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St. Louis Blues (1929)
St. Louis Blues (1929) poster
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St. Louis Blues (1929)

Music, Drama • 16m

Director: Dudley Murphy

Cast: Bessie Smith, James P. Johnson, Alec Lovejoy, Jimmy Mordecai, Isabel Washington, Hall Johnson, Thomas Morris

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IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best English-friendly & video release

 · updated 4 months ago

Cohen Syncopation Blu-ray 1080p extras

Overview

In this all-black cast short, legendary blues singer Bessie Smith finds her gambler lover Jimmy messin' with a pretty, younger woman; he leaves and she sings the blues, with chorus and dancers.

Release details

Featured Lists
National Film Registry

Year of Induction: 2006

Length
16 mins
Type
Movie

Featured in National Film Registry

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Director: Arthur Penn

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K transfer

Director: Stanley Kubrick

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

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Universal release without the filtering.

Audio Notes:

DTS:X mix on Universal 4K Blu-ray most closely approximates original surround mix

Additional Info:

Criterion DVD and Universal 4K Blu-ray has additional features not found on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

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.

Best Audio:

US Cut: 1999 WB DVD/Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

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

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray 

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

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.

Best Audio:

Mono: 1994 LaserDisc (marginally, unfiltered) or Criterion 4K Blu-ray (filtered)
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

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.

Best Audio:

5.1: WB 4K Blu-ray, a remix but has higher fidelity

Mono: Criterion 4K Blu-ray (restored for the box set)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

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.

Best Audio:

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

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray and UK Dogwoof Blu-ray probably similar

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Victor Fleming

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2D: Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray

3D: Warner Bros 3D Blu-ray or Apple Vision Pro

Best Audio:

1989 MGM LaserDisc

Audio Notes:

(caveat: "there's" in first "there's no place like home" utterance in final Kansas scene truncated)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1991 MGM LaserDisc

Director: Morton DaCosta

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray Nov 24th

More from Dudley Murphy

See more →

Director: Dudley Murphy

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Syncopation Blu-ray 1080p extras

Director: Dudley Murphy

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Film Masters Blu-ray

Directors: David Burton & Dudley Murphy

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Directors: Fernand Léger & Dudley Murphy

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Kino Lorber Silent Avant-Garde Blu-ray

More from Cohen

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Director: Allan Dwan

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray?

Director: James Ivory

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Cohen 4K Blu-ray caps. Same 4K master that Cohen released on BD but grain resolves much better and the gamma levels are now correctly set.

Directors: Charles Reisner & Buster Keaton

Best English-Friendly:

MoC or Cohen Blu-ray

Best Video:

MoC/Cohen

Video Notes:

MoC/Cohen > Kino Lorber

Director: Jacques Rivette

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4k resto, good bitrate but teal, no info on Potemkine France

Best Audio:

2004 New Yorker DVD

Director: Albert Parker

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature Blu-ray

Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Cohen Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature Blu-ray is slightly better than 2010 Kino Lorber Blu-ray and potentially a different transfer, see comparison caps

Director: Joan Micklin Silver

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Cohen Blu-ray is a newer 4K restoration than earlier Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray

Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Cohen Blu-ray is the best with the least amount of DNR or sharpening among Germany StudioCanal, UK MoC and France Gaumont. Even though Cohen doesn't have the best encoding, it's definitely the most superior release. See caps-a-holics caps

Director: Cyril Gardner

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray

Director: David Miller

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray

Director: James Ivory

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

US Cohen 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

> Concorde Germany 4K Blu-ray, from nicwood:

Cohen has original SDR master, correct gamma, very good encode. Preferable to the Germany 4K with worse encoding, translated titles and fake HDR.

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vanshady

· last reviewed 4 months ago

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