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Big Fish (2003)
Big Fish (2003) poster

Big Fish (2003)

Adventure, Fantasy, Drama • 2h 5m

Director: Tim Burton

Best English-friendly & video release

Sony 4K Blu-Ray

UHD Blu-ray

Updated 8 months ago


About the film

Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.

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Director: Tim Burton

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Fox/Disney 4K Blu-ray

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

Upcoming Release:

-

Video Notes:

The compression is poor, but it still beats the previous Blu-ray. (Luminance plot)

Best Audio:

1991 Fox Video LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

?

The 4K Blu-ray only has Atmos which is possibly the original mix, but the previous Blu-ray’s 4.0 sounds good too.

Additional Info:

More Chroma artifacts

Director: Tim Burton

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray caps. The HDR10 base layer is bright, so I'd recommended to watch it in Dolby Vision.

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray is missing the isolated score and Martian dub from the DVD

Directors: Tim Burton & Mike Johnson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray caps. Original 1.85 framing restored, much better colors, image detail and a film stock-like tone curve was restored.

Best Audio:

Warner Bros HD-DVD

Audio Notes:

Warner Bros HD-DVD has the original 6.1 mix in a better format than the Blu-ray (Dolby Digital Plus instead of standard Dolby Digital), but is still lossy and a disc prone to disc rot. The Blu-ray is a good alternative.

Director: Tim Burton

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Director: Tim Burton

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

WB 4K Blu-ray but has MAJOR Color Timing issues. All cold blues are rendered teal. WB Blu-ray despite issues is a purist visual option in this regard.

Best Audio:

Dolby Stereo SR: WB LaserDisc PCM

Dolby Digital 5.1: 1997 DVD

2005 5.1 new transfer: WB DVD in Dolby and DTS, 2008 Blu-ray in TrueHD

Additional Info:

First ever Dolby Digital 5.1 wide release film. 4K Blu-ray has new Atmos remix which replaces original sound effects and prioritizes music and bombast. A terrible audio experience to be avoided. 1997 WB DVD has open matte version on flipper disc. VHS also is open matte.

Director: Tim Burton

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

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.

Additional Info:

International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.

Director: Tim Burton

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Disney US 4-disc Blu-ray set for both 2D and 3D versions

Director: Tim Burton

Best English-Friendly:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Theatrical Cut: Warner Bros US 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD set

Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Theatrical Cut: Cinema DTS

Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray

Director: Tim Burton

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Director: Tim Burton

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

WB US Laserdisc [11785]

More Adventure on Blu-ray

Director: George Pal

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative

Director: Dennis Hopper

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony UK 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Universal release without the filtering.

Audio Notes:

DTS:X mix on Universal 4K Blu-ray most closely approximates original surround mix

Additional Info:

Criterion DVD and Universal 4K Blu-ray has additional features not found on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K

Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

An undeniably significant improvement from the BD yet still severely flawed. See DFIC's review.

Best Audio:

1984 MGM Hi-Fi VHS

Director: John Huston

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

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

Best Audio:

Eureka Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Eureka Blu-ray > StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Older DVD or LaserDisc probably even better

Additional Info:

All blu-ray releases so far is from the 2010 scan.

Director: Sam Peckinpah

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion Blu-ray or WB DVD depending on the cut.

Best Video:

First Preview (Turner): Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Second Preview (Final Preview): Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Theatrical: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

2005 Cut: WB DVD

2024 Cut: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Roland Emmerich

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: George Lucas

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

OG: "4K77" or "D+77" on high seas.

Special Edition: "4K97_IV" or "D+97_IV" on high seas.

Upcoming Release:

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

Best Audio:

OG: LaserDisc audio is the best option for the Dolby Stereo mixes (and usually included in fan restorations). There are 16mm/TV rips of the mono mixes.

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

Director: David Lean

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

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

Additional Info:

The 5.1 on Sony 4K Blu-ray is from the 1989 70mm mix. The original is 4-track. not on the disc.

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Researched and maintained by

tyyux

· last reviewed 8 months ago

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