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Love in the Afternoon (1957)
Love in the Afternoon (1957) poster

Love in the Afternoon (1957)

Comedy, Romance • 2h 10m

Director: Billy Wilder

Cast: Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver, Van Doude, Lise Bourdin, Olga Valéry, Paul Bonifas, Audrey Long, Charles Lemontier, Eve Marley, Moustache, Jean Ozenne, Marcelle Praince, Betty Schneider, Alexandre Trauner, Audrey Young

Best English-friendly & video release

Updated 11 months ago


About the film

Lovestruck conservatory student Ariane pretends to be just as much a cosmopolitan lover as the worldly mature Frank Flannagan hoping that l’amour will take hold.

Alternative Titles
Love in the Afternoon

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Director: Billy Wilder

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Audio Notes:

(transfer of the 1989 MGM LaserDisc, without problems plaguing Kino Lorber's release)

Additional Info:

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: Billy Wilder

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray or Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

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

Best Audio:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono

Audio Notes:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the Blu-ray mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.

Additional Info:

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: Billy Wilder

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Capelight/Kino Lorber which has heavy noise reduction and opening snare hit is missing, Capelight is slightly better encoded than Kino Lorber

Best Audio:

1992 MGM LaserDisc [ML102699]

Audio Notes:

But still a bit overly noise-managed.

1984 CBS/Fox Hi-Fi VHS maybe better?

Director: Billy Wilder

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

1991 MCA LaserDisc

Director: Billy Wilder

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray is a fine release with no glaring encode issues, the new master is also fine but graded to look quite dim in HDR/DV. Unsure whether that's really respectful to the source

Best Audio:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray / Paramount EU Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Old Warner Bros US release is inferior.

Director: Billy Wilder

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray/2025 Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Eureka Blu-ray has worse encoding.

Best Audio:

1985 Key Video Hi-Fi VHS

Director: Billy Wilder

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK MoC Blu-ray

Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

UK MoC Blu-ray has the better encoding

US Kino Lorber Blu-ray has inferior encoding and likely suffers from the Quicktime Gamma Bug see caps

Best Audio:

MOC Blu-ray or MGM Laserdisc

Additional Info:

Eureka MOC is far superior to Kino with also more printed booklet extras. The reconstruction work, transfer and extras date back to MGM's Laserdisc attempt. The LD master and materials were ported to the MGM DVD which in turn was paired with an updated HD master for the BDs. The film still cries out for a proper modern restoration and reconstruction attempt with the partially surviving cut sequences. The extras on LD also have PCM audio and one of the visuals in one of the cut episodes is more untouched which is censored for nudity on the modern versions. It's small but the particular element has been blurred on most versions today.

Director: Billy Wilder

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Disappointing
Best Video:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray disappointing

Additional Info:

Kino UHD has frozen grain and other artifacts from a Paramount master with the usual lackluster Kino encoding.

Director: Billy Wilder

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Germany Plaion Blu-ray has better encoding and Kino Lorber Blu-ray likely suffers from the Quicktime Gamma Bug, see caps

Director: Billy Wilder

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Plaion Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Germany Plaion Blu-ray has the best encoding, and both MoC and Kino Lorber Blu-ray have Quicktime Gamma Bug see caps

For encoding, Plaion > MoC > Kino Lorber

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Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive DVD

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration of the original 3D left eye and right eye camera negatives

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Richard Brooks

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Vincent Sherman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: George Pal

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Compton Bennett

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from original technicolor negatives

Director: Jack Conway

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from safety preservation elements

Director: George B. Seitz

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from safety preservation elements

More Comedy on Blu-ray

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Olive Films Blu-ray

Director: Frank Oz

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: Steve Gordon

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Jack Conway

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from safety preservation elements

Director: William Dieterle

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Alicia MacDonald

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Elaine May

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray > MoC > Olive Films. From nicolas:

The master is good but it’s not that big an upgrade from the Olive Films disc and Vinegar Syndrome’ encode has some blocky highlights. A shame that they didn’t hire David Mackenzie here.

Audio Notes:

Cinématographe has unnecessary noise gating not present on the previous releases.

Directors: Charles Reisner & Buster Keaton

Best English-Friendly & Video:

MoC/Cohen Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

MoC 4K Blu-ray late 2027

Video Notes:

MoC/Cohen Blu-ray > Kino Lorber

Director: Buster Keaton

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber new Seven Chances / Sherlock Jr. Blu-ray?

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

Upcoming Release:

MoC 4K Blu-ray late 2027

Video Notes:

Lobster Films (Kino Lorber?) > Cohen/Eureka https://slow.pics/c/3KWXoMyR The new Kino Lorber's Seven Chances / Sherlock Jr. might be using the same restoration as Lobster Films

Director: Robert Zemeckis

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

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· last reviewed 11 months ago

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