An Angel at My Table (1990)
Drama • 2h 38m
Director: Jane Campion
Cast: Kerry Fox, Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, Iris Churn, Jessie Mune, Kevin J. Wilson, Edith Campion, Francesca Collins, Melina Bernecker, Mark Morrison, Katherine Murray-Cowper, Mark Thomson, Brenda Kendall, Paul Moffat, Blair Hutchison, David McAuslan, Ailene Herring, Faye Flegg, Carla Hedgeman, Timothy Bartlett, Richard Mills, Sassy Acorn, Tony Creamer, Hamish McFarlane, Geoff Barlow, Samantha Townsley, Sarah Llewellyn, Christopher Lawrence, Fiona Kay, Brian Flegg, Eileen Clarke, Margaret Gordon, Caroline Somerville, Lilian Enting, Fiona Brown, Maureen Duffy, Karla Smith, Willa O'Neill, Fritha Stalker, Melanie Reid, Natasha Gray, Kelly Stewart, Andrew Robertt, Glynis Angell, Susan McGregor, Erin Mills, Virginia Brocklehurst, Natalie Ellis, Eddie Hegan, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Colin McColl, Erin Dorricott, Francene Clark, Doreen Donnell, Alistair Douglas, Rod Collison, Harry Lavington, Sheryl Stewart, Cushla Ashton, Jacqueline O'Rourke, Joy Trow, June Shane, Annabel Lomas, Ann Coc-Kroft, David Stott, Elizabeth McRae, Jim Rawdon, Peter Brunt, Celia Nicholson, Peter Needham, Joshua Cole, Ian Hendl, Martyn Sanderson, Jessica Wilcox, Mark Clare, Helene Anderson, Joan Foster, David Letch, Robert Jayne, Sharon Marsden, Collette Cooper, Julia Calvo, Carlos Martínez, Maria Matias, Michael Harry, Maria Mercedes Moroto, Paula Sánchez, Timothy Smith, Alison Bruce, William Brandt, Gwyneth Hugues, Gerald Bryan, Billie Atkinson, Peter Dennett, David McKenzie, Eleanor Wragge, Caroline Flint, Rachel Hernandez, Patrick Griffiths, Tiffany de Castro, Ruth Dudding, Paul Norell
About the film
Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.
- TSPDT
- 2026: #4302025: #4292024: #4332023: #4272022: #427
Director: Jane Campion
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
France Carlotta 4K Blu-ray slightly better than Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2014 StudioCanal Blu-ray 5.1, 2012 Lionsgate Blu-ray 2.0
Director: Sofia Coppola
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
See comparison
All sources are almost identical, Criterion has very minor high frequency whine filtering, unlikely to be audible. See spectrograms
Director: Hal Ashby
Director: Govindan Aravindan
Director: Idrissa Ouedraogo
Director: Anthony Mann
Criterion 4K Blu-ray, Universal 2008 DVD
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
2008 Universal DVD mono
The mono on the Criterion is severely filtered resulting in it sounding incredibly muffled. It is nearly as filtered as the 2003 original Universal DVD which had extreme filtering and sounds horribly thin. The 2008 DVD remaster and original LaserDisc analog mastering are mostly left alone. The original LD master is from a worn element but otherwise sounds very natural. The 2008 DVD is the highest quality version we have without the heavy filtering and the defects of the LD master. It isn't perfect but easily the best of the main four sources by a dramatic margin.
The existing 4K SDR restoration looks excellent, but the Criterion extras are limited and disappointing. The classic Stewart interview commentary from the LD is ported over but given a new mastering. Compared to past releases it has been very slightly noise reduced.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
The 4K discs in both Criterion and Imprint sets are FiM encodes, but low-passed. The compression is better, but some of the grain is lost. Difference is pronounced in screen caps, but not likely to be noticed during playback, without a reference to compare it to. Comparisons
All discs use the same source transfer. It's not of the highest quality, and it includes some slight distortion, looping, clicks, pops, and hum. Criterion cleaned it up for their release, but unfortunately also lost a lot of fidelity in the process.
MGM NTSC DVD doesn't seem to have some of the more prominent distortion and has slightly different EQ but is otherwise the same.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
1.85:1: Kino Lorber 4K / Capelight 4K
1.66:1: Criterion 4K but low pass filtered
Comparison between the 4Ks, Criterion on the AR choice
Other discs have unnecessary filtering and sound worse, the difference isn't substantial but audible
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Universal release without the filtering.
DTS:X mix on Universal 4K Blu-ray most closely approximates original surround mix
Criterion DVD and Universal 4K Blu-ray has additional features not found on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray
More Drama on Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray see caps
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray vs Criterion
Three masterings of the original Dolby Stereo SR mix exist: the original Orion video releases, the Criterion (which is from their LD) and the Arrow. All three are excellent with slight mastering differences between them. The original Orion still is probably the one with the most fidelity, the Criterion is the cleanest with a kind of warm feel to it and the Arrow has a bit of both aspects. The Arrow mastering has a tiny almost imperceptible bit of audio bleeding into the surround that isn't on the Criterion. Each has their own pluses and minuses but you can't go wrong with any of them. Whatever you do though: DO NOT WATCH WITH THE 5.1 REMIX. It is another MGM botch job that fundamentally alters the impact of many scenes. It is vastly inferior to the original mix in every way.
Shout! Factory's Blu-ray has both cuts of the film in addition to the 3.0 stereo and 2.0 mono mixes making it the first time the full theatrical cut is available with the 3.0 mix. The new commentary is good. The 3.0 stereo sounds wonderful and the mono sounds solid.
That's where the positives end. This is the same terrible Universal DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc with a terrible encode making both versions share the disc separately taking up more space. This master was already poor for DVD and is nearly unwatchable here on the Shout! Factory disc. It looks virtually identical to the upscaled DVD most of the time with only a bit less noise due to it being 1080p. This is one of the most appalling cases of "DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc" you can possibly find. Absolutely shameful video presentation. This should have never been released this way. Sadly it's still ever so slightly better than the DVD and the only way you get the proper theatrical cut with lossless 3.0 stereo. This is still the best source we have for the film.
Director: Anthony Mann
This is an ancient Universal master of a film in dire need of restoration. This only looks somewhat better than the old Universal DVD upscaled and is clearly the same master. Tons of wear, color fringing and other issues abound. The film is stuck at the theatrical widescreen ratio of 1.85:1 when it was composed for Academy ratio. The proper ratio is only found on the trailer, original VHS master and Region 2 PAL DVD. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is their usual barebones affair except for flawed low res trailer files and a basic commentary. The film's 3.0 stereo mix is intact alongside the more limited mono mix thankfully. The Blu-ray does edge out over the old Universal DVD but that is merely due to it being the same master resolving better in 1080p. This presentation is sadly poor and the film deserves much better.
Director: Robert Altman
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Cinematrographe's HDR grading is overcooked, which is a known VinSyn tendency. Additionally, their booklet mis-credits the encode to FiM.
YMMV, but for some, the included BD encoded by Marcus Johnson—ironically may make for a more pleasing experience.
Director: Roman Polanski
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
UK 4K teased by 88 Films https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=24252379
Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray > Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)
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· last reviewed 1 year ago
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