The Sheik (1921)
Adventure, Drama, Romance • 1h 6m
Overview
Sheik Ahmed desperately desires feisty British socialite Diana, so he abducts her and carries her off to his luxurious tent-palace in the desert. The free-spirited Diana recoils from his passionate embraces and yearns to be released. Later, allowed to go into the desert, she escapes and makes her way across the sands...
Director: George Melford
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
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
Kino Lorber Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray but no comparison available
Germany Blu-ray lacks English subtitles. Kino Lorber Blu-ray has English subtitles but is OOP
Kino Lorber Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray but no comparison available
Germany Blu-ray lacks English subtitles. Kino Lorber Blu-ray has English subtitles but is OOP
Director: John Ford
Director: John Ford
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
Director: Howard Deutch
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray vs Kino Lorber Blu-ray, but the compression on the 4K is bad.
Director: Howard Deutch
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray vs Kino Lorber Blu-ray, but the compression on the 4K is bad.
Director: Bryan Gordon
Director: Bryan Gordon
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.
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.
Edit History
12/24/2025
Best Video Release
From
Kino Lorber OOP Blu-ray is exactly the same restoration as the later Paramount Blu-ray, however Paramount Blu-ray runs at a much faster 24fps while Kino Lorber runs at 21 Film Preservation Society. According to Paul Cuff's research into the correct Film Preservation Society and length, Kino Lorber is closest to the original 22fps by repeating frames to achieve 21fps in 24fps.
To
Kino Lorber OOP Blu-ray is exactly the same restoration as the later Paramount Blu-ray, however Paramount Blu-ray runs at a much faster 24fps while Kino Lorber runs at 21fps. According to Paul Cuff's research into the correct fps and length, Kino Lorber is closest to the original 22fps by repeating frames to achieve 21fps in 24fps.
From
Kino Lorber OOP Blu-ray is exactly the same restoration as the later Paramount Blu-ray, however Paramount Blu-ray runs at a much faster 24fps while Kino Lorber runs at 21 Film Preservation Society. According to Paul Cuff's research into the correct Film Preservation Society and length, Kino Lorber is closest to the original 22fps by repeating frames to achieve 21fps in 24fps.
To
Kino Lorber OOP Blu-ray is exactly the same restoration as the later Paramount Blu-ray, however Paramount Blu-ray runs at a much faster 24fps while Kino Lorber runs at 21fps. According to Paul Cuff's research into the correct fps and length, Kino Lorber is closest to the original 22fps by repeating frames to achieve 21fps in 24fps.
Best Audio Release
From
Kino Lorber has the same Bellon score as Paramount VHS and Paramount Blu-ray, but obviously Paramount Blu-ray runs a faster tempo due to changed Film Preservation Society
The Bellon score never uses the “Kashmiri Song” that is cited in the film’s intertitles and sung by Valentino on screen. This may well be because the intertitles of the VHS version (for which the score was composed) are from the reissue print, which changes the wording of the Sheik’s song—and thus loses the context of the original song.
While no substitute for a real orchestra, the theatre organ score by Ben Model for the Kino Lorber edition at least quotes the “Kashmiri Song” at the appropriate moments.
Read more in the realm of silence review
To
Kino Lorber has the same Bellon score as Paramount VHS and Paramount Blu-ray, but obviously Paramount Blu-ray runs a faster tempo due to changed fps
The Bellon score never uses the “Kashmiri Song” that is cited in the film’s intertitles and sung by Valentino on screen. This may well be because the intertitles of the VHS version (for which the score was composed) are from the reissue print, which changes the wording of the Sheik’s song—and thus loses the context of the original song.
While no substitute for a real orchestra, the theatre organ score by Ben Model for the Kino Lorber edition at least quotes the “Kashmiri Song” at the appropriate moments.
Read more in the realm of silence review
From
Kino Lorber has the same Bellon score as Paramount VHS and Paramount Blu-ray, but obviously Paramount Blu-ray runs a faster tempo due to changed Film Preservation Society
The Bellon score never uses the “Kashmiri Song” that is cited in the film’s intertitles and sung by Valentino on screen. This may well be because the intertitles of the VHS version (for which the score was composed) are from the reissue print, which changes the wording of the Sheik’s song—and thus loses the context of the original song.
While no substitute for a real orchestra, the theatre organ score by Ben Model for the Kino Lorber edition at least quotes the “Kashmiri Song” at the appropriate moments.
Read more in the realm of silence review
To
Kino Lorber has the same Bellon score as Paramount VHS and Paramount Blu-ray, but obviously Paramount Blu-ray runs a faster tempo due to changed fps
The Bellon score never uses the “Kashmiri Song” that is cited in the film’s intertitles and sung by Valentino on screen. This may well be because the intertitles of the VHS version (for which the score was composed) are from the reissue print, which changes the wording of the Sheik’s song—and thus loses the context of the original song.
While no substitute for a real orchestra, the theatre organ score by Ben Model for the Kino Lorber edition at least quotes the “Kashmiri Song” at the appropriate moments.
Read more in the realm of silence review
10/14/2025
