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Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) poster

Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)

Werckmeister harmóniák

Drama • 2h 25m

Director: Béla Tarr

Curzon 4K Blu-ray

Best English-friendly & video release · updated 1 year ago

Video notes:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray has better encode than Criterion 4K Blu-ray

UHD tiers

Excellent
Curzon > Criterion
Superior Imports
Curzon UK > Criterion US:

better audio

Overview

A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.

Release details

TSPDT
2026: #307
2025: #314
2024: #310
2023: #321
2022: #321
Length
145 mins
Type
Movie

Featured in Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films

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Director: Terrence Malick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

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.

Best Audio:

1999 Paramount DVD

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

2005 Universal DVD

Director: Jacques Demy

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

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

For Blu-ray Criterion Demy Set > StudioCanal

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

See chris's review

Best Audio:

1991 Daiei LaserDisc

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

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.

Video Notes:

(early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed)

Best Audio:

1997 MGM LaserDisc, 1998 MGM DVD

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Box Set coming October 20th with FiM encode, new restoration of mono mix which should be better than what was on the WB 4K Blu-ray and 1999 DVD and revised colour timing to make the film look more like it did in 1971.

Best Audio:

WB 4K 5.1: a remix but has higher fidelity

Mono: 4K Blu-ray/1999 DVD

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

US Cut: WB 4K Blu-ray

International Cut: Old 2007 Europe Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Box Set coming October 20th with FiM encode, both the US and the International Cut, new restoration/remastering of the mono mix which should be better than the 1999 WB DVD, revised colour timing to make the film look more like it did in 1980 and for the first time ever on physical media, the film will be in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

Best Audio:

1999 WB DVD

Additional Info:

No Blu-ray or DVD release has presented the movie in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 for the US cut or 1.66:1 for the International cut.

The packaging on the back of the 4K Blu-ray incorrectly states it as 1.85:1 when the movie is actually 1.78:1 as is the original Blu-ray. 

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Box Set coming October 20th with FiM encode

Best Audio:

1994 LaserDisc (marginally)

Director: F. W. Murnau

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

MoC OOP Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Flicker Alley 4K confirmed for 2027 https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24404584&postcount=1

Directors: Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Imprint 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · filmalert101.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

FiM encode and none of the low-pass filtering present on the Criterion 4K, resulting in more detail and better handling of highlights on Imprint https://filmalert101.blogspot.com/2026/09/on-4k-uhd-david-hare-rhapsodizes-over.html?m=1

More from Béla Tarr

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Director: Béla Tarr

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray see caps

Additional Info:

For BD:

Director: Béla Tarr

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Curzon 4K Blu-ray see caps

For BD, Curzon Blu-ray is similar to Arbelos Blu-ray

Director: Béla Tarr

Best English-Friendly:

Bela Tarr Curzon Collection Blu-ray or Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Carlotta France Blu-ray in boxset

Video Notes:

No comparisons

FiM encode.

Curzon is on separate disc while Criterion has it shared with another film on the same disc.

Director: Béla Tarr

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Artificial Eye Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Cinema Guild Blu-ray is a good alternative (more extras).

UK > US, not sure France. UK (Artificial Eye/Curzon) has higher bitrate than US (Cinema Guild) but has boosted gamma (see here: https://slow.pics/c/L9U9r8Es).

Director: Béla Tarr

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Bela Tarr Curzon Collection

Best Video:

Curzon Blu-ray (SD source)

Director: Béla Tarr

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Bela Tarr Curzon Collection

Video Notes:

There's also a France Carlotta boxset release (no ENG subs) but screenshots not available.

Director: Béla Tarr

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Bela Tarr Curzon Collection

Best Video:

Curzon Blu-ray (SD source)

Director: Béla Tarr

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Bela Tarr Curzon Collection

Best Video:

Curzon Blu-ray (SD Source)

Director: Béla Tarr

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Bela Tarr Curzon Collection

Best Video:

Curzon Blu-ray

More from Carlotta

See more →

Director: Gus Van Sant

Best English-Friendly:

US Shout! Factory Blu-ray

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

Best Video & Audio:

French Carlotta Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Shout! Factory and Carlotta use the same scan https://slow.pics/c/Wcn5YFlw, the Carlotta has two extra bonus features

Director: Roman Polanski

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

> Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien

Best English-Friendly:

Taiwan Sony Blu-ray

Best Video:

Carlotta Blu-ray, HD transfer, also available in a set

Best Audio:

2006 Japan Kinokuniya DVD

Director: John Carpenter

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray or Carlotta 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode)

Video Notes:

Sony 4K Blu-ray and France Carlotta 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode) are similar

Director: S. S. Rajamouli

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Zee5 Streaming

Upcoming Release:

France Carlotta 4K Blu-ray coming in December

Best Video & Audio:

Japan Twin Co. 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Zee5 Streaming has the original Telugu audio and English subtitles (albeit with English portions also overdubbed in Telugu)
Netflix Streaming only has the Hindi dub but better video quality

Audio Notes:

Japan Twin Co. 4K Blu-ray has original Telugu Atmos audio

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion boxset

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Carlotta FR Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Criterion boxset but awful compression

FiM encode w/o English subtitles; Criterion boxset one has awful compression. review

Director: Otar Iosseliani

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Carlotta FR Blu-ray box set

Video Notes:

2K restoration of 4K scan. This 2K restoration’s detail level is quite good, although its highlights are somewhat blown out. On the other hand, the newer 4K restoration (on DCP only as of Aug 2026) exhibits severe black crush.

Best Audio:

TBD. Carlotta sounds muffled.

Additional Info:

Carlotta’s English subtitles omit quite a bit of dialog. This was improved upon in the subs accompanying the newer 4K restoration DCP.

Director: Otar Iosseliani

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Carlotta FR Blu-ray box set

Video Notes:

2K restoration of 4K scan. This 2K restoration’s detail level is quite good, although its highlights are somewhat blown out. On the other hand, the newer 4K restoration (on DCP only as of Aug 2026) exhibits severe black crush.

Best Audio:

TBD. Carlotta sounds muffled.

Additional Info:

Carlotta’s English subtitles omit quite a bit of dialog. This was improved upon in the subs accompanying the newer 4K restoration DCP.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Best English-Friendly & Video:

France Carlotta Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

France Carlotta better encode than Criterion

Best Audio:

2004 Prism Leisure DVD

Director: Bert Stern

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

FRA Carlotta Blu-ray

Video Notes:

FiM encode. At least slightly better than the Kino see caps

Additional Info:

Carlotta ports over all special features from the Kino release, except the booklet essay. All specials are in English.

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· last reviewed 1 year ago

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