The Canterbury Tales (1972)
I racconti di Canterbury
Comedy, History, Drama • 1h 51m
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Cast: Hugh Griffith, Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli, Franco Citti, Josephine Chaplin, Alan Webb, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jenny Runacre, Adrian Street, Derek Deadman, Nicholas Smith, Orla Pederson, J.P. Van Dyne, George Bethell Datch, Dan Thomas, Michael Balfour, Peter Cain, Daniele Buckler, John Francis Lane, Settimo Castagna, Athol Coats, Judy Stewart-Murray, Tom Baker, Oscar Fochetti, Willoughby Goddard, Peter Stephens, Giuseppe Arrigio, Elisabetta Genovese, Gordon King, Patrick Duffett, Eamann Howell, Tiziano Longo, Eileen King, Heather Johnson, Robin Askwith, Martin Whelar, John McLaren, Edward Monteith, Kervin Breen, Franca Sciutto, Vittorio Fanfoni, Leonard S. Brooks, Stephen Calcutt, Phil Davis, Charles De la Tour, Francis de Wolff, Michael Derrek, Andrew Dymock, V. Edwards, Dorothy Everall, Diana Fisher, Chris Greener, David Hatton, Judo Al Hayes, Terry Hooper, Robert Brook Howard, Karl Howman, Richard Hughes, Laurie Inch, Charlotte Kell, Pinky Martin, Alan McConnell, Norman McGlen, Peter McGregor, Hugh McKenzie-Bailey, Roderick McLeod, Anthony Moore, Ken Muggleston, Patrick Newell, Ray Parks, Martin Philips, Selwyn Roberts, Anita Sanders, Marc Sinclair, Mary Stuart, Reg Stuart, Steve Whitton
Best English-friendly & video release · updated 6 months ago
Overview
Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Video format: 1080p Blu-ray
Criterion boxset
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
BFI 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion Passolini 101 box
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Carlotta Passolini set
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion passolini set
Director: Terrence Malick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Lovely underlying remaster by Criterion and Resillion but encode is sadly low-pass filtered by Pixelogic, and even then, the encode is still less than ideal. Still easily obliterates any prior disc release, but certainly wouldn't hurt to have a UK or German label take a crack at this same master.
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: Peter Bogdanovich
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Eureka UK are considering doing a 4K and actively exploring the possibility: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24363810&postcount=264
Wonderful underlying remaster by Criterion and Resillion, but NexSpec encode has clipped highlights with the occasional blockiness. The Criterion Blu-Ray, sourced from their 4K remaster, ironically makes for a more consistent and overall pleasing experience.
Director: Luis Buñuel
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
For Blu-ray Criterion Demy Set > StudioCanal
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
See chris's review
1991 Daiei LaserDisc
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
(same as all tracks since the DVD)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps
Phenomenal disc, and perhaps the single greatest testament to NexSpec's positive 180 this year. Highlights are beautifully handled and grain structure is fully intact in areas where NexSpec's (and Pixelogic's) encodes would frequently fall apart in 2025 and before then. Criterion BD encode also looks to be robust from linked caps, save for this one frame: https://slow.pics/c/cMjMefmi
Criterion Box Set coming October 20th with FiM encode, work done to un-Nolan the 4K master, the first ever appearance of the 35mm mono track on physical media and a new restoration/remastering of the 70mm 6-track mix.
(early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed)
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