Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
火垂るの墓
Animation, Drama, War • 1h 33m
Overview
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
Director: Isao Takahata
Director: John Ford
1988/1990 WB Hi-Fi VHS, crystal clear, albeit with some distortion in louder areas
The 4K Blu-ray reuses the same poor mastering used on the 2006 WB Blu-ray, only with a completely unnecessary bass cut and extra noise reduction.
Even putting resolution aside, the Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray has the best video. The old Blu-ray master and earlier DVD both had massive issues with colour.
That said, picture on the 4K Blu-ray isn't perfect, with strange posterized magenta glints and some instances of DNR: https://bsky.app/profile/dagscott.bsky.social/post/3leahavqi7k2l
Director: John Ford
1988/1990 WB Hi-Fi VHS, crystal clear, albeit with some distortion in louder areas
The 4K Blu-ray reuses the same poor mastering used on the 2006 WB Blu-ray, only with a completely unnecessary bass cut and extra noise reduction.
Even putting resolution aside, the Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray has the best video. The old Blu-ray master and earlier DVD both had massive issues with colour.
That said, picture on the 4K Blu-ray isn't perfect, with strange posterized magenta glints and some instances of DNR: https://bsky.app/profile/dagscott.bsky.social/post/3leahavqi7k2l
Director: Fritz Lang
1984 Giorgio Moroder restoration: MoC Blu-ray or Kino Lorber Blu-ray
2001 Murnau restoration: MoC 2-disc DVD set > Kino Lorber 1-disc Restored Authorized Edition DVD
2010 Murnau complete restoration: MoC Blu-ray > Kino Lorber Blu-ray
Director: Fritz Lang
1984 Giorgio Moroder restoration: MoC Blu-ray or Kino Lorber Blu-ray
2001 Murnau restoration: MoC 2-disc DVD set > Kino Lorber 1-disc Restored Authorized Edition DVD
2010 Murnau complete restoration: MoC Blu-ray > Kino Lorber Blu-ray
Director: F. W. Murnau
2006 Restoration: Eureka Blu-ray
1995 photochemical restoration: BFI Blu-ray that some may prefer
Eureka with Murnau institute restoration featuring score based on original score, BFI uses Photoplay restoration with James Bernard score
Both Eureka and BFI BDs are worthy of owning. Each restoration has unique positives and extras. The James Bernard score on the BFI is outstanding and the image tinting is different to how the Murnau institute official restoration was done. The Eureka MoC BD is stuffed with extras and remains one of the best-made BDs of all time. Whatever you do: AVOID THE Kino Lorber BD!!! It uses the same Murnau institute restoration but drops frames for the whole feature - thus it loses a significant portion of the film! This was never acknowledged or addressed. The Kino Lorber BD remains one of the worst BDs of all time for this reason.
Director: F. W. Murnau
2006 Restoration: Eureka Blu-ray
1995 photochemical restoration: BFI Blu-ray that some may prefer
Eureka with Murnau institute restoration featuring score based on original score, BFI uses Photoplay restoration with James Bernard score
Both Eureka and BFI BDs are worthy of owning. Each restoration has unique positives and extras. The James Bernard score on the BFI is outstanding and the image tinting is different to how the Murnau institute official restoration was done. The Eureka MoC BD is stuffed with extras and remains one of the best-made BDs of all time. Whatever you do: AVOID THE Kino Lorber BD!!! It uses the same Murnau institute restoration but drops frames for the whole feature - thus it loses a significant portion of the film! This was never acknowledged or addressed. The Kino Lorber BD remains one of the worst BDs of all time for this reason.
251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts
Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps
The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.
Nic's review:
Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.
Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.
I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.
Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.
251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)
Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.
251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts
Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps
The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.
Nic's review:
Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.
Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.
I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.
Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.
251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)
Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.
Director: Billy Wilder
Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice
Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the BD mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.
The 5.1 remix on the 4K Blu-ray is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the Blu-ray master.
Director: Billy Wilder
Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice
Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the BD mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.
The 5.1 remix on the 4K Blu-ray is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the Blu-ray master.
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
2022 Paramount Presents Blu-ray disc included in 4K Blu-ray set
2022 Paramount Presents Blu-ray disc included in 4K Blu-ray set, same master, but less bitrate starved.
The encode on the BD is preferable to the UHD. Same master, but less bitrate starved: https://x.com/SadHillDevan/status/1530057783885721607?s=20 and see caps
2022 Paramount Presents Blu-ray disc included in 4K Blu-ray set
2022 Paramount Presents Blu-ray disc included in 4K Blu-ray set, same master, but less bitrate starved.
The encode on the BD is preferable to the UHD. Same master, but less bitrate starved: https://x.com/SadHillDevan/status/1530057783885721607?s=20 and see caps
The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes. Part II overall fares better than the first film but it has all the same problems. Randomly some shots are the worst in the trilogy looks mushy and manipulated to death.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0
The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes. Part II overall fares better than the first film but it has all the same problems. Randomly some shots are the worst in the trilogy looks mushy and manipulated to death.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0
Director: Isao Takahata
2013 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray
2013 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray
Director: Isao Takahata
2013 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray
2013 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray
Director: Isao Takahata
Director: Isao Takahata
Director: Goro Miyazaki
2011 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray
Director: Goro Miyazaki
2011 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray / US GKIDS Blu-ray
US GKIDS Blu-ray for the Amazon English dub
US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the older Funimation English dub
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray / US GKIDS Blu-ray
US GKIDS Blu-ray for the Amazon English dub
US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the older Funimation English dub
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts
Directors: Katsuichi Nakayama & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Mahiro Maeda & Hideaki Anno
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray for both the original Japanese and the Amazon English dub
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray has higher bitrate and better encoding than the Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray
Directors: Katsuichi Nakayama & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Mahiro Maeda & Hideaki Anno
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray for both the original Japanese and the Amazon English dub
US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray has higher bitrate and better encoding than the Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray / US GKIDS Blu-ray
US GKIDS Blu-ray for the Amazon English dub
US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the older Funimation English dub
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray / US GKIDS Blu-ray
US GKIDS Blu-ray for the Amazon English dub
US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the older Funimation English dub
Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts
Directors: Masayuki & Hideaki Anno & Tsuyoshi Kaga & Shoichi Masuo & Ken Ando & Seiji Mizushima & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Naoyasu Habu & Hiroyuki Ishido & Tensai Okamura & Akira Takamura & Minoru Ohara & Masahiko Otsuka & Tetsuya Watanabe & Keiichi Sugiyama
Directors: Masayuki & Hideaki Anno & Tsuyoshi Kaga & Shoichi Masuo & Ken Ando & Seiji Mizushima & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Naoyasu Habu & Hiroyuki Ishido & Tensai Okamura & Akira Takamura & Minoru Ohara & Masahiko Otsuka & Tetsuya Watanabe & Keiichi Sugiyama
Director: Kiyotaka Oshiyama
2026 Japan Avex Blu-ray. The 4K Blu-ray is an upscale with strong sharpening. Caps
2026 Japan Avex 4K Blu-ray, includes original 5.1 and an Atmos remix. The HD disc only includes 5.1.
Director: Kiyotaka Oshiyama
2026 Japan Avex Blu-ray. The 4K Blu-ray is an upscale with strong sharpening. Caps
2026 Japan Avex 4K Blu-ray, includes original 5.1 and an Atmos remix. The HD disc only includes 5.1.
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) has English dub and subtitles
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) is the native SD transfer in a superior MPEG-4 AVC encode. GKIDS Blu-ray is upscaled.
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) has English dub and subtitles
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) is the native SD transfer in a superior MPEG-4 AVC encode. GKIDS Blu-ray is upscaled.
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) has English subtitles
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) is the native SD transfer in a superior MPEG-4 AVC encode. GKIDS Blu-ray is upscaled.
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) has English subtitles
Japan SD Blu-ray (bonus on the International Edition of 5 Centimeters per Second) is the native SD transfer in a superior MPEG-4 AVC encode. GKIDS Blu-ray is upscaled.
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Edit History
