The Joyless Street (1925)
Die freudlose Gasse
Drama • 2h 28m
Overview
In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperinflation.
Director: G.W. Pabst
Director: G.W. Pabst
MoC slightly better than Kino Lorber http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film9/blu-ray_review_122/the_love_of_jeanne_ney_blu-ray.htm
Director: G.W. Pabst
MoC slightly better than Kino Lorber http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film9/blu-ray_review_122/the_love_of_jeanne_ney_blu-ray.htm
Director: G.W. Pabst
Director: G.W. Pabst
Director: G.W. Pabst
Director: G.W. Pabst
Director: Frank Lloyd
Unofficial streaming
MoMA has 35mm print but no release yet
Director: Frank Lloyd
Unofficial streaming
MoMA has 35mm print but no release yet
Director: John G. Blystone
MoMA has completed digital restoration in 2026, no release yet
Director: John G. Blystone
MoMA has completed digital restoration in 2026, no release yet
Directors: Stewart Bird & Deborah Shaffer
Directors: Stewart Bird & Deborah Shaffer
Director: Yvonne Rainer
4K restoration done by MoMA and Kino Lorber as distributor, but no home release yet
Director: Yvonne Rainer
4K restoration done by MoMA and Kino Lorber as distributor, but no home release yet
Official Bundersarchiv 720p HD Streaming which given it's release in 2025, likely to be the same new restoration by MoMA https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11559
Official Bundersarchiv 720p HD Streaming which given it's release in 2025, likely to be the same new restoration by MoMA https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11559
Director: D.W. Griffith
New digitized edition of MoMA’s definitive 1979 photochemical restoration, no release yet https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11556
Kino Lorber Blu-ray Mastered in HD from the Museum of Modern Art's 35mm restoration, with original color tints
Director: D.W. Griffith
New digitized edition of MoMA’s definitive 1979 photochemical restoration, no release yet https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/11556
Kino Lorber Blu-ray Mastered in HD from the Museum of Modern Art's 35mm restoration, with original color tints
Director: Raoul Walsh
Director: Raoul Walsh
Kino Lorber Ken Jacobs Collection, Vol. 1 Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Ken Jacobs Collection, Vol. 1 Blu-ray is a new MoMA 2K restoration
Kino Lorber Ken Jacobs Collection, Vol. 1 Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Ken Jacobs Collection, Vol. 1 Blu-ray is a new MoMA 2K restoration
Director: Jerome Hill
Official HD Streaming https://vimeo.com/1145694559
Official HD Streaming https://vimeo.com/1145694559 new 2025 restoration with MoMA
Director: Jerome Hill
Official HD Streaming https://vimeo.com/1145694559
Official HD Streaming https://vimeo.com/1145694559 new 2025 restoration with MoMA
Director: William A. Wellman
2018 Kino Lorber Remastered Blu-ray
2018 Kino Lorber Remastered Blu-ray, new 2k scan with very different color http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_reviews55/nothing_sacred_blu-ray.htm but overall much better compared to the older Kino Lorber Blu-ray
MoMA has just scanned from the original separations, and it's the only version of this classic with accurate Technicolor. This new restoration is now streaming on Criterion Channel
Director: William A. Wellman
2018 Kino Lorber Remastered Blu-ray
2018 Kino Lorber Remastered Blu-ray, new 2k scan with very different color http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-ray_reviews55/nothing_sacred_blu-ray.htm but overall much better compared to the older Kino Lorber Blu-ray
MoMA has just scanned from the original separations, and it's the only version of this classic with accurate Technicolor. This new restoration is now streaming on Criterion Channel
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Director: Rolf de Heer
Director: Rolf de Heer
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR
Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray
BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.
The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.
Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR
Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray
BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.
The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.
Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.
Director: Vincent Ward
Director: Vincent Ward
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray > US Paramount 4K Blu-ray for the US Cut.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray, is significantly better than the US Paramount 4K Blu-ray (even with FEL Baked in and Dolby Vision), with more grain retention and detail
SDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/TEPHtKjl
HDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/hIFe11Hx
Comparisons in SDR using L8 Trim from CM v4.0 (both UHDs can use CM v4.0): Remux vs USA UHD: https://slow.pics/c/mkrhVtpl
The International Cut, which contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act, hasn't been released on home video to date.
International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray > US Paramount 4K Blu-ray for the US Cut.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray, is significantly better than the US Paramount 4K Blu-ray (even with FEL Baked in and Dolby Vision), with more grain retention and detail
SDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/TEPHtKjl
HDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/hIFe11Hx
Comparisons in SDR using L8 Trim from CM v4.0 (both UHDs can use CM v4.0): Remux vs USA UHD: https://slow.pics/c/mkrhVtpl
The International Cut, which contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act, hasn't been released on home video to date.
International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.
Director: John Ford
Director: John Ford
Edit History
12/27/2025
Format
Added
DVD
Added
DVD
Best English-Friendly Release
Best Video Release
Added
German Filmmuseum PAL DVD https://www.edition-filmmuseum.com/product_info.php/info/p81_Die-freudlose-Gasse.html has the most complete version of 151 minutes in its sixth 2020 edition of the DVD.
Although MoMA is also going to show a "2025 restoration" also from Filmmuseum so hopefully a newer home release is going to be soon.
Added
German Filmmuseum PAL DVD https://www.edition-filmmuseum.com/product_info.php/info/p81_Die-freudlose-Gasse.html has the most complete version of 151 minutes in its sixth 2020 edition of the DVD.
Although MoMA is also going to show a "2025 restoration" also from Filmmuseum so hopefully a newer home release is going to be soon.
