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The Substitute (1996)
The Substitute (1996) poster
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2.9

The Substitute (1996)

Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller • 1h 54m

Overview

When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.

Director: Robert Mandel

Best English-Friendly Release

Best Video Release

Best Audio Release

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray doesn't have original audio

Format

UHD Blu-ray

UHD Tiers

Solid
Lionsgate

Length

114 mins

Type

Movie

Last Updated

4 months ago

Contributors

Best English-Friendly Release
Best Video Release
Best Audio Release

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray doesn't have original audio

Format
UHD Blu-ray
UHD Tiers
Solid
Lionsgate
Length
114 mins
Type
Movie
Last Updated
4 months ago
Contributors

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UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Terminator 2: Judgment Day poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2015 Lionsgate Blu-ray or 35mm scan for Theatrical Cut

For the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is the older pre 2017 transfer, but has DNR.

Best Video:

2015 Lionsgate Blu-ray (missing the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, which is on the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is DNRed)

2017 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray (and subsequent 4K Blu-rays) is heavily denoised and smoothened. Alternatively, 35mm scans for the theatrical cut  is also available. For the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is the older pre-2017 transfer, but has DNR.

Best Audio:

Original Kodak/ORC CDS mix 5.1: likely on the Artisan DVD and other Pioneer Japan DVD.

Original Dolby Stereo SR: USA Widescreen LaserDisc and others.

Differences and review of the mix. There are earlier stereo mixes and many subsequent remixes on DVDs but it is unclear how many of them are really unique.

Additional Info:

2017 Blu-ray (which has the DNRed transfer), the 2009 Skynet Edition Blu-ray, and the 2000 Ultimate Edition DVD have exclusive extras. The 2003 Extreme Edition DVD has some exclusive easter eggs.

Best English-Friendly:

2015 Lionsgate Blu-ray or 35mm scan for Theatrical Cut

For the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is the older pre 2017 transfer, but has DNR.

Best Video:

2015 Lionsgate Blu-ray (missing the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, which is on the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is DNRed)

2017 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray (and subsequent 4K Blu-rays) is heavily denoised and smoothened. Alternatively, 35mm scans for the theatrical cut  is also available. For the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is the older pre-2017 transfer, but has DNR.

Best Audio:

Original Kodak/ORC CDS mix 5.1: likely on the Artisan DVD and other Pioneer Japan DVD.

Original Dolby Stereo SR: USA Widescreen LaserDisc and others.

Differences and review of the mix. There are earlier stereo mixes and many subsequent remixes on DVDs but it is unclear how many of them are really unique.

Additional Info:

2017 Blu-ray (which has the DNRed transfer), the 2009 Skynet Edition Blu-ray, and the 2000 Ultimate Edition DVD have exclusive extras. The 2003 Extreme Edition DVD has some exclusive easter eggs.

The Running Man poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount US 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

70mm 6-Track: Paramount US 4K Blu-ray

35mm matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1995 Live Home Video US LaserDisc

Although the provenance of Paramount's 5.1 track is not confirmed, the fidelity is outstanding and speaks for itself.
The 7.1 track on the Capelight/old Lionsgate release is just an upmix with nothing gained over the 5.1.
The original stereo mix is only present on older DVDs and LaserDiscs; all Blu-ray 2.0 tracks are downmixes.

Additional Info:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray has no extras, Capelight 4K Blu-ray has most of the extras, Olive Films Blu-ray has a exclusive commentary

Best English-Friendly:

Paramount US 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

70mm 6-Track: Paramount US 4K Blu-ray

35mm matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1995 Live Home Video US LaserDisc

Although the provenance of Paramount's 5.1 track is not confirmed, the fidelity is outstanding and speaks for itself.
The 7.1 track on the Capelight/old Lionsgate release is just an upmix with nothing gained over the 5.1.
The original stereo mix is only present on older DVDs and LaserDiscs; all Blu-ray 2.0 tracks are downmixes.

Additional Info:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray has no extras, Capelight 4K Blu-ray has most of the extras, Olive Films Blu-ray has a exclusive commentary

A Matter of Loaf and Death poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
Best Audio:

4K discs in the correct pitch https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=364711&page=8

Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
Best Audio:

4K discs in the correct pitch https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=364711&page=8

A Close Shave poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
Best Audio:

4Ks have low-pitched music and sound effects (and that includes Shaun's baas) correct-pitch voices: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21536116&postcount=109

A Close Shave poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
Best Audio:

4Ks have low-pitched music and sound effects (and that includes Shaun's baas) correct-pitch voices: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21536116&postcount=109

The Wrong Trousers poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
Best Audio:

Shout! Factory 4K 5.1 track for The Wrong Trousers is in its correct pitch both in music and voices https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21535755&postcount=103

Unaltered track with the original music cues is on the LaserDisc.

The Wrong Trousers poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
Best Audio:

Shout! Factory 4K 5.1 track for The Wrong Trousers is in its correct pitch both in music and voices https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21535755&postcount=103

Unaltered track with the original music cues is on the LaserDisc.

A Grand Day Out poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
  • The BBC 4K collection and Shout! Factory 4K collection all use the same source, and are all unfortunately using AI upscaling and DNR'ed They are worse than the blurays and the 2023 US Shout! Factory collections are even prone to disc-rot.

  • 2009 Lionsgate US (also prone to disc-rot) or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray will be the way to go.

  • The 4K collection's Blu-ray seems to be a reprint of previous releases.

Best Audio:

None of the 4K, nor any of the 2009 Blu-ray has the correct pitch see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=364711&page=8

A Grand Day Out poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2009 Lionsgate US or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray

Best Video:
  • The BBC 4K collection and Shout! Factory 4K collection all use the same source, and are all unfortunately using AI upscaling and DNR'ed They are worse than the blurays and the 2023 US Shout! Factory collections are even prone to disc-rot.

  • 2009 Lionsgate US (also prone to disc-rot) or UK 2 Entertain OOP Blu-ray will be the way to go.

  • The 4K collection's Blu-ray seems to be a reprint of previous releases.

Best Audio:

None of the 4K, nor any of the 2009 Blu-ray has the correct pitch see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=364711&page=8

But I'm a Cheerleader poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray is a disaster. The compression on the base layer is horrid, and the oversized 18 Mbps FEL barely helps.

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray includes original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix, albeit lossy, and a 5.1 surround upmix. The stereo track on previous BD and DVD releases is also lossy and sounds about the same.

Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray is a disaster. The compression on the base layer is horrid, and the oversized 18 Mbps FEL barely helps.

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray includes original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix, albeit lossy, and a 5.1 surround upmix. The stereo track on previous BD and DVD releases is also lossy and sounds about the same.

The Arrival poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has terrible compression, but still beats out the old disc which was sourced from a mediocre old scan with edge enhancement, and which has compression issues of its own.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 mix: 1997 Pioneer LaserDisc or 1997 Live Entertainment NTSC DVD
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

The film originally premiered with two mixes, a 5.1 for upgraded theaters, and a distinct matrixed Dolby Stereo mix for older venues. The original 5.1 mix can only be found on the earliest LD/DVD releases, as all later releases replace it with a mediocre 7.1 mix with reduced dynamic range.

The Atmos mix is based off of the previous 7.1 remix, but with futher alterations as per director's wishes. One scene intentionally drops out into silence, see this post for details.

The Arrival poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has terrible compression, but still beats out the old disc which was sourced from a mediocre old scan with edge enhancement, and which has compression issues of its own.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 mix: 1997 Pioneer LaserDisc or 1997 Live Entertainment NTSC DVD
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

The film originally premiered with two mixes, a 5.1 for upgraded theaters, and a distinct matrixed Dolby Stereo mix for older venues. The original 5.1 mix can only be found on the earliest LD/DVD releases, as all later releases replace it with a mediocre 7.1 mix with reduced dynamic range.

The Atmos mix is based off of the previous 7.1 remix, but with futher alterations as per director's wishes. One scene intentionally drops out into silence, see this post for details.

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UHD Blu-ray
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High seas for the recreated Theatrical Cut

Best Video:

High seas for the recreated Theatrical Cut, Disney 4K Blu-ray is disappointing

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

2000 Japan LaserDisc AC3 audio

Best English-Friendly:

High seas for the recreated Theatrical Cut

Best Video:

High seas for the recreated Theatrical Cut, Disney 4K Blu-ray is disappointing

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

2000 Japan LaserDisc AC3 audio

Return of the Jedi poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

OG: "4K83" or "OTD83" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_VI" or "D+97_VI" on the high seas

Upcoming Release:

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

Best Video:

OG: "4K83" or "OTD83" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_VI" or "D+97_VI" on the high seas

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.

Best English-Friendly:

OG: "4K83" or "OTD83" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_VI" or "D+97_VI" on the high seas

Upcoming Release:

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

Best Video:

OG: "4K83" or "OTD83" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_VI" or "D+97_VI" on the high seas

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.

Fallen Angels poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye

Best Video:

2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.


Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.

The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.

Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration

Fallen Angels poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye

Best Video:

2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.


Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.

The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.

Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration

Bullet in the Head poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > US Shout! Factory, better encoding by Engine House and redone opening credits, errors present in Shout! Factory fixed

Best Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray, mono is from an alternate higher fidelity source than Shout! Factory.

Best English-Friendly:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray > US Shout! Factory, better encoding by Engine House and redone opening credits, errors present in Shout! Factory fixed

Best Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray, mono is from an alternate higher fidelity source than Shout! Factory.

To Live and Die in L.A. poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray or Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray > Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber US Blu-ray, see caps

Capelight and Arrow both have good compression, but Capelight has the edge. Kino is very poor.

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Arrow  4K Blu-ray or Image Entertainment LaserDisc
(Arrow is a port of the LD track, see spectrograms)

Capelight and old Arrow BD included the original stereo mix, but with excessive noise reduction rendering it much less detailed. Kino only included a downmix of the 5.1 remix.

The best and most accurate of the 5.1 mixes is from the 2003 Special Edition DVD in AC3 form.

Best English-Friendly:

Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray or Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Capelight DE 4K Blu-ray > Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber US Blu-ray, see caps

Capelight and Arrow both have good compression, but Capelight has the edge. Kino is very poor.

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Arrow  4K Blu-ray or Image Entertainment LaserDisc
(Arrow is a port of the LD track, see spectrograms)

Capelight and old Arrow BD included the original stereo mix, but with excessive noise reduction rendering it much less detailed. Kino only included a downmix of the 5.1 remix.

The best and most accurate of the 5.1 mixes is from the 2003 Special Edition DVD in AC3 form.

Fearless poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray

International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore

Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand

Best Video:

Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray

International Theatrical Cut (aka. Unrated Cut): Universal Blu-ray

US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray, Starz Streaming for open matte

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore, Singapore Disney DVD for open matte

Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand, Thailand Disney DVD for open matte

Best Audio:

Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray, Universal Blu-ray for original 5.1

International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Singapore Disney DVD

Thai Theatrical Cut: Thailand Disney DVD

Fearless poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray

International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore

Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand

Best Video:

Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray

International Theatrical Cut (aka. Unrated Cut): Universal Blu-ray

US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray, Starz Streaming for open matte

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore, Singapore Disney DVD for open matte

Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand, Thailand Disney DVD for open matte

Best Audio:

Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray, Universal Blu-ray for original 5.1

International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Singapore Disney DVD

Thai Theatrical Cut: Thailand Disney DVD

Infernal Affairs II poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

The master is heavily DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion US Blu-ray or Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173

The master is heavily DNR'd.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 from Jokers France 4K Blu-ray or Criterion US Blu-ray or older Blu-rays

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

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

Additional Info:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts

Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

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

Additional Info:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US OOP Funimation Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Prime Video Streaming for the Amazon English dub

US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the second (home video) Funimation English dub

Unofficial sources only for the first (theatrical) Funimation English dub

Best English-Friendly:

US OOP Funimation Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Prime Video Streaming for the Amazon English dub

US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the second (home video) Funimation English dub

Unofficial sources only for the first (theatrical) Funimation English dub

Edit History

2 edits
The Substitute (1996) backdrop

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