Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Comedy, Crime, Drama • 2h 3m
Overview
The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine.
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Mady Correll, Allison Roddan, Robert Lewis, Audrey Betz, Martha Raye, Ada May, Isobel Elsom, Marjorie Bennett, Helene Heigh, Margaret Hoffman, Marilyn Nash, Irving Bacon, Edwin Mills, Virginia Brissac, Almira Sessions, Eula Morgan, Bernard Nedell, Charles Evans, William Frawley, Arthur Hohl, Barbara Slater, Fritz Leiber, Vera Marshe, Christine Ell, Lois Conklin, Richard Abbott, Ed Agresti, Warren Ashe, Gertrude Astor, John Breen, Ralph Brooks, James Carlisle, Wheaton Chambers, Julius Cramer, James Craven, Joseph Crehan, Oliver Cross, Russell Custer, Albert D'Arno, Daniel de Jonghe, George Dee, Josette Deegan, Jack Deery, Cyril Delevanti, Wheeler Dryden, Elspeth Dudgeon, Dick Earle, Ella Ethridge, Herbert Evans, Franklyn Farnum, Tom Ferrandini, Charles Fogel, George Ford, Raoul Freeman, Rudy Germane, Joe Gilbert, Dick Gordon, Herschel Graham, Joseph Granby, Stuart Hall, Sam Harris, Adolf Hitler, Boyd Irwin, Fred Karno Jr., Colin Kenny, Bert LeBaron, Ruth Lee, Ethelreda Leopold, Carl M. Leviness, Leota Lorraine, Robert Locke Lorraine, Therese Lyon, Wilbur Mack, Lester Matthews, Clyde McLeod, Harold Miller, Hans Moebus, Ralph Montgomery, Benito Mussolini, Paul Newlan, Barry Norton, Louis Payne, Albert Petit, Hamil Petroff, Foster H. Phinney, Catherine Price, Edna Purviance, Frank Reicher, Greg Rhinelander, Addison Richards, Suzanne Ridgway, Jeffrey Sayre, Carlo Schipa, Wallace Scott, William Self, C. Montague Shaw, Millard Sherwood, Bert Stevens, Nanette Vallon, Herb Vigran, Charles Wagenheim, Pierre Watkin, Eric Wilton
Director: Charlie Chaplin
1936 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1954 version: Criterion Blu-ray
Cut info: https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=31209
1936 version: Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
1936 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1954 version: Criterion Blu-ray
Cut info: https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=31209
1936 version: Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Theatrical: Image Entertainment LaserDisc International: Criterion Blu-ray
Theatrical: Image Entertainment LaserDisc
2000 Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Theatrical: Image Entertainment LaserDisc International: Criterion Blu-ray
Theatrical: Image Entertainment LaserDisc
2000 Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Criterion Blu-ray, 4k restoration. Superior to Germany Kinowelt or Japan Kadokawa, see caps-a-holic
2000 Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Criterion Blu-ray, 4k restoration. Superior to Germany Kinowelt or Japan Kadokawa, see caps-a-holic
2000 Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
BFI or Flicker Alley Charlie Chaplin Mutual Comedies Blu-ray boxsets use the same restoration, no comparison available
BFI Blu-ray has commentaries while Flicker Alley doesn't
Director: Charlie Chaplin
BFI or Flicker Alley Charlie Chaplin Mutual Comedies Blu-ray boxsets use the same restoration, no comparison available
BFI Blu-ray has commentaries while Flicker Alley doesn't
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Germany Arthaus 4K Blu-ray, and it has both 1925 version and 1942 version
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Germany Arthaus 4K Blu-ray, and it has both 1925 version and 1942 version
Director: Charlie Chaplin
1928 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1928 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1969 version: Criterion Blu-ray > UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray, see DVDBeaver caps. Japan Kadokawa Blu-ray is the same as AE BD and inferior to Criterion too
Director: Charlie Chaplin
1928 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1928 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1969 version: Criterion Blu-ray > UK Artificial Eye Blu-ray, see DVDBeaver caps. Japan Kadokawa Blu-ray is the same as AE BD and inferior to Criterion too
Director: Charlie Chaplin
1921 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1921 version: Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Charlie Chaplin
1921 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1921 version: Image Entertainment DVD
1923 version: Image Entertainment DVD. 1976 version: Criterion Blu-ray
1923 version: Image Entertainment DVD 1976 version: Criterion Blu-ray
1923 version: Image Entertainment DVD. 1976 version: Criterion Blu-ray
1923 version: Image Entertainment DVD 1976 version: Criterion Blu-ray
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 Comedy on Blu-ray
Director: Steven Shainberg
Director: Steven Shainberg
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Michael Gordon
Director: Michael Gordon
Director: Melville Shavelson
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 6K master from Paramount
Director: Melville Shavelson
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 6K master from Paramount
Director: Richard Bartlett
Director: Richard Bartlett
Director: H. C. Potter
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2K restoration
Director: H. C. Potter
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2K restoration
Director: Norman Taurog
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 4K restoration
Director: Norman Taurog
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 4K restoration
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