Big Fish (2003)
Adventure, Fantasy, Drama • 2h 5m
Overview
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.
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Matthew McGrory, David Denman, Missi Pyle, Loudon Wainwright III, Ada Tai, Arlene Tai, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Deep Roy, Perry Walston, Hailey Anne Nelson, Grayson Stone, R. Keith Harris, Karla Droege, Zac Gardner, John Lowell, Darrell Vanterpool, Miley Cyrus, Joseph Humphrey, Morgan Grace Jarrett, Sallie Hedrick, Charles McLawhorn, Frank Hoyt Taylor, Savanna James, Billy Redden, James DeForest Parker, Russell Hodgkinson, Don Young, Jayne Morgan, David Ramsey, Greg Hohn, Zach Hanner, George McArthur, Jeff Campbell, Lawrence Sykkmon, Bonnie Johnson, Howard Houston Jr., Joanne Pankow, Trevor Gagnon, Jacob Radford, Karlos Walkes, Cathy Berry, John Fugate, Daniel Wallace, Metz Duites, Vincent J. Ybiernas, Barry C. Harvard, Edward Aldag, Michael Garnet Stewart, C. Alan Rawlins Sr., Jake Brake, Bevin Kaye, L.C. Holt, Will Thomas
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: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
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Fox/Disney 4K Blu-ray, the compression is poor, but it still beats the previous Blu-ray. (Luminance plot)
The 4K Blu-ray only has Atmos which is possibly the original mix, but the previous Blu-ray’s 4.0 sounds good too.
Director: Tim Burton
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Fox/Disney 4K Blu-ray, the compression is poor, but it still beats the previous Blu-ray. (Luminance plot)
The 4K Blu-ray only has Atmos which is possibly the original mix, but the previous Blu-ray’s 4.0 sounds good too.
Theatrical Cut: Warner Bros US 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD set
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
See cut information: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4167
Theatrical Cut: Cinema DTS
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
Theatrical Cut: Warner Bros US 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD set
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
See cut information: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=4167
Theatrical Cut: Cinema DTS
Extended Cut: Warner Bros Blu-ray
Directors: Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
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.
Warner Bros HD-DVD has the original 6.1 mix in a better bitrate than the Blu-ray, but is still lossy and a disc prone to disc rot. The Blu-ray is a good alternative.
Directors: Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
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.
Warner Bros HD-DVD has the original 6.1 mix in a better bitrate than the Blu-ray, but is still lossy and a disc prone to disc rot. The Blu-ray is a good alternative.
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
WB Blu-Ray
WB 4K Blu-Ray teased
WB Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray is missing special features from the DVD
Director: Tim Burton
WB Blu-Ray
WB 4K Blu-Ray teased
WB Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray is missing special features from the DVD
Director: Tim Burton
WB 4K Blu-ray but with notable color timing issues
Dolby Stereo mix: WB LaserDisc PCM
Original Mix in 5.1 Discrete: 1997 WB DVD, 1.33:1 version for this track uncut
Original mix in 2005 5.1 new transfer: 2005 WB DVD in Dolby and DTS, 2008 WB Blu-ray for TrueHD.
Original mix on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD is significantly warmer and more impactful sounding. These nuances are lost on the 2005 remaster audio found on DVD and Blu-ray which due have a tinge of extra clarity in contrast.
The Atmos mix is excruciatingly bad as it removes original sound effects and wrecks the original sound design. Music is prioritized and dominates in a bad way. The sound library effects used to create a specific sound signature as part of the mix of time period production design is completely lost. Fidelity is also lowered due to noise reduction and processing.
Director: Tim Burton
WB 4K Blu-ray but with notable color timing issues
Dolby Stereo mix: WB LaserDisc PCM
Original Mix in 5.1 Discrete: 1997 WB DVD, 1.33:1 version for this track uncut
Original mix in 2005 5.1 new transfer: 2005 WB DVD in Dolby and DTS, 2008 WB Blu-ray for TrueHD.
Original mix on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD is significantly warmer and more impactful sounding. These nuances are lost on the 2005 remaster audio found on DVD and Blu-ray which due have a tinge of extra clarity in contrast.
The Atmos mix is excruciatingly bad as it removes original sound effects and wrecks the original sound design. Music is prioritized and dominates in a bad way. The sound library effects used to create a specific sound signature as part of the mix of time period production design is completely lost. Fidelity is also lowered due to noise reduction and processing.
Director: Tim Burton
Director: Tim Burton
More Adventure on Blu-ray
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.
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray has better detail and grain, 2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray from the Hayao Miyazaki box set for MGVC with added bit-depth for supported players
2011/2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray for original 6.1 audio mix, Cinema DTS for the English dub
2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray has better detail and grain, 2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray from the Hayao Miyazaki box set for MGVC with added bit-depth for supported players
2011/2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray for original 6.1 audio mix, Cinema DTS for the English dub
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: James Cameron
Disney 4K Blu-ray's artificial smoothening of facial textures making actors look unnatural, grain reduction and other changes to make the film look less like a product of its time
Old WEB-DL or HDTV rip for non AI version
Director: James Cameron
Disney 4K Blu-ray's artificial smoothening of facial textures making actors look unnatural, grain reduction and other changes to make the film look less like a product of its time
Old WEB-DL or HDTV rip for non AI version
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
caps #1 (with FEL), caps #2
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
The compression is underwhelming on all discs, but despite trading blows in various frames, Lionsgate's re-released 4K disc wins.
The Lionsgate 4K re-release includes original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix, transferred from a LaserDisc, with missing cues at side changeover points corrected, and consistent volume throughout, as well as two remixed variants in 5.1 and 7.1 Atmos. The 5.1 is incorrectly labeled as original on the menu.
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
caps #1 (with FEL), caps #2
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray (2026 Rambo set)
The compression is underwhelming on all discs, but despite trading blows in various frames, Lionsgate's re-released 4K disc wins.
The Lionsgate 4K re-release includes original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix, transferred from a LaserDisc, with missing cues at side changeover points corrected, and consistent volume throughout, as well as two remixed variants in 5.1 and 7.1 Atmos. The 5.1 is incorrectly labeled as original on the menu.
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Edit History
2/19/2026
Format
Added
UHD Blu-ray
Added
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly Release
Added
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Added
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Best Video Release
Added
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Added
Sony 4K Blu-Ray
Blu-ray.com
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/Big-Fish/18104/#Releases
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/Big-Fish/18104/#Releases
caps-a-holic
Added
https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=5940
Added
https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=5940
DVDBeaver
Added
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews5/bigfish.htm
Added
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews5/bigfish.htm
