Best English-friendly release · updated 1 month ago
UHD tiers
Reference video but filtered audio, fewer extras than Criterion
Overview
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.
Director: John Ford
Video format: HD Streaming
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab) · blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)
StudioCanal 4K
Director: Spike Lee
Video format: 4K Streaming
Video format: DVD
SerialSquadron SD Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · amazon.com (opens in a new tab)
SerialSquadron SD Blu-ray see caps even though in very bad quality is still the best available version
AlphaVideo DVD is a "feature version" and apparently cut different episodes together in one DVD according to this Amazon review
Sources: fanrestore.com (opens in a new tab) · originaltrilogy.com (opens in a new tab)
2017 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray and subsequent 4K Blu-rays are notorius for being heavily denoised and smoothened. Alternatively, 35mm scans for the theatrical cut is also available.
For the Ultimate Edition with the T-1000 searching John's room and the happy future ending, the 2009 Skynet Blu-ray, which is the older pre-2017 transfer, but has DNR.
Directors: Bill Roberts & Paul Satterfield & Wilfred Jackson & Ben Sharpsteen & James Algar & T. Hee & Hamilton Luske & Samuel Armstrong & Jim Handley & Norman Ferguson & David Hand & Ford Beebe Jr.
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
1991 CAV LaserDisc includes an approximation of the original Fantasound mix in Dolby Surround using the surviving magnetic mixdown, using Stokowski's original mixing notes as a reference. Original aggressive pans and dynamic range are left in tact.
The 2000 DVD uses this same mix in discrete 5.0, but with some unnecessary dynamic range compression + a redub of all Deems Taylor audio with Corey Burton.
The 7.1 mix on the 2010 Blu-ray sounds poor, having been hit with excessive noise reduction, dynamic range compression, original aggressive pans no longer in tact, and the channel usage no longer resembles Stokowski's original intended sound design.
Director: Miloš Forman
Theatrical: WB 4K Blu-ray
Extended: Warner Bros Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray: Huge improvement in colors and detail. The restoration was done by the Academy instead of WB MPI which explains that there’s no grain management or issues with colors. They also accessed the original credit optical and scanned that one instead of recreating them digitally
Theatrical: WB 4K Blu-ray, according to Saentz, the 5.0 is a recreation of the original and subsequently 70mm mix from original elements.
Director: John Carpenter
Sources: blog.sporv.com (opens in a new tab)
1997? Signature Collection LD
Good: 2017 Arrow and 2016 Shout! Factory Blu-ray have the original audio options.
the only track on Universal 4K, which is in DTS:X, has a mixing error of around 6dB too low on side channels, otherwise very similar to other 5.1 mixes.
Director: Sidney Lumet
Criterion 4K Blu-ray replacement disc for fixed audio (there were some dialogues missing)
While the video on the replacement disc is exactly the same as the original release, the Atmos with missing lines has been corrected as it was also corrected on the Criterion commentary. Criterion also included the 6-track which is almost identical to the PAL track; It’s 4.0 in a 5.1 container. This 6-track is slightly better than the PAL DVD track as the PAL has some flutter on some parts that Criterion doesn’t have.
The Atmos on the replacement is identical to the Imprint AUS Blu-ray track which also has all the lines. The compatibility track is also the same,
It is worth mentioning the Imprint only has the Atmos and no 6-track. The 5.1 surround is with LFE and split surrounds and it’s just a downmix of the Atmos. Ditto for the LPCM 2.0 on said Blu-ray.
Sources: lddb.com (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
While Olive Films Blu-ray is better encoded than BFI Blu-ray, it suffers from the Quicktime Gamma Bug see caps
Sources: DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)
MoC Blu-ray is superior to old Olive Films Blu-ray, see DVDBeaver
Director: Joachim Trier
MUBI 4K Blu-ray has zero extras
Directors: Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie
4K encode is low-pass filtered and noticeably so, which was unfortunately par for the course with Criterion 4Ks until sometime in 2024, and the encode is still less than ideal even despite that. Still better than the Criterion and Lionsgate Blu-Ray discs for the Dolby Vision grading alone.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Eureka UK is considering doing a 4K https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24363810&postcount=264
Wonderful underlying remaster by Criterion and Resillion, but NexSpec encode has clipped highlights with the occasional blockiness. The Criterion Blu-Ray, sourced from their 4K remaster, ironically makes for a more consistent and overall pleasing experience.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Video format: HD Streaming
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
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Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.