoxon, Lyle Bettger, Lawrence Tierney, Emmett Kelly, Cucciola, Robert Carson, John Kellogg, Julia Faye, Cecil B. DeMille, John Ringling North, Lou Jacobs, Brad Jackson, Frank Wilcox, Lillian Albertson, Milton Kibbee, Davison Clark, Dorothy Adams, Arthur Q. Bryan, Bess Flowers, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Mona Freeman, Kathleen Freeman, William Boyd, Beverly Washburn, Lee Aaker, Erville Alderson, Oliver Blake, Franklyn Farnum, Nancy Gates, Bob Crosby, John Ridgely, Lane Chandler, Edmond O'Brien, Eric Alden, Noel Neill, Syd Saylor, Chuck Hamilton, Daisy Earles, Luce Potter, Angelo Rossitto, Antoinette Concello, Tuffy Genders, Kay Wiley, Lillian O'Malley
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About the film
To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian, though this moves his girlfriend Holly from her hard-won center trapeze spot. Holly and Sebastian begin a dangerous one-upmanship duel in the ring, while he pursues her on the ground.
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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: Billy Wilder
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
(transfer of the 1989 MGM LaserDisc, without problems plaguing Kino Lorber's release)
Arrow UHD is an update of the original 4K scan done for their BD. It is also visually far superior to the Kino version and adds Dolby Vision HDR. The Arrow UHD uses a new LD mono capture and has none of the issues or processing found in the Kino UHD which also used an LD mono capture and somehow mucked it up. Short of a brand new scan, the Arrow UHD is as good as it possibly can be.
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: David Lean
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
The 5.1 on Sony 4K Blu-ray is from the 1989 70mm mix. The original is 4-track. not on the disc.
Director: John G. Avildsen
Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)
Original Mono: Ultimate Knockout Collection/Knockout Collection replacement disc
Original Mono: Ultimate Knockout Collection/Knockout Collection replacement disc > Knockout collection original.
The Mono mix on the initial release of the Knockout Collection is a stereo fold-down of the 5.1, it also has a missing piano cue. The replacement disc and the ultimate knockout version fixed the error.
The Steelbook and UK standard edition is the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray releasing January 2027
France The Jokers 4K Blu-ray
France The Jokers 4K Blu-ray has the least DNR (UK Artificial Eye might be similar? Both better than Universal 4K Blu-ray)
Criterion even though doesn’t have 4K, it has the B&W version and a lot of extras.
Director: John Schlesinger
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
2027 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Included Imprint Blu-Ray also has markedly better image compression than the Criterion Blu-Ray, though do note the Imprint has some adjusted color grading within roughly the first five minutes of the film
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=16775595&postcount=450
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24237074&postcount=73
Director: Barry Jenkins
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
Lionsgate 4k
Criterion 4K Blu-ray announced by director Barry Jenkins
Director: Sian Heder
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Apple TV 4K Blu-ray with Atmos
(Eagle Pictures is 5.1)
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Kino Lorber Blu-ray with Photoplay 4K restoration
Kino Lorber Blu-ray with Carl Davis score
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)
Flicker Alley Blu-ray (encoded by FiM) has much better encoding than Lobster Films Blu-ray, see DVDBeaver caps
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Germany Plaion Media Blu-ray is marginally better than Kino Lorber which suffers a little dark crush: https://slow.pics/c/BME05Jlw
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Universal Blu-ray better, MoC over-sharpened https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=19993011&postcount=53
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Paramount US and Capelight DE, same black crush on all three but the Arrow is encoded by FiM and has very good new supplements, the Capelight looks slightly low-passed, but in motion it probably looks about the same as the Paramount, see caps comparison for all three.
Arrow and Paramount basically sound the same, the Arrow has a slightly higher bitrate. Capelight is probably the same too but for now it's TBA.
Paramount US 4K Blu-ray has FEL Dolby Vision
Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray and Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray have MEL Dolby Vision
Paramount 4K Blu-ray Purist choice: Blu-ray
Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Paramount 4K Blu-ray new improved master with color grading and slight issues. Blu-ray is old master with original color grading
Blu-ray 5.1
The Paramount 4K Blu-ray has a much better new scan that removes the original extremely dated color grading. This is an improvement on one hand but a definite revisionist change on the other. There is the expected grain management and slight HDR issues in addition to encoding quirks from Paramount. It is a giant improvement over the original Blu-ray but the color change and other issues means that the Blu-ray is one to keep for purists to have the as-is original iteration of the film's presentation. Audio wise the film has been remixed into Atmos but it merely seems like a slightly tweaked and frankly tamed version of the original 5.1. Of the two I prefer the Blu-ray 5.1. The original Blu-ray was Dolby TrueHD and the reissue Blu-ray in the four film Blu-ray collection boxset was DTS-HDMA.
DFIC extensive review: https://youtu.be/evsrJOTIjdA?si=wtdWGxZBfhPYTIeW
Director: Tony Scott
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
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
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.
Director: Peter Faiman
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)
US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut
Australia Cut: Laserdisc
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).
3D version: Paramount 3D Blu-ray
Paramount 4K Blu-ray on October 26 2026
Director: Billy Wilder
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice
Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono
Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the Blu-ray mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.
The 5.1 remix on the 4K Blu-ray is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the Blu-ray master.
Director: Robert Altman
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for Dec 2026 release
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