Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Comedy, Drama, Western • 1h 43m
Director: Stanley Donen
Cast: Jane Powell, Howard Keel, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Julie Newmar, Ruta Lee, Matt Mattox, Nancy Kilgas, Virginia Gibson, Jacques d'Amboise, Norma Doggett, Betty Carr, Howard Petrie, Ian Wolfe, Kelly Brown, Matt Moore, Dick Rich, Russell Simpson, Jarma Lewis, Anna Q. Nilsson, Earl Barton, Dante DiPaolo, Marjorie Wood, Annable, Gary Armstrong, Ann Baker, Walter Beaver, Larry J. Blake, Paul Bradley, Chet Brandenburg, George Bruggeman, Robert Cole, Gene Coogan, Fred Curt, John Daheim, Billy Dix, Millie Doff, Michelle Ducasse, Helen Eby-Rock, Alex Goudovitch, Tim Graham, Carol Grel, Duane Grey, Geraldine Hall, Lois Hall, Jimmie Horan, Charles Horvath, John Indrisano, I. Stanford Jolley, Jack Kenny, Sheila James Kuehl, Bill Lee, Betty Noyes, Phil Rich, Robert Robinson, George Robotham, Gene Roth, Russell Saunders, Felix Smith, Hal Taggart, Dale Van Sickel, Margaret Wells, Terry Wilson, Bud Wolfe, Sheb Wooley, Ruth Robinson
Best English-friendly & video release · updated 11 months ago
Overview
In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.
Director: Steve James
Director: Victor Fleming
3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro
Director: Morton DaCosta
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray Nov 24th
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: Anthony Mann
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, Universal 2008 DVD
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
2008 Universal DVD mono
The mono on the Criterion is severely filtered resulting in it sounding incredibly muffled. It is nearly as filtered as the 2003 original Universal DVD which had extreme filtering and sounds horribly thin. The 2008 DVD remaster and original Laserdisc analog mastering are mostly left alone. The original LD master is from a worn element but otherwise sounds very natural. The 2008 DVD is the highest quality version we have without the heavy filtering and the defects of the LD master. It isn't perfect but easily the best of the main four sources by a dramatic margin.
The existing 4K SDR restoration looks excellent, but the Criterion extras are limited and disappointing. The classic Stewart interview commentary from the LD is ported over but given a new mastering. Compared to past releases it has been very slightly noise reduced.
Criterion Box Set coming October 20th with FiM encode, work done to un-Nolan the 4K master, the first ever appearance of the 35mm mono track on physical media and a new restoration/remastering of the 70mm 6-track mix.
(early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed)
Director: Stanley Donen
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps comparing UHD vs BD: https://slow.pics/c/IVNrYoYW
For older Blu-ray: Criterion Blu-ray > Universal Blu-ray with slightly worse encoding > Japan Paramount or UK Park Circus Blu-ray with significantly flatter contrast (possibly Quicktime Gamma Bug?) see caps
TV series
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative for all episodes
Director: John Ford
Sources: ibb.co (opens in a new tab)
Warner Archive Blu-ray is 4K restoration from nitrate projection elements
Germany Filmjuwelen Blu-ray is AI upscaled https://ibb.co/album/mCJ7RQ
Director: Norman Taurog
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Delbert Mann
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Lloyd Bacon
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Edit history
Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.