Hamlet (1948)
Drama • 2h 33m
Overview
Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.
Director: Laurence Olivier
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Norman Wooland, Felix Aylmer, Jean Simmons, Terence Morgan, Peter Cushing, Stanley Holloway, Russell Thorndike, John Laurie, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Harcourt Williams, Patrick Troughton, Tony Tarver, Niall MacGinnis, Anthony Bushell, Patricia Davidson, Doreen Lawrence, Christopher Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Victor Lucas, Patrick Macnee, Howard Lang
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: John Ford
Director: John Ford
Director: Frank Capra
Director: Frank Capra
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Director: Edmund Goulding
Director: Edmund Goulding
Director: Victor Fleming
4K Blu-ray upcoming in Fall 2026
Director: Victor Fleming
4K Blu-ray upcoming in Fall 2026
The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes. Part II overall fares better than the first film but it has all the same problems. Randomly some shots are the worst in the trilogy looks mushy and manipulated to death.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0
The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes. Part II overall fares better than the first film but it has all the same problems. Randomly some shots are the worst in the trilogy looks mushy and manipulated to death.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0
Director: James Cameron
Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version
35mm scan for original theatrical cut
Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version
35mm scan for original theatrical cut
4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled
The 4K Blu-ray bonus disc, the 2012 Blu-ray bonus disc, and the 2005 3 disc DVD have exclusive extras.
Director: James Cameron
Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version
35mm scan for original theatrical cut
Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version
35mm scan for original theatrical cut
4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled
The 4K Blu-ray bonus disc, the 2012 Blu-ray bonus disc, and the 2005 3 disc DVD have exclusive extras.
Director: Peter Medak
Imprint 4K Blu-ray scheduled for August 2026 release
Director: Peter Medak
Imprint 4K Blu-ray scheduled for August 2026 release
Director: Roger Donaldson
88 Films & Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray
Imprint 4K Blu-ray scheduled for August 2026 release
88 Films tied with Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray (88 Films is FiM encoded)
88 Films and Scream Factory have exclusive extras
Director: Roger Donaldson
88 Films & Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray
Imprint 4K Blu-ray scheduled for August 2026 release
88 Films tied with Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray (88 Films is FiM encoded)
88 Films and Scream Factory have exclusive extras
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Canada Blu-ray or Netherlands Blu-ray? better than Constantin Germany 4K Blu-ray
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Canada Blu-ray or Netherlands Blu-ray? better than Constantin Germany 4K Blu-ray
Director: Roger Donaldson
Director: Roger Donaldson
Director: John Woo
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray, correct grade and archival extras missing from the Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Criterion LaserDisc, both Arrow 4K Blu-ray and Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray are worse.
Criterion USA LaserDisc [CC1397L]: Original Cantonese mono.
Best Cantonese mono still was from Criterion LaserDisc, as the Shout one was boosted with clipping, with some filtering and losing dynamic range over the Criterion LD.
There’s no need for other Cantonese audio, as all 5.1 remixes are extremely bad and not worth including.
For English Dub the Shout offered the best, it was pure mono. All other 5.1 remixed of said dub are also terrible and offer no value, only less fidelity and more echo.
Director: John Woo
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray, correct grade and archival extras missing from the Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Criterion LaserDisc, both Arrow 4K Blu-ray and Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray are worse.
Criterion USA LaserDisc [CC1397L]: Original Cantonese mono.
Best Cantonese mono still was from Criterion LaserDisc, as the Shout one was boosted with clipping, with some filtering and losing dynamic range over the Criterion LD.
There’s no need for other Cantonese audio, as all 5.1 remixes are extremely bad and not worth including.
For English Dub the Shout offered the best, it was pure mono. All other 5.1 remixed of said dub are also terrible and offer no value, only less fidelity and more echo.
Director: John Carpenter
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray for now
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray upcoming, UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray possibly teased?
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray but bad compression
Director: John Carpenter
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray for now
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray upcoming, UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray possibly teased?
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray but bad compression
Director: Ron Shelton
Director: Ron Shelton
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Phil Joanou
UK Second Sight Blu-ray maybe better than all the other Blu-rays?
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with DNR and poor compression
Director: Phil Joanou
UK Second Sight Blu-ray maybe better than all the other Blu-rays?
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with DNR and poor compression
Edit History
12/25/2025
Best Video Release
From
9/20/2025
