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The Egg and I (1947)
The Egg and I (1947) poster

The Egg and I (1947)

Comedy, Romance • 1h 48m

Director: Chester Erskine

Best English-friendly & video release

Video notes:

Australia Via Vision also has a Blu-ray set but it seems to be a collab with Universal so we are assuming it's the same here.

Updated 9 months ago


About the film

World War II veteran Bob MacDonald surprises his new wife, Betty, by quitting his city job and moving them to a dilapidated farm in the country. While Betty gamely struggles with managing the crumbling house and holding off nosy neighbors and a recalcitrant pig, Bob makes plans for crops and livestock. The couple's bliss is shaken by a visit from a beautiful farm owner, who seems to want more from Bob than just managing her property.

More from Chester Erskine

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Director: Chester Erskine

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Flicker Alley In the Shadow of Hollywood: Highlights from Poverty Row Blu-ray

More from Universal

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Director: Alicia MacDonald

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Michael Cimino

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

2020 Shout! Factory 4K

Video Notes:

2020 Shout! Factory 4K slightly better than StudioCanal in HDR10. Similar in DV

Best Audio:

35mm mix: 1991 Universal LaserDisc

70mm mix: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

35mm mix: 1991 Universal LaserDisc marginally better than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is downmix.

70mm mix: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is remix.

Director: Doug Liman

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly & Video:

US Cut: US Universal HD-DVD

International Cut: International Universal HD-DVD

Video Notes:

The Universal Blu-ray is slightly filtered and DNR'd compared to the HD-DVD, and the Universal 4K Blu-ray, on top of being upscaled, adds additional DNR and is softer than both previous HD releases.

Best Audio:

Universal Blu-ray DTS-HD 5.1

Additional Info:

Versions:
- The International version contains a short additional scene (part of the "Farmhouse" extended scene from the special features). See additional detail below.
- The US version does not contain this scene during the film. Director Doug Liman confirms in his audio commentary that the scene was cut from the original US theatrical release "for time".
- "The Explosive Extended Edition" found on some DVD releases is not an alternate cut of the film, simply an access mode that plays "The Bookend Scenes" features via non-seamless branching.

Deck the Halls scene:
The U.S. release is 118:17 while the European/Australian/Japanese releases are 118:36. There is no difference between the two running times from the start, but at 81:21, the U.S. version cuts from a kitchen scene of Marie and Eamon washing dishes, to a scene of Eamon bringing blankets to Jason and Marie. On the European/Australian releases, at the same point, there is a scene of Jason, Marie, Eamon and his children eating dinner while "Deck the Halls" plays in the background. There is no dialogue, the characters just each exchange uncomfortable glances. The scene goes to 81:40, then picks up the same scene of Eamon bringing blankets. This scene is included as an extra ("Farmhouse" extended scene) albeit sans the holiday themed music. Many thanks to Rewind user Mark Bowen for comparing these releases and letting us know the difference.

Director: Brian De Palma

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

1993 Universal LaserDisc

Additional Info:

Carlito’s Way was released theatrically in both Dolby Stereo and DTS. The 2.0 on the Arrow UHD is the original stereo mix, unknown if the 5.1 mix on the  Arrow disc is the original DTS mix.

Director: H. C. Potter

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: David Butler

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Marion Gering

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal 4K Blu-ray or Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Both come from a 4K scan of a 35mm film out which was made from the original 2K DI but the Lionsgate release has visible dust and damage marks while the Universal release is cleaned up more thoroughly. Both releases suffer from DNR which seems to have been baked into the DI. The colour grade is basically the same for both releases but the Lionsgate has Dolby Vision whereas the Universal is HDR10 only. The compression on the Lionsgate UHD base layer is apparently fine so the FEL doesn't make much of a difference.

Best Audio:

Universal Blu-ray?

Audio Notes:

The Lionsgate UHD has Dolby Atmos whereas the Universal UHD has DTS:X. Kick-ass was originally released with a 5.1 track which may be on the Universal Blu-ray.

Additional Info:

The Lionsgate UHD is on a BD-100, the Universal UHD is on a BD-66.

The Universal UHD has no extras.

Director: Joel Coen

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Director's Cut: Disappointing UK StudioCanal/US Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Theatrical Cut: LaserDisc or 2001 UK Universal DVD

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

Video Notes:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21782879#post21782879 - comparison. StudioCanal is a massive improvement to the Criterion but still flawed in some areas (chroma noise)

Director: Leo McCarey

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal DVD

Upcoming Release:

Universal Blu-ray Nov 10th

More Comedy on Blu-ray

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Olive Films Blu-ray

Director: Frank Oz

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: Steve Gordon

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Jack Conway

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from safety preservation elements

Director: George B. Seitz

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from safety preservation elements

Director: Jack Conway

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from safety preservation elements

Director: William Dieterle

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Elaine May

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray > MoC > Olive Films. From nicolas:

The master is good but it’s not that big an upgrade from the Olive Films disc and Vinegar Syndrome’ encode has some blocky highlights. A shame that they didn’t hire David Mackenzie here.

Audio Notes:

Cinématographe has unnecessary noise gating not present on the previous releases.

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vanshady

· last reviewed 9 months ago

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