The Memphis Belle (1944)
Documentary, War • 45m
Director: William Wyler
Cast: Vince Evans, Jacob L. Devers, Ira C. Eaker, Haywood Hansell, Robert J. Hanson, Eugene Kern, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Captain Charles B. Leighton, Harold P. Loch, Casimer A. Nastal, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, John P. Quinlan, Cecil H. Scott, Captain James A. Verinis, Clarence E. Winchell, Stanley Wray, Arthur Kennedy, Robert Morgan
Best English-friendly & video release
Also available in Kino Lorber The Cold Blue Blu-ray as HD extras, or available on streaming
Updated 5 months ago
Compare the discs
About the film
This WW2 documentary centers on the crew of the American B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Belle as it prepares to execute a strategic bombing raid on Nazi submarine pens in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
- Featured Lists
- National Film Registry
Year of Induction: 2001
- Alternative Titles
- The Memphis Belle: The Story of a Flying Fortress, The Memphis Belle in Technicolor
Director: Richard Brooks
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
4K restoration from safety preservation elements
Director: Elaine May
Cinématographe 4K Blu-ray > MoC > Olive Films. From nicolas:
The master is good but it’s not that big an upgrade from the Olive Films disc and Vinegar Syndrome’ encode has some blocky highlights. A shame that they didn’t hire David Mackenzie here.
Cinématographe has unnecessary noise gating not present on the previous releases.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
1.85:1: Kino Lorber 4K / Capelight 4K
1.66:1: Criterion 4K but low pass filtered
Comparison between the 4Ks, Criterion on the AR choice
Other discs have unnecessary filtering and sound worse, the difference isn't substantial but audible
Director: Dennis Hopper
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Flicker Alley 4K confirmed for 2027 https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24404584&postcount=1
MoC audio is better https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=225532&page=3
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Universal release without the filtering.
DTS:X mix on Universal 4K Blu-ray most closely approximates original surround mix
Criterion DVD and Universal 4K Blu-ray has additional features not found on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
WB 4K
Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)
An undeniably significant improvement from the BD yet still severely flawed. See DFIC's review.
Director: William Wyler
Italy Plaion 4K Blu-ray > Paramount 4K Blu-ray (marginally)
Director: William Wyler
Kino Lorber Blu-ray is a brand new 4K restoration from William Wyler’s personal 35mm print
Director: William Wyler
The 4K Blu-ray 5.0 is the original mix, but more muffled than LaserDisc and even the previous Blu-ray's gentle remix. The Atmos mix is revisionist.
The 50th Anniversary box set has some exclusive extras.
1991 LaserDisc is Dolby Stereo matrix encoded from the original six track master and this was later upgraded to a 5.1 Dolby Digital version prepared for the first DVD. The 5.1 version may have had some slight tweaking in the process. This was reused for the DVD CE boxset and then the 5.1 on Blu-ray seems like a slight upgrade of the DVD track. (The first pressing from the UCE boxset had audio defects rampant on the Blu-ray. These were corrected for standalone pressings.) All 5.1s sound roughly the same as the LaserDisc 2.0 in terms of the mix, but the LaserDisc PCM mastering seems like the only one that is direct without any major processing.
Director: William Wyler
Kino Lorber Blu-ray/Final Cut Blu-ray
The Kino BD has additional extras but the Laserdisc still has exclusive extras and commentary not included on the Kino release. AVOID the MGM Blu-ray for the stretched aspect ratio error that was only finally corrected for the Kino Lorber reissue after much fan outcry.
Director: William Wyler
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
BFI Blu-ray encoding is better than Kino Lorber Blu-ray see caps
Director: William Wyler
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Video format: SD Streaming
Periscope SD Streaming https://archive.org/details/19474tacomanarrowsbridgecollapsecolormosvwr
Sources: archive.org (opens in a new tab)
Directors: Frank Capra & Anatole Litvak
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/ Otherwise there are DVDs
Director: Frank Capra
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/
Otherwise there are DVDs
Directors: Frank Capra & Hugh Stewart & John Huston & John Boulting & Roy Boulting
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/
Otherwise there are DVDs
Director: Frank Capra
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/
Otherwise there are DVDs
Director: Frank Capra
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/
Otherwise there are DVDs
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/
Otherwise there are DVDs
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/
Otherwise there are DVDs
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