Birth of the Blues (1941)
Music, Romance • 1h 26m
Overview
Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louie to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou.
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Cast: Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Brian Donlevy, Carolyn Lee, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, J. Carrol Naish, Warren Hymer, Horace McMahon, Ruby Elzy, Jack Teagarden, Danny Beck, Harry Barris, Perry Botkin Sr., Minor Watson, Harry Rosenthal, Donald Kerr, Barbara Pepper, Cecil Kellaway, Ronnie Cosby, Ted Lewis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman, Roscoe Ates, Charles Lane, Mantan Moreland
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Kino Lorber RKO Classic Romances Collection Blu-ray
Kino Lorber RKO Classic Romances Collection Blu-ray
Kino Lorber RKO Classic Romances Collection Blu-ray
Kino Lorber RKO Classic Romances Collection Blu-ray
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
Director: Martin Scorsese
Director: Martin Scorsese
Director: Ivan Reitman
Plaion German 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber see comparison and caps
Kino Lorber has an exceedingly poor encode, only slightly improved by the DV layer.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Universal US Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Plaion DE 4K Blu-ray
Universal's BD uses the same transfer as the old LaserDisc and sounds a bit better than Plaion's, which has worse dynamics.
Plaion's Atmos remix is tastefully done and preserves the original mix's characteristics, the 5.1 track on Kino's release is overly aggressive and unbalanced.
Director: Ivan Reitman
Plaion German 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber see comparison and caps
Kino Lorber has an exceedingly poor encode, only slightly improved by the DV layer.
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Universal US Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Plaion DE 4K Blu-ray
Universal's BD uses the same transfer as the old LaserDisc and sounds a bit better than Plaion's, which has worse dynamics.
Plaion's Atmos remix is tastefully done and preserves the original mix's characteristics, the 5.1 track on Kino's release is overly aggressive and unbalanced.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Joel Coen
Poor Criterion 4K Blu-ray https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21782879#post21782879
Theatrical cut only on LaserDisc or 2001 UK Universal DVD
Poor Criterion 4K Blu-ray https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21782879#post21782879 Theatrical cut only on LaserDisc or 2001 UK Universal DVD
Director: Joel Coen
Poor Criterion 4K Blu-ray https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21782879#post21782879
Theatrical cut only on LaserDisc or 2001 UK Universal DVD
Poor Criterion 4K Blu-ray https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21782879#post21782879 Theatrical cut only on LaserDisc or 2001 UK Universal DVD
Director: Rob Cohen
Universal 4K Blu-ray 25th Anniversary Edition (with Dolby Vision), comparisons: #1, #2
The 2026 re-release corrects cropping and grading on some VFX shots, otherwise it's the same master with better encoding.
Original 5.1 mix: Universal Blu-ray
The old BD (2009 with many later identical re-releases) is very good, compared even to the theatrical DTS track, over which it has a slight edge thanks to discrete LFE (as theatrical DTS tracks derive LFE from other channels).
The 2018 4K includes a relatively tasteful DTS:X remix, the 2026 #4K includes a more revisionistic Dolby Atmos remix, with more added foley effects and a significant frequency roll-off. Neither of the remixes is as punchy as the original mix.
Director: Rob Cohen
Universal 4K Blu-ray 25th Anniversary Edition (with Dolby Vision), comparisons: #1, #2
The 2026 re-release corrects cropping and grading on some VFX shots, otherwise it's the same master with better encoding.
Original 5.1 mix: Universal Blu-ray
The old BD (2009 with many later identical re-releases) is very good, compared even to the theatrical DTS track, over which it has a slight edge thanks to discrete LFE (as theatrical DTS tracks derive LFE from other channels).
The 2018 4K includes a relatively tasteful DTS:X remix, the 2026 #4K includes a more revisionistic Dolby Atmos remix, with more added foley effects and a significant frequency roll-off. Neither of the remixes is as punchy as the original mix.
Director: Marion Gering
Director: Marion Gering
Director: Curry Barker
Director: Curry Barker
More Music on Blu-ray
Carlotta FR Blu-ray box set: 2K restoration of 4K scan. This 2K restoration’s detail level is quite good, although its highlights are somewhat blown out. On the other hand, the newer 4K restoration (on DCP only as of Aug 2026) exhibits severe black crush.
TBD. Carlotta sounds muffled.
Carlotta’s English subtitles omit quite a bit of dialog. This was improved upon in the subs accompanying the newer 4K restoration DCP.
Carlotta FR Blu-ray box set: 2K restoration of 4K scan. This 2K restoration’s detail level is quite good, although its highlights are somewhat blown out. On the other hand, the newer 4K restoration (on DCP only as of Aug 2026) exhibits severe black crush.
TBD. Carlotta sounds muffled.
Carlotta’s English subtitles omit quite a bit of dialog. This was improved upon in the subs accompanying the newer 4K restoration DCP.
Director: Martin Scorsese
MVD 4K Blu-ray see caps but it has the encoding error with the dropped frames
Director: Martin Scorsese
MVD 4K Blu-ray see caps but it has the encoding error with the dropped frames
Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang
Currently streaming on Netflix
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Currently streaming on Netflix
Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang
Currently streaming on Netflix
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
Currently streaming on Netflix
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Director: Chen Kaige
Director: Chen Kaige
Director: Norman Taurog
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration
Director: Norman Taurog
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration
Director: Bert Stern
Director: Bert Stern
Director: Antoine Fuqua
US Lionsgate or International Universal 4K Blu-ray
US Lionsgate or International Universal 4K Blu-ray (similar encoding) - caps
Director: Antoine Fuqua
US Lionsgate or International Universal 4K Blu-ray
US Lionsgate or International Universal 4K Blu-ray (similar encoding) - caps
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
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