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Modesta (1956)
Modesta (1956) poster
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Modesta (1956)

Drama • 35m

Director: Benjamín Doniger

Cast: Antonia Hidalgo, Juan Ortiz Jiménez, Barrio Sonadora Community

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IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best video & English-friendly release

SD Streaming

Updated 6 months ago


About the film

The DivEdCo’s most important attempt to depict women’s rights in the context of modernization processes in Puerto Rico. Modesta leads a group of women in Barrio Sonadora, Guaynabo, in a strike against their husbands to demand their rights in a domestic context.

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National Film Registry

Year of Induction: 1998

Featured in National Film Registry

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Director: Victor Sjöström

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Flicker Alley Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Blu-ray with a new score composed and performed by Matti Bye

Director: Victor Sjöström

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Blu-ray 

  • New 4K digital restoration of the 1928 theatrical-release version, preserved and digitally restored by the MoMA, with original soundtrack

  • New 2K digital restoration of the 1983 variable-frame-rate version, with a score by Carl Davis

Director: Leo McCarey

Best Video & English-Friendly:

2012 MoC Blu-ray or Elephant Films France Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Blu-ray with new 4K restoration

Video Notes:

They are using the same very old HD transfer.

Directors: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Philip Kaufman

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

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is a significant upgrade over previous WB Blu-ray see comparison

Audio Notes:

Criterion for the first time on home video have provided the 70mm 6-track as well as the Dolby stereo which was previously on LaserDisc. Both tracks are unique so included both with the 6-track default. Criterion’s 5.1 remix is lossless compared to the lossy tracks of the previous blu-rays and DVDs.

See comparison

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best Video & English-Friendly:

WB Blu-ray

Additional Info:

New restoration to be shown at TCM Film Fest

Director: Joel Coen

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Shout is still very good but Arrow has the edge due to better handling of highlights and less chroma noise, comparison

Best Audio:

All the same

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Sony boxset or 2024 VHS packaging 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Sony boxsets or 2024 VHS packaging has Dolby Vision, 2019 Sony 4K Blu-ray is HDR10 only.

Best Audio:

Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray (any) 

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray 

Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray (any)

Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper

Best Video & English-Friendly:

WB Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

Director: Mike Nichols

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

StudioCanal 4K caps.Criterion Blu-ray better encode than StudioCanal Blu-ray.

Best Audio:

1987 Criterion LaserDisc

More from Library of Congress

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Director: W.W. Young

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video:

Library of Congress Streaming

Reconstruction on YouTube better

Video Notes:

Complete 2-hour film is lost, only Wonderland and Looking-Glass reissue prints survive

Director: Frank Tuttle

Video format: Only Unofficial Sources

Best Video:

Unofficial Streaming

Complete copies survive in Library of Congress

Director: William A. Seiter

Video format: Only Unofficial Sources

Best Video:

Unofficial sources ripped from TCM

Library of Congress has completed a digital restoration around 2018 but no release yet

Director: Frank Borzage

Video format: Only Unofficial Sources

Best Video:

Only has really bad public domain copies

New restoration done by Library of Congress with DCP has no release yet 

Director: A.C. Abadie

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694367/

Director: Billy Bitzer

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694394/

Directors: William Heise & William K.L. Dickson

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694192/

Director: Enoch J. Rector

Video format: HD Streaming

Best Video & English-Friendly:

3min excerpt available on HD Streaming by Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602024/

Video Notes:

No full copy available

Directors: William K.L. Dickson & William Heise

Video format: HD Streaming

More Drama on Blu-ray

Director: Richard Rush

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

Radiance 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

> Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode on Radiance compared to Duplitech encode on Shout! Factory)

Director: Victor Sjöström

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion Blu-ray new 2K restoration

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Superior Imports
Video Notes:

Capelight/Plaion Media Germany 4K Blu-ray > MUBI UK. Good encode and correct colors on the Germany import

Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Best Video & English-Friendly:

Strand Releasing Blu-ray vs New Wave Blu-ray?

Additional Info:

New 4K restoration recently screened at Venice Film Festival https://variety.com/2026/film/news/apichatpong-weerasethakuls-4k-restorations-match-factory-1236843949/

Director: Robert De Niro

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

MVD 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

2027 FreeWind Media UK 4K Blu-ray 

Director: Joseph Losey

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Director: Walerian Borowczyk

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Radiance 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

caps

Director: Francesco Rosi

4K · Excellent
Best Video & English-Friendly:

Indicator 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

See caps

Director: Todd Haynes

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Video Notes:

French BubbelPop 4K Blu-ray has EN audio but doesn't have EN subtitles see caps

Caveat of Kino Lorber: "Hero" segment is stretched from 4:3 to 16:9, 1999 Fox Lorber DVD features original framing

Director: Claude Lelouch

4K · Solid
Best Video & English-Friendly:

French Metropolitan 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

French Metropolitan 4K Blu-ray has English subtitles and is better than Criterion Blu-ray see caps and comparison

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vanshady

· last reviewed 6 months ago

Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.