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Sumurun (1920)
Sumurun (1920) poster
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Sumurun (1920)

Adventure, Drama, Romance • 1h 55m

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Cast: Ernst Lubitsch, Pola Negri, Paul Wegener, Jenny Hasselqvist, Aud Egede-Nissen, Harry Liedtke, Carl Clewing, Margarete Kupfer, Jakob Tiedtke, Paul Biensfeldt, Max Kronert, Paul Graetz

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IMDbThe Movie Database (TMDB)

Best English-friendly & video release

Video notes:

MoC OOP Blu-ray is likely to have better encoding than Kino Lorber Blu-ray judging from other movies in the boxset

Updated 4 months ago


About the film

The favorite slave girl of a tyrannical sheik falls in love with a cloth merchant. Meanwhile, a hunchback clown suffers unrequited love for a traveling dancer who wants to join the harem.

Alternative Titles
One Arabian Night

More from Ernst Lubitsch

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Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for Dec 2026 release

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Indicator Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

> Kino Lorber see DVDBeaver 

Indicator is using a different restoration from earlier Kino Lorber Blu-ray and it has much better contrast and slightly better grain resolution

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

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

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray or OOP MoC Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray or OOP MoC Blu-ray have different grading see caps

Additional Info:

Subjective, but the concertina score by Bernard Wrigley on the OOP MoC Blu-ray is generally regarded as very weak. For example, it frequently doesn't match the action. The Meg Morley score on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray is considered superior.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2023 Indicator Blu-ray

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

Best Audio:

2021 Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Video comparisons: https://slow.pics/c/ryvPN8Uu

Audio comparisons: https://slow.pics/c/KEs7dwRg

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2018 Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

Amazon Streaming Release

Audio Notes:

Amazon Streaming Release or potentially other streaming 

The Amazon Streaming release has more high-end detail than the Criterion Blu-ray.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Eclipse Series 8: Lubitsch Musicals Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1997 MCA Universal 'The Lubitsch Touch' LaserDisc Box Set

Additional Info:

The 1997 LaserDisc has more high end detail in the audio than the new restoration

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber 4k resto

Additional Info:

The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

MoC OOP Blu-ray

Video Notes:

MoC OOP Blu-ray is likely to have better encoding than Kino Lorber Blu-ray judging from other movies in the boxset

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

MoC OOP Blu-ray

Video Notes:

MoC OOP Blu-ray is likely to have better encoding than Kino Lorber Blu-ray judging from other movies in the boxset

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Directors: Irving Pichel & Ernest B. Schoedsack

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK MoC Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

MoC Blu-ray offers both restored and an unrestored tracks

Director: F. W. Murnau

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

MoC OOP Blu-ray

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

Upcoming Release:

Flicker Alley 4K confirmed for 2027 https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24404584&postcount=1

Director: Paul Leni

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Theatrical/Original A negative: MoC Blu-ray

European C/D negative but better picture quality: Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

From DVDBeaver: The MoC Blu-ray is scanned from the American A negative, as opposed to the European C or D negatives used by Photoplay and others (Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray), so it is identical with the film US audiences saw in 1927

See caps for comparison

In addition, the Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has sepia tinting throughout while the MoC Blu-ray has yellow for normal scenes, blue for night scenes, and some even green tintings.

Director: Louis Feuillade

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK MoC Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

UK MoC Blu-ray is slightly sharper than French Gaumont Blu-ray see caps

Director: John Frankenheimer

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

UK MoC Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

UK MoC Blu-ray uses the same restoration as Criterion but has more natural contrast and more organic grains see caps

Audio Notes:

MoC Blu-ray has the exactly same audio as Criterion Blu-ray

Director: Hal Ashby

Best English-Friendly:

Paramount Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount new 4K master

Best Audio:

Criterion/MoC Blu-ray

Director: Josef von Sternberg

Director: Fritz Lang

Best English-Friendly:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

Best Video:

1984 Giorgio Moroder restoration: MoC Blu-ray or Kino Lorber Blu-ray

2001 Murnau restoration: MoC 2-disc DVD set

2010 Murnau complete restoration: MoC Blu-ray

Video Notes:

2001 Murnau restoration: MoC 2-disc DVD set > Kino Lorber 1-disc Restored Authorized Edition DVD

2010 Murnau complete restoration: MoC Blu-ray > Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Eureka MoC Blu-ray, see caps

MoC is sourced from an earlier scan, but still looks more detailed than the later 4K restoration released by Kadokawa in Japan, which has some black crush and DNR. French Capricci disc is sourced from the same scan as MoC but with much worse encoding and wrong levels.

Best Audio:

1991 Daiei LaserDisc

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Criterion Blu-ray (caps)

Kadokawa JP Blu-ray has incorrect levels and looks slightly washed out. Criterion has slightly worse encoding, but both are solid in that regard.

Best Audio:

Eureka MoC DVD

Additional Info:

MoC has a different translation from Criterion.

More Adventure on Blu-ray

Director: Roland Emmerich

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

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: George Lucas

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

OG: "4K77" or "D+77" on high seas.

Special Edition: "4K97_IV" or "D+97_IV" on high seas.

Upcoming Release:

2027 Original Trilogy restoration/50th anniversary rerelease clips leaked plus release confirmed

Best Audio:

OG: LaserDisc audio is the best option for the Dolby Stereo mixes (and usually included in fan restorations). There are 16mm/TV rips of the mono mixes.

Special Edition: Cinema DTS or 1997 LaserDisc for the Special Edition.

Director: David Lean

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

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

Additional Info:

The 5.1 on Sony 4K Blu-ray is from the 1989 70mm mix. The original is 4-track. not on the disc.

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray 

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray 

Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray 

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray 

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray 

Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray 

Director: Steven Spielberg

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray Purist choice: Blu-ray

Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray new improved master with color grading and slight issues. Blu-ray is old master with original color grading

Best Audio:

Blu-ray 5.1

Additional Info:

The Paramount 4K Blu-ray has a much better new scan that removes the original extremely dated color grading. This is an improvement on one hand but a definite revisionist change on the other. There is the expected grain management and slight HDR issues in addition to encoding quirks from Paramount. It is a giant improvement over the original Blu-ray but the color change and other issues means that the Blu-ray is one to keep for purists to have the as-is original iteration of the film's presentation. Audio wise the film has been remixed into Atmos but it merely seems like a slightly tweaked and frankly tamed version of the original 5.1. Of the two I prefer the Blu-ray 5.1. The original Blu-ray was Dolby TrueHD and the reissue Blu-ray in the four film Blu-ray collection boxset was DTS-HDMA.

DFIC extensive review: https://youtu.be/evsrJOTIjdA?si=wtdWGxZBfhPYTIeW

Director: Richard Lester

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

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

StudioCanal's 4K release is similar in encode quality, but has significant glitches in multiple frames. See comparisons 9-16 here: https://slow.pics/c/YkSVb3Ey

Audio Notes:

The pitch of the StudioCanal 4K's English audio is too high

Additional Info:

Criterion has more extras than StudioCanal.

Director: Lam Nai-choi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

88 Films UK or Vinegar Syndrome US Blu-ray (preference)

Video Notes:

Different color gradings, 88 Films disc is encoded by FiM but Vinegar Syndrome encode (by Marcus Johnson) is more than robust

Audio Notes:

Vinegar Syndrome potentially has better audio than 88 Films, due to VinSyn possibly having EQ'd the audio mix after Fortune Star scanned the track in a way that makes it sound too hot, whereas 88 left it alone without addressing that issue. However, no direct comparisons exist

Director: John Boorman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

2027 Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1984 WB LaserDisc

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

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vanshady

· last reviewed 4 months ago

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