Macbeth (1971)
War, Drama • 2h 21m
Overview
Scotland, 11th century. Driven by the twisted prophecy of three witches and the ruthless ambition of his wife, warlord Macbeth, bold and brave, but also weak and hesitant, betrays his good king and his brothers in arms and sinks into the bloody mud of a path with no return, sown with crime and suspicion.
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, John Stride, Nicholas Selby, Terence Bayler, Stephan Chase, Paul Shelley, Noel Davis, Richard Pearson, Andrew Laurence, Bernard Archard, Sydney Bromley, Ian Hogg, Diane Fletcher, Bruce Purchase, Frank Wylie, Maisie MacFarquhar, Elsie Taylor, Noelle Rimmington, Keith Chegwin, Patricia Mason, Michael Balfour, Andrew McCulloch, Mark Dightam, Bill Drysdale, Roy Jones, Vic Abbott, Geoffrey Reed, Nigel Ashton, William Hobbs, Alf Joint, Paul Hennen, Christine Paul-Podlasky, Howard Lang
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray
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.
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.
Director: Roman Polanski
Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray
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.
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.
Director: Roman Polanski
Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray
Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray
Director: Roman Polanski
Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray
Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
2023 Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray
Director: Roman Polanski
2023 Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Roman Polanski
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has poor encode and heavy DNR
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.
Director: Roman Polanski
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has poor encode and heavy DNR
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.
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 War on Blu-ray
Director: Sam Wood
Probably Kino Lorber Blu-ray
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
Director: Sam Wood
Probably Kino Lorber Blu-ray
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
Director: Frank Borzage
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 4K scan from the 35mm B&W nitrate original negative and 35mm B&W composite fine grain
Director: Frank Borzage
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 4K scan from the 35mm B&W nitrate original negative and 35mm B&W composite fine grain
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Director: John Woo
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > US Shout! Factory, better encoding by Engine House and redone opening credits, errors present in Shout! Factory fixed
Arrow 4K Blu-ray, mono is from an alternate higher fidelity source than Shout! Factory.
Director: John Woo
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > US Shout! Factory, better encoding by Engine House and redone opening credits, errors present in Shout! Factory fixed
Arrow 4K Blu-ray, mono is from an alternate higher fidelity source than Shout! Factory.
Director: Joel Schumacher
Director: Joel Schumacher
Director: Roland Emmerich
Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)
Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook upcoming with Dolby Vision and both cuts in 4K
Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)
The LPCM 5.1 from the old Extended BD and the DTS-HD 5.1 from the new Extended UHD are exactly the same. The DTS-HD tracks on both of the theatrical UHDs are also the same, and in fact appear to be lossless versions of the Superbit DTS mix with no tampering.
Director: Roland Emmerich
Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)
Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook upcoming with Dolby Vision and both cuts in 4K
Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)
The LPCM 5.1 from the old Extended BD and the DTS-HD 5.1 from the new Extended UHD are exactly the same. The DTS-HD tracks on both of the theatrical UHDs are also the same, and in fact appear to be lossless versions of the Superbit DTS mix with no tampering.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Criterion Box Set
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray worse than Blu-ray with poor encoding (review)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Criterion Box Set
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray worse than Blu-ray with poor encoding (review)
Director: Oliver Stone
A improved Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray teased by Oliver Stone
MGM Blu-ray, better than 2022 Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray due to poor encode and heavy DNR (review)
Director: Oliver Stone
A improved Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray teased by Oliver Stone
MGM Blu-ray, better than 2022 Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray due to poor encode and heavy DNR (review)
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Canada Blu-ray or Netherlands Blu-ray? better than Constantin Germany 4K Blu-ray
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Canada Blu-ray or Netherlands Blu-ray? better than Constantin Germany 4K Blu-ray
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