The Cry of Jazz (1959)
Documentary, Music • 34m
Overview
Filmed in Chicago & finished in 1959, The Cry of Jazz is filmmaker, composer and arranger Edward O. Bland's polemical essay on the politics of music and race - a forecast of what he called "the death of jazz." A landmark moment in black film, foreseeing the civil unrest of subsequent decades, it also features the only known footage of visionary pianist Sun Ra from his beloved Chicago period. Featured are ample images of tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and the rest of Ra's Arkestra in Windy City nightclubs, all shot in glorious black & white.
Director: Edward Bland
Director: Jonathan Demme
Director: Jonathan Demme
Director: George Roy Hill
Director: George Roy Hill
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: James Cameron
2013 MGM Blu-ray, or 4K Blu-ray if you MUST have the mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix
2013 MGM Blu-ray for non AI transfer, 2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix
1991 Image Entertainment LaserDisc for the US mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for the International mono mix
Comparison between the US and International mixes: https://vimeo.com/246332731
The 4K Blu-Ray and the 2001 MGM DVD have exclusive extras.
Director: James Cameron
2013 MGM Blu-ray, or 4K Blu-ray if you MUST have the mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix
2013 MGM Blu-ray for non AI transfer, 2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix
1991 Image Entertainment LaserDisc for the US mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for the International mono mix
Comparison between the US and International mixes: https://vimeo.com/246332731
The 4K Blu-Ray and the 2001 MGM DVD have exclusive extras.
Director: Billy Wilder
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Capelight/Kino Lorber which has heavy noise reduction and opening snare hit is missing, Capelight is slightly better encoded than Kino Lorber
Director: Billy Wilder
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Capelight/Kino Lorber which has heavy noise reduction and opening snare hit is missing, Capelight is slightly better encoded than Kino Lorber
Directors: Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen
Directors: Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen
Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for October 2026 release
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray
Director: Tay Garnett
Unofficial Streaming
The print seems to be preserved at Library of Congress
Director: Tay Garnett
Unofficial Streaming
The print seems to be preserved at Library of Congress
Director: John Ford
Warner Archive Blu-ray new restoration by Library of Congress and the Film Foundation
Director: John Ford
Warner Archive Blu-ray new restoration by Library of Congress and the Film Foundation
Unofficial Streaming
Complete copies survive in Library of Congress
Unofficial Streaming
Complete copies survive in Library of Congress
Director: John G. Adolfi
Only the trailer survives and is held at Library of Congress
Director: John G. Adolfi
Only the trailer survives and is held at Library of Congress
Director: Phil Rosen
According to Library of Congress https://web.archive.org/web/20231009210800/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.2710/default.html, a complete print survives in Lobster Films but no restoration or release yet
Director: Phil Rosen
According to Library of Congress https://web.archive.org/web/20231009210800/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.mbrs.sfdb.2710/default.html, a complete print survives in Lobster Films but no restoration or release yet
Director: William A. Seiter
Unofficial sources ripped from TCM
Library of Congress has completed a digital restoration around 2018 but no release yet
Director: William A. Seiter
Unofficial sources ripped from TCM
Library of Congress has completed a digital restoration around 2018 but no release yet
Director: Alan Crosland
Unofficial Streaming online
Library of Congress said in 2019 that it's restoring it after it came to public domain and the source material, a nitrate print in the AFI/Marion Davies Collection, is missing reels 3 and 9 of 11, plus suffers from some deterioration in reels 4, 5, and 8. No update since.
Director: Alan Crosland
Unofficial Streaming online
Library of Congress said in 2019 that it's restoring it after it came to public domain and the source material, a nitrate print in the AFI/Marion Davies Collection, is missing reels 3 and 9 of 11, plus suffers from some deterioration in reels 4, 5, and 8. No update since.
Director: Lois Weber
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
The 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray and DVD releases as part of the "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers" set are a newer restoration than the 2008 Kino Lorber DVD, additional info on Silent Era website, but it is worth noting the order of the movie sequences are not the same between the new and old releases. A couple comparisons uploaded to slowpics. The Library of Congress has a safety duplicate negative of this film, and it is also available for viewing on Wikipedia.
Director: Lois Weber
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
OOP 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray, or HD Streaming available
The 2018 Kino Lorber Blu-ray and DVD releases as part of the "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers" set are a newer restoration than the 2008 Kino Lorber DVD, additional info on Silent Era website, but it is worth noting the order of the movie sequences are not the same between the new and old releases. A couple comparisons uploaded to slowpics. The Library of Congress has a safety duplicate negative of this film, and it is also available for viewing on Wikipedia.
Director: Dudley Murphy
Cohen Syncopation Blu-ray 1080p extras
Also available in HD Streaming by Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602002/
Director: Dudley Murphy
Cohen Syncopation Blu-ray 1080p extras
Also available in HD Streaming by Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/2023602002/
Director: Frank Borzage
Only has really bad public domain copies
New restoration done by Library of Congress with DCP has no release yet
Director: Frank Borzage
Only has really bad public domain copies
New restoration done by Library of Congress with DCP has no release yet
More Documentary on Blu-ray
DE Koch Media is presented in the correct 25fps and is likely better compressed than UK Dogwoof (29 vs 14 Mbps), but it doesn’t have English subtitles.
US Drafthouse is in 24fps for Region A compatibility, and is encoded at around 30 Mbps.
(Although bitrate does not solely determine the quality of the encode, the difference is large enough here and there are no publicly available caps.)
No info on the JP VAP Blu-ray.
DE Koch Media and US Drafthouse feature a lossless 5.1 track. Dogwoof offers only AC-3.
DE Koch Media is presented in the correct 25fps and is likely better compressed than UK Dogwoof (29 vs 14 Mbps), but it doesn’t have English subtitles.
US Drafthouse is in 24fps for Region A compatibility, and is encoded at around 30 Mbps.
(Although bitrate does not solely determine the quality of the encode, the difference is large enough here and there are no publicly available caps.)
No info on the JP VAP Blu-ray.
DE Koch Media and US Drafthouse feature a lossless 5.1 track. Dogwoof offers only AC-3.
Director: Bert Stern
Director: Bert Stern
Director: Dwain Esper
Kino Lorber Blu-ray was mastered in 2K and 4K from the original 35mm negatives and several 35mm prints
Director: Dwain Esper
Kino Lorber Blu-ray was mastered in 2K and 4K from the original 35mm negatives and several 35mm prints
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