The French Dispatch (2021)
Drama, Comedy • 1h 48m
Overview
The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Steve Park, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Lois Smith, Tony Revolori, Denis Ménochet, Larry Pine, Morgane Polanski, Félix Moati, Mohamed Belhadjine, Nicolas Avinée, Christoph Waltz, Cécile de France, Guillaume Gallienne, Rupert Friend, Alex Lawther, Tom Hudson, Lily Taïeb, Stéphane Bak, Hippolyte Girardot, Liev Schreiber, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Winsen Ait Hellal, Mauricette Coudivat, Damien Bonnard, Rodolphe Pauly, Antonia Desplat, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Fisher Stevens, Griffin Dunne, Pablo Pauly, Wallace Wolodarsky, Anjelica Bette Fellini, Anjelica Huston, Krishna Bagadiya, Julien Lecat, Gaelle Puimaly, Leo Jennings, Alexandre Steiger, Philippe Peyraud, Gérard Merle, Jean Pierre Grasset, Yannick Begoin, Yves Gaillard, Jerome Caminotti, Pierre-Yves Martron, Philippe Pelletier, Landry Marinette, Natal Koli, Côme Loury, Victor Piechaud, Charlie Rosser, Mathys Raynaud, Thomas Poirson, Gabriel Mesnard, Raphael Delage, Briac Aubin, Raphael Bancarel, Tiago Allaire, Martin Frappier, Raphael Dias, Victorien Belly, Samuel Amblard, Sam Poupart, Milo Bancarel, Charles Audry, Francois Boussiron, Jean-Pierre Coudert, Patrick Morcelli, Bernard Richefort, Djemal Saidoun, Vincent Griere, Arthur Guillebaud, Mehdy Hassani, Jérémy Martincourt, Nicolas Pasciani, Eutrope Roger, Marti Torrens, Pierre Cantaral, Louis Changeur, Denis Havard, Halbo Kool, Pascal Lefort, Jean-Benoit Pinot, Gregory Sacriste, Antonio Terroso, Marc Tournier, Jean Marie Camps, Dominique Donnary, Claude Gaume, Jacques Grattepanch, Damien Nadaud, Gilbert Papponnaud, Robert Rabouin, Willem Rompen, Jacky Souchet, Malik Tati, Jean-Claude Audouin, Alban Ploix, Laurent Bauer, Fanny Taccoen, Tahnee Peterson Stuart, Maud Brethenoux, Anna Budanova, Audrey Chemin, Guillaume Ferrant, Nisrine Mofaraj, Polina Glangetat, Fabien Marcadet, Luc Louis, Karim Youssouf, Rudy Chaperon, Quentin Fournier, Orguiene Corniere, Manon Talandier, Lucas Bascans, Alexis Vignaud, Paul Raymond, Gilles Gauthier, Nahel Bahnas, Akim Bahnas, Antoine Foo Cheung, Francois Foo Cheung, Samy Guerry Ghindri, Felicien Marais, Nathanael Marfin, Basile Vinueas, Evelyne Chapeau, Paula Kvasnikoff, Vallier Vaudin, André Coussy, Hassane Haimoud, Pauline Chadanson, Carlotta Costanzi, Mauricette Genon, Christelle Grelier, Rachel Merabet Hrdy, Sara Lacroix, Delphine Landrieau, Louise Laveuve, Kylian Freslon, Meermout Didier, Nicolas Saada, Yannik Mazzilli, Guillaume Mailland, Victor Nicolas, Jean Delabre, François-Pierre Fol, Bruno Torres, Jean-Louis Verdier, Grégory Trouvé, Loic Baxas, Eliel Ford, Mathéo Sallat Desvard, Dominique Barrier, Pascal Champareau, Sacha Seguin, Jacky Vallantin, Domingos Enrico, Abdel Nour Bouaza, Fanny Rebuffic, Juliette Raffray, Lou Lampros, Odile Fougère, Sandro Kopp, Pedro Firmino Cunha Da Souza, Pascal Battelier, Lionel Lassuderie, Duc Minh, Cyril Morandiere, Benoit Nacaud, Jean Jacques Peyraud, Lubna Playoust, Patricia Richefort, Owen Nsimba Soba, Adrien Yeung, Jean-Michel Audoual, Félix Bouin, Patrick Brousse, Raynald Caraguel, Lhoussine Chinkir, Xavier Dupin, Eric Garaud, Morgan Lorca, Laurent Pizzolato, Romuald Cormeunier, Didier Da Costa, Antonio Da Silva, Charlie Defraine, Erick Dues, Jacques Fauvel, Yoann Gaillard, Anthony Poupart, Thierry Gonzalez, Sébastien Guignard, Raphael Lagrue, Simon Malyon, David Robles, Sharif Andoura, Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus, Laureen Perrocheau, Mallaury Reby Perrocheau, Sophie Fougère, Genevieve Brillet, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Jarvis Cocker, Bruno Delbonnel, Bérénice Bernard, Jean Bourdet, Antoine Bourgeais, Lou Salomé Brizard, Zoé Delisle, Julies Desrosiers, Simon Ecary, Ida Fermaud, Hugo Fontaine, Raphael Gallego, Tom Grandadam, Adrien Hans, Adèle Herisson, Antoine Jové, Pierre Lamoureux, Quentin Ledru, Salomé Lesaffre, Rémi Larcher, Hugo Leonard, Elliot Lienard, Sybil Marzin, Thy-Lane Monnet, Munik Neth, Florine Paulius, Emeline Penet, Coline Peron, Constantin Rytz, Bertille Rondard, Alice Sarrauste, Igor Secherre, Laura Studden, Emilien Wiss, Boris Zanni, Angus Henderson, Gaëtan Billères, Sally Bruice, George Smith Burgess, Marie Derambure, Alix Champy, Victor Chevalarias, Lise Cordellier, Arthur Dalle, Lola Degove, Sean Delaunay, Michael Didier, Juliane Fath, Julie Gervaos, Rachel Guerineau, Guillaume Laverdant, Théo Malet, Titouan Maret, Stephen Martin, Nathan Mazeau, Lucas Nativel, Théo Navas, Marie Lucie Parisot, Émile Pélissier, Constance Prost, Matéo Salanave, Théo Hollando Sigot, Manon Taccoli, Gauthier Rigaud Perut, Raphael Coutant, Émilie Tronche, Toheeb Jimoh, Nick Croucher, Sam Haygarth, Samuel Blenkin, Jake Gorridge, Calvin Williams, Pierre Aloui, Louis Blanchard, Hugo Bony, Adrien Brault, Alex Chadeffaud, Matisse Croizard-Niveau, Alfie Flight, Théo Fibaque, Mathieu Grattard, Paul Lafon, Elie Mazalrey, Samuel Montgomery, Florian Salasse, Quentin Veillon, Benjamin Lavernhe, Gabriel Ryan, Léo Gack, Cécilia Anseeuw, Gilberto Fallat Valle, Monique Lapeyre, Christian 'Kiki' Delpey, Cyril Sierk, Jean-Claude Loulmet, Jean-Pierre Chabernaud, Olivier Lecossois, Philippe Szezepanski, Noël Wojcik, Gontran Bisserier, Christian Cordoba, Thibault Descamps, Jonathan Herbon, Marceau Jarrossay, Tiburce Oger, Noé Richefeux, Gilles Verdegay, Kublah Diezi, Stéphane Le Bras, Armand Pierdon, Gilles Frougier, Yann Hedan
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
Universal 4K Blu-ray caps. The Blu-ray was clearly low-pass filtered. Luckily, the 4K looks excellent.
Director: Wes Anderson
Universal 4K Blu-ray caps. The Blu-ray was clearly low-pass filtered. Luckily, the 4K looks excellent.
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: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
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: Wong Kar-Wai
2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye
2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.
Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.
The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.
Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye
2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.
Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.
The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.
Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is SDR
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is HDR
The DV/HDR grade is tasteful and not overdone. SC has better compression, though not flawless; encoded by FiM, but Criterion also holds up quite well. Both releases claim to be approved by Lynch.
SC has a missing fade that Criterion reinstated.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2001 R1 Paramount US NTSC DVD/2008 R2 Optimum UK PAL or 1999 Pioneer JP LaserDisc
Restored stereo mix: Criterion / StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
The film was originally mixed in Dolby Stereo (matrixed LCRS). For the 4K restoration, this mix has been transferred from the original magnetic elements and remastered with Lynch's supervision. Unfortunately, the fidelity suffered in the process, with many sections ending up significantly less detailed due to a noise reduction pass. This track has been altered compared to the original, with reverb added to some dialogue, different ambient sound effects, changed panning, and extended bass.
For the unrestored mix, there are two major options, each with its own merits and flaws. The 2001 Paramount DVD, which I would say is the best well-rounded mastering, and the 1999 Japanese LaserDisc, which has noticeably better clarity and high-end detail, as well as better dynamics, but suffers from occasional distortion and has less bass than the DVD.
The LD also has some ambiance buried too low in the mix, and some dialogue panned more to the centre than the DVD. There are no content changes I was able to find. Unfortunately, I don't know what accounts for those differences.
The other available tracks all have more significant flaws. The Italian and Japanese BDs use the same base mastering as the DVD, but with some patching in a few shots. HD-DVD is sourced from an inferior transfer, the same as the Momentum DVD.
The 5.1 remix, originally introduced on the 2002 DVD, and carried over without changes to the 2009 BD is a light and mostly faithful remix, with fairly minimal LFE and surround use, but still potentially worthwhile as the only discrete track.
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray is SDR
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is HDR
The DV/HDR grade is tasteful and not overdone. SC has better compression, though not flawless; encoded by FiM, but Criterion also holds up quite well. Both releases claim to be approved by Lynch.
SC has a missing fade that Criterion reinstated.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2001 R1 Paramount US NTSC DVD/2008 R2 Optimum UK PAL or 1999 Pioneer JP LaserDisc
Restored stereo mix: Criterion / StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
The film was originally mixed in Dolby Stereo (matrixed LCRS). For the 4K restoration, this mix has been transferred from the original magnetic elements and remastered with Lynch's supervision. Unfortunately, the fidelity suffered in the process, with many sections ending up significantly less detailed due to a noise reduction pass. This track has been altered compared to the original, with reverb added to some dialogue, different ambient sound effects, changed panning, and extended bass.
For the unrestored mix, there are two major options, each with its own merits and flaws. The 2001 Paramount DVD, which I would say is the best well-rounded mastering, and the 1999 Japanese LaserDisc, which has noticeably better clarity and high-end detail, as well as better dynamics, but suffers from occasional distortion and has less bass than the DVD.
The LD also has some ambiance buried too low in the mix, and some dialogue panned more to the centre than the DVD. There are no content changes I was able to find. Unfortunately, I don't know what accounts for those differences.
The other available tracks all have more significant flaws. The Italian and Japanese BDs use the same base mastering as the DVD, but with some patching in a few shots. HD-DVD is sourced from an inferior transfer, the same as the Momentum DVD.
The 5.1 remix, originally introduced on the 2002 DVD, and carried over without changes to the 2009 BD is a light and mostly faithful remix, with fairly minimal LFE and surround use, but still potentially worthwhile as the only discrete track.
Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173
The master is heavily DNR'd.
Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173
The master is heavily DNR'd.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
4K restoration: Koch Media DE 4K Blu-ray
Original digital master: Cannes 2006 Promo HD-DVD
4K remaster is cropped 2.35:1 from the original 2.55:1 presentation, and has significantly different color grading, as is the case with most WKW supervised restorations. Due to DNR the detail is sometimes lacklustre compared to the old master. CGI scenes appear to be rerendered. A sepia tinted scene was altered to be fully black and white.
Caps: Criterion US BD vs Cannes HD-DVD, HD-DVD vs KR BD vs DVDs vs US BD
Remixed 5.1: The Jokers FR 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1: Cannes 2006 Promo HD-DVD
The remixed track has different front panning and little LFE use compared to the original.
HD-DVD is by far the best option for the original track, as DVDs and Korean BD suffer from noise gating, limiting and duplicated surrounds. Remixed tracks are all similar, but French disc has slightly better dynamics, particularly on the LFE channel.
The 2006 HD-DVD is a promotional release made in only 100 copies, handed out to VIPs at Cannes Film Festival. See this blog post for details. The same master can be found on KR BD, though it suffers from interlacing, blended frames and a gamma bug, as well as older DVD releases.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
4K restoration: Koch Media DE 4K Blu-ray
Original digital master: Cannes 2006 Promo HD-DVD
4K remaster is cropped 2.35:1 from the original 2.55:1 presentation, and has significantly different color grading, as is the case with most WKW supervised restorations. Due to DNR the detail is sometimes lacklustre compared to the old master. CGI scenes appear to be rerendered. A sepia tinted scene was altered to be fully black and white.
Caps: Criterion US BD vs Cannes HD-DVD, HD-DVD vs KR BD vs DVDs vs US BD
Remixed 5.1: The Jokers FR 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1: Cannes 2006 Promo HD-DVD
The remixed track has different front panning and little LFE use compared to the original.
HD-DVD is by far the best option for the original track, as DVDs and Korean BD suffer from noise gating, limiting and duplicated surrounds. Remixed tracks are all similar, but French disc has slightly better dynamics, particularly on the LFE channel.
The 2006 HD-DVD is a promotional release made in only 100 copies, handed out to VIPs at Cannes Film Festival. See this blog post for details. The same master can be found on KR BD, though it suffers from interlacing, blended frames and a gamma bug, as well as older DVD releases.
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Director: Andrzej Wajda
More Drama on Blu-ray
UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray in October
Australia Imprint Blu-ray?
Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling
UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray in October
Australia Imprint Blu-ray?
Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original 7.1 mix
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original 7.1 mix
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Director: James Foley
Director: James Foley
Director: Iain Softley
Director: Iain Softley
Director: Steven Shainberg
Director: Steven Shainberg
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Vertical Blu-ray
Director: Rob Reiner
Vertical Blu-ray
Edit History
