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Pirates (1986)
Pirates (1986) poster
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2.9

Pirates (1986)

Adventure, Comedy • 2h 4m

Overview

The adventures of pirate Captain Red and his first mate Frog.

Director: Roman Polanski

Best English-Friendly Release

Additional Info

France steelbook is prone to rot and 2014 Italy disc is 1080i

Format

1080p Blu-ray

External Links

Length

124 mins

Type

Movie

Alternative Titles

Roman Polanski's Pirates

Last Updated

8 months ago

Contributors

Best English-Friendly Release
Additional Info

France steelbook is prone to rot and 2014 Italy disc is 1080i

Format
1080p Blu-ray
Length
124 mins
Type
Movie
Alternative Titles
Roman Polanski's Pirates
Last Updated
8 months ago
Contributors

More from Roman Polanski

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Chinatown poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991/1998 Paramount LaserDisc

Chinatown poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991/1998 Paramount LaserDisc

The Ninth Gate poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray see caps. Much better contrast and grain exposure but the grade is a bit questionable as it skews heavily towards magenta in some caps and the encode looks low-pass filtered.

Lionsgate and the upcoming Imprint have the same discs.

Best Audio:

Atmos Remix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1: Imprint Australia Blu-ray or StudioCanal Germany/France Blu-ray

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray encoded the Original 5.1 as lossy Dolby Digital.

Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray see caps. Much better contrast and grain exposure but the grade is a bit questionable as it skews heavily towards magenta in some caps and the encode looks low-pass filtered.

Lionsgate and the upcoming Imprint have the same discs.

Best Audio:

Atmos Remix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1: Imprint Australia Blu-ray or StudioCanal Germany/France Blu-ray

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray encoded the Original 5.1 as lossy Dolby Digital.

Rosemary's Baby poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1998 Paramount LaserDisc or 2004 R2 Paramount DVD

Best English-Friendly:

Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1998 Paramount LaserDisc or 2004 R2 Paramount DVD

Knife in the Water poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best Video:

UK Screenbound Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The UK disc has supposedly had some revisionist changes done along with DNR. The disc is OOP. Tentative alternative is Criterion DVD

Best Video:

UK Screenbound Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The UK disc has supposedly had some revisionist changes done along with DNR. The disc is OOP. Tentative alternative is Criterion DVD

Macbeth poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Macbeth poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

What? poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Severin Blu-ray

What? poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Severin Blu-ray

Oliver Twist poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Germany Universum Film Blu-ray

Oliver Twist poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Germany Universum Film Blu-ray

The Palace poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Rai Blu-ray (ENG subs)
Germany DVD (ENG audio)

The Palace poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Rai Blu-ray (ENG subs)
Germany DVD (ENG audio)

An Officer and a Spy poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best Video:

France Gaumont Release (no English subtitles or audio)

Best Video:

France Gaumont Release (no English subtitles or audio)

The Pianist poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has poor encode and heavy DNR

Additional Info:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray is from original DI master. The film was an early DI and film prints also looked poor. Shout! Factory Blu-ray is representative of original release. StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has some new VFX work done along with some plates reshot as well as poorly upscaled original VFX work.

Best Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has poor encode and heavy DNR

Additional Info:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray is from original DI master. The film was an early DI and film prints also looked poor. Shout! Factory Blu-ray is representative of original release. StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has some new VFX work done along with some plates reshot as well as poorly upscaled original VFX work.

More from Eagle Pictures

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Once Upon a Time in America poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts

229 min cut (Theatrical): WB Blu-ray

139 min cut (US theatrical): VHS

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps

The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.


Nic's review:

Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.

Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.

I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.

Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.

Best Audio:

251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)

Additional Info:

Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.

Best English-Friendly:

251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts

229 min cut (Theatrical): WB Blu-ray

139 min cut (US theatrical): VHS

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps

The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.


Nic's review:

Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.

Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.

I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.

Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.

Best Audio:

251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)

Additional Info:

Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.

The Housemaid poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

France 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

France 4K Blu-ray > Italy Eagle Pictures > US Lionsgate - caps

credits are in French though

The Housemaid poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

France 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

France 4K Blu-ray > Italy Eagle Pictures > US Lionsgate - caps

credits are in French though

The Conformist poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2023 Eagle Pictures Italy 4K Blu-ray: color is fine

Best Video:

2023 Eagle Pictures Italy 4K Blu-ray: color is fine

Best English-Friendly:

2023 Eagle Pictures Italy 4K Blu-ray: color is fine

Best Video:

2023 Eagle Pictures Italy 4K Blu-ray: color is fine

Cliffhanger poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray has better compression than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray, green-ish SC master that restores some blown-out highlights compared to the Sony master, but bad HDR10 compression (details). The 2023 Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook has different grading and Dolby Vision that some may prefer, good encoding, but heavy DNR for about 15% of the runtime.

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray has better compression than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray, green-ish SC master that restores some blown-out highlights compared to the Sony master, but bad HDR10 compression (details). The 2023 Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook has different grading and Dolby Vision that some may prefer, good encoding, but heavy DNR for about 15% of the runtime.

Pick your poison between Eagle Pictures or Sony.

Cliffhanger poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray has better compression than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray, green-ish SC master that restores some blown-out highlights compared to the Sony master, but bad HDR10 compression (details). The 2023 Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook has different grading and Dolby Vision that some may prefer, good encoding, but heavy DNR for about 15% of the runtime.

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray has better compression than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray, green-ish SC master that restores some blown-out highlights compared to the Sony master, but bad HDR10 compression (details). The 2023 Sony 4K Blu-ray steelbook has different grading and Dolby Vision that some may prefer, good encoding, but heavy DNR for about 15% of the runtime.

Pick your poison between Eagle Pictures or Sony.

Angel Heart poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray 

Best Audio:

2010 Kinowelt Blu-ray

Additional Info:

UK release is cut.

Angel Heart poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray 

Best Audio:

2010 Kinowelt Blu-ray

Additional Info:

UK release is cut.

Ran poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal/Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray >StudioCanal UK (slightly better encoding on Eagle?)

Best Audio:

Japan 4K Restoration Blu-ray has original 4.0

Additional Info:

The US Criterion DVD has some unique supplements with 2.0 surround audio - this release contains Japan end titles.

The Japan 4K Restoration Blu-ray has some exclusive features with 4.0 audio (though the release is not English-friendly)- this release contains Japan end titles.

The StudioCanal releases contain France end titles - while their 4K Blu-ray releases contain identical features.

Ran poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal/Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray >StudioCanal UK (slightly better encoding on Eagle?)

Best Audio:

Japan 4K Restoration Blu-ray has original 4.0

Additional Info:

The US Criterion DVD has some unique supplements with 2.0 surround audio - this release contains Japan end titles.

The Japan 4K Restoration Blu-ray has some exclusive features with 4.0 audio (though the release is not English-friendly)- this release contains Japan end titles.

The StudioCanal releases contain France end titles - while their 4K Blu-ray releases contain identical features.

Rambo III poster
UHD Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:

A new Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray with DV upcoming including with the rest of the films.

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures Italy > StudioCanal UK, better compression than StudioCanal but no forced subs on non-English dialogue

Rambo III poster
UHD Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:

A new Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray with DV upcoming including with the rest of the films.

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures Italy > StudioCanal UK, better compression than StudioCanal but no forced subs on non-English dialogue

Rambo: First Blood Part II poster
UHD Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:

A new Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray with DV upcoming including with the rest of the films.

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures Italy > StudioCanal UK, better compression than StudioCanal

Upcoming Release:

A new Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray with DV upcoming including with the rest of the films.

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures Italy > StudioCanal UK, better compression than StudioCanal

La La Land poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures has DV, better encode, and no brightness shifts compared to Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray for the original Dolby Atmos mix

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Panorama 4K Blu-ray has two interviews available in HD that are SD everywhere else

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures has DV, better encode, and no brightness shifts compared to Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray for the original Dolby Atmos mix

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Panorama 4K Blu-ray has two interviews available in HD that are SD everywhere else

From Dusk Till Dawn poster
4K Streaming
Best English-Friendly:

Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray

Also Streaming in 4K on Paramount+

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray

Also Streaming in 4K on Paramount+

Additional Info:

France/Germany StudioCanal Blu-ray has more extras

Best English-Friendly:

Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray

Also Streaming in 4K on Paramount+

Best Video:

Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray

Also Streaming in 4K on Paramount+

Additional Info:

France/Germany StudioCanal Blu-ray has more extras

More Adventure on Blu-ray

The Phantom poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray > 4K Blu-ray

4K is disappointing with color space issues and poor encoding, disc replacement program for the 4K disc has been put out with the correct color space.

Best Audio:

DVD 5.1 or LaserDisc PCM 2.0

The Phantom poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray > 4K Blu-ray

4K is disappointing with color space issues and poor encoding, disc replacement program for the 4K disc has been put out with the correct color space.

Best Audio:

DVD 5.1 or LaserDisc PCM 2.0

The Beloved Rogue poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

For Whom the Bell Tolls poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Probably Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Probably Kino Lorber Blu-ray

While no comparison is available, this is indeed a new 4K restoration. However it has its problem like not scanned from best surviving prints due to some issues, or technicolor out of alignment but seems to be still better than older releases

Best English-Friendly:

Probably Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Probably Kino Lorber Blu-ray

While no comparison is available, this is indeed a new 4K restoration. However it has its problem like not scanned from best surviving prints due to some issues, or technicolor out of alignment but seems to be still better than older releases

Two Arabian Knights poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray has the original colour grade

Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray has the original colour grade

The Empire Strikes Back poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas. If not, Disney 4K Blu-ray

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D+97_V" on high seas.

Upcoming Release:

2027 Original Trilogy restoration/50th anniversary rerelease clips leaked plus release confirmed

Best Video:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D_97_VI" on the high seas. If not, the 4K Blu-rays are generally considered an improvement over the 2011 Blu-rays. (although both restorations are DNR'ed and have issues).

Best Audio:

OG: LaserDisc audio is the best option for the Dolby Stereo mixes. 70mm six-track mix is included in 4K80 (taken from an actual 70mm print). There are 16mm rips of the mono mix.

Special Edition: Cinema DTS or 1997 LaserDisc for the Special Edition.

Best English-Friendly:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas. If not, Disney 4K Blu-ray

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D+97_V" on high seas.

Upcoming Release:

2027 Original Trilogy restoration/50th anniversary rerelease clips leaked plus release confirmed

Best Video:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D_97_VI" on the high seas. If not, the 4K Blu-rays are generally considered an improvement over the 2011 Blu-rays. (although both restorations are DNR'ed and have issues).

Best Audio:

OG: LaserDisc audio is the best option for the Dolby Stereo mixes. 70mm six-track mix is included in 4K80 (taken from an actual 70mm print). There are 16mm rips of the mono mix.

Special Edition: Cinema DTS or 1997 LaserDisc for the Special Edition.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2D version: Disney 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Disney 3D Blu-ray or Disney+/Apple TV Vision Pro Streaming

Best Video:

2D version: Disney 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Disney 3D Blu-ray or Disney+/Apple TV Vision Pro Streaming

Best English-Friendly:

2D version: Disney 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Disney 3D Blu-ray or Disney+/Apple TV Vision Pro Streaming

Best Video:

2D version: Disney 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Disney 3D Blu-ray or Disney+/Apple TV Vision Pro Streaming

National Lampoon's Vacation poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original theatrical release featured the song "I'm So Excited", which was later replaced with "Little Boy Sweet". The former is included on 1983 VHS/LaserDisc releases, and was at one point available on Amazon and Vudu Streaming streams.

Best English-Friendly:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original theatrical release featured the song "I'm So Excited", which was later replaced with "Little Boy Sweet". The former is included on 1983 VHS/LaserDisc releases, and was at one point available on Amazon and Vudu Streaming streams.

Mulan poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2020 Disney 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Digital re-render: 2020 Disney 4K Blu-ray, caveat: no Dolby Vision metadata from 4K Streaming

Original theatrical 35mm render: WOWOW HDTV broadcast

Best Audio:

1999 Disney DVD for original theatrical mix

Mulan poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2020 Disney 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Digital re-render: 2020 Disney 4K Blu-ray, caveat: no Dolby Vision metadata from 4K Streaming

Original theatrical 35mm render: WOWOW HDTV broadcast

Best Audio:

1999 Disney DVD for original theatrical mix

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