Best English-friendly release · updated 1 year ago
Overview
The love story of an abused English girl and a Chinese Buddhist in a time when London was a brutal and harsh place to live.
Director: John Ford
Video format: HD Streaming
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab) · blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)
StudioCanal 4K
Director: Spike Lee
Video format: 4K Streaming
Video format: DVD
SerialSquadron SD Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · amazon.com (opens in a new tab)
SerialSquadron SD Blu-ray see caps even though in very bad quality is still the best available version
AlphaVideo DVD is a "feature version" and apparently cut different episodes together in one DVD according to this Amazon review
Sources: fanrestore.com (opens in a new tab) · originaltrilogy.com (opens in a new tab)
2017 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray and subsequent 4K Blu-rays are notorius for being heavily denoised and smoothened. Alternatively, 35mm scans for the theatrical cut is also available.
For the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is the older pre-2017 transfer, but has DNR.
Directors: Bill Roberts & Paul Satterfield & Wilfred Jackson & Ben Sharpsteen & James Algar & T. Hee & Hamilton Luske & Samuel Armstrong & Jim Handley & Norman Ferguson & David Hand & Ford Beebe Jr.
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
1991 CAV LaserDisc includes an approximation of the original Fantasound mix in Dolby Surround using the surviving magnetic mixdown, using Stokowski's original mixing notes as a reference. Original aggressive pans and dynamic range are left in tact.
The 2000 DVD uses this same mix in discrete 5.0, but with some unnecessary dynamic range compression + a redub of all Deems Taylor audio with Corey Burton.
The 7.1 mix on the 2010 Blu-ray sounds poor, having been hit with excessive noise reduction, dynamic range compression, original aggressive pans no longer in tact, and the channel usage no longer resembles Stokowski's original intended sound design.
Director: Miloš Forman
Theatrical: WB 4K Blu-ray
Extended: Warner Bros Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray: Huge improvement in colors and detail. The restoration was done by the Academy instead of WB MPI which explains that there’s no grain management or issues with colors. They also accessed the original credit optical and scanned that one instead of recreating them digitally
Theatrical: WB 4K Blu-ray, according to Saentz, the 5.0 is a recreation of the original and subsequently 70mm mix from original elements.
Director: John Carpenter
Sources: blog.sporv.com (opens in a new tab)
1997? Signature Collection LD
Good: 2017 Arrow and 2016 Shout! Factory Blu-ray have the original audio options.
the only track on Universal 4K, which is in DTS:X, has a mixing error of around 6dB too low on side channels, otherwise very similar to other 5.1 mixes.
Director: D.W. Griffith
Sources: moma.org (opens in a new tab)
New digitized edition of MoMA’s definitive 1979 photochemical restoration, no release yet https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11556
Mastered in HD from the Museum of Modern Art's 35mm restoration, with original color tints
Director: D.W. Griffith
Sources: filmpreservationsociety.org (opens in a new tab)
4K scan of 35mm https://www.filmpreservationsociety.org/inventory/kid-boots-bluray-2025
Director: D.W. Griffith
Film Preservation Society Blu-ray Douglas Fairbanks Lost Films Double Feature as extras
Director: D.W. Griffith
Video format: 1080p Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Unfortunately looks like got an AI upscale pass with the focus being all over the places see https://slow.pics/c/CN22JOv0
Twilight Time > BFI >> Kino Lorber/MoC
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Ron Shelton
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray disappointing, nice new master, but poor encode, grain completely crippled in some scenes, artifacts abound, etc, makes Kino Lorber look like FiM.
Director: Sian Heder
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Has full and forced English subtitles
Apple TV 4K Blu-ray with Atmos
(Eagle Pictures is 5.1)
Director: Celine Song
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
UK StudioCanal Blu-ray is the better release. Plaion Italy 4K Blu-ray has macroblocking and chroma noise issues, and the US Lionsgate Blu-ray has elevated gamma levels and macroblocking https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22310555&postcount=31
Director: Dennis Hopper
BFI Blu-ray renders grain structure better than Severin 4K Blu-ray’s disappointing encode, although Severin does feature an HDR grading with Dolby Vision. Furthermore, Severin’s soundtrack is worse due to the noise reduction applied.
Severin 4K Blu-ray has very good extras that are more relevant to the film
Kino Lorber Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray but no comparison available
Germany Blu-ray doesn’t have good encoding, with visible blocking and banding etc.
Germany Blu-ray lacks English subtitles. Kino Lorber Blu-ray has English subtitles but is OOP
Kino Lorber Blu-ray retains both the French and German dialogue in their native languages.
Director: Phil Joanou
UK Second Sight Blu-ray maybe better than all the other Blu-rays?
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with DNR and poor compression
Director: Frank Capra
Director: Joachim Trier
MUBI 4K Blu-ray has zero extras
Directors: Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie
4K encode is low-pass filtered and noticeably so, which was unfortunately par for the course with Criterion 4Ks until sometime in 2024, and the encode is still less than ideal even despite that. Still better than the Criterion and Lionsgate Blu-Ray discs for the Dolby Vision grading alone.
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· last reviewed 1 year ago
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