San Francisco After the Earthquake and Fire of 1906 (1906)
Documentary • 9m
Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694425/
Video format
Best English-friendly & video release · updated 4 months ago
Compare the discs
slow.pics (opens in a new tab)Overview
This film is made up of five panoramas, four wide and one close-up, of the ruins of downtown San Francisco shortly after the 1906 disaster, plus a panorama and scene in a nearby refugee camp. Original intertitles precede each change of scene, but the locations provided are incorrect for three of the five views. The state of the ruins and camp suggest a date in late April, 1906. The absence of streetcar tracks in the "Grand Avenue" panorama dates that segment to before May 1, 1906.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering, 1.85 ratio restored for US Cut; both US and International Cuts are 4K.
US Cut: 1999 WB DVD/Criterion 4K Blu-ray
No Blu-ray or DVD release until the Criterion 4K Blu-ray has presented the US in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The International Cut has never been presented in it's OAR of 1.66:1 in any home video releases.
The packaging on the back of the WB 4K Blu-ray incorrectly states it as 1.85:1 when the movie is actually 1.78:1 as is the original Blu-ray.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Sony release without the filtering; Comparison between Sony and Criterion.
Mono: 1994 LaserDisc (marginally, unfiltered) or Criterion 4K Blu-ray (filtered)
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering Comparison between the Criterion and WB.
5.1: WB 4K Blu-ray, a remix but has higher fidelity
Mono: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set)
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the WB release without the filtering; WB 4K early pressing has errors of a shot, later pressings fixed. Comparison between Criterion and WB.
6-Track 70mm mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set), 1997 MGM LaserDisc, 1998 MGM DVD
35mm Mono Mix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Matrixed Stereo Remix: MGM Japan LaserDisc (1985) [G158F5509]
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Director: Steve James
Director: Victor Fleming
3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro
Director: Morton DaCosta
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray Nov 24th
Director: Tony Scott
The 70mm 6-track mix has a higher bitrate on the Paramount 1998 DVD, but is more limited than on the THX LaserDisc The Paramount 1998 DVD also has open matte versions in fullscreen 1.33:1 and widescreen 2.00:1 instead of the theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1, but the 2.00:1 widescreen presentation is non-anamorphic. The THX LaserDisc is available in both fullscreen 1.33:1 and widescreen 2.00:1 variants.
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.
Video format: Only Unofficial Sources
Unofficial Streaming
Complete copies survive in Library of Congress
Director: William A. Seiter
Video format: Only Unofficial Sources
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
Sources: moma.org (opens in a new tab)
Only has really bad public domain copies
New restoration done by Library of Congress with DCP has no release yet
Video format: HD Streaming
Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694367/
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Director: Billy Bitzer
Video format: HD Streaming
Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694394/
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Video format: HD Streaming
Library of Congress official HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694192/
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Video format: HD Streaming
3min excerpt available on HD Streaming by Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602024/
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
No full copy available
Video format: HD Streaming
Library of Congress HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/2023600536/
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Directors: William K.L. Dickson & William Heise
Video format: HD Streaming
Library of Congress HD Streaming https://www.loc.gov/item/00694133/
Sources: loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
Director: Edward Bland
Video format: HD Streaming
Official Library of Congress HD Streaming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE00fzXpI04
Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)
More Documentary on Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has excellent master in SDR and a good encode. BD caps here.
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has poor audio: The 2.0 is fine but unremarkable, the 5.1 is presumably an upmix with a botched, strongly raised LFE channel which makes the entire track unlistenable on well-tuned equipment. Audio graphs here.
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
While it's included on both Criterion The Palm Beach Story extras and Arrow's Sullivan's Travels' extras, Criterion uses a different source and is vastly superior, see caps
Director: Ebrahim Golestan
Edit history
Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.