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Honkytonk Man (1982)
Honkytonk Man (1982) poster
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Honkytonk Man (1982)

Drama, Music • 2h 3m

Overview

During the Great Depression, a young boy leaves his family's Oklahoma farm to travel with his country musician uncle who is trying out for the Grand Ole Opry.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Best English-Friendly Release

Amazon Streaming Release

Best Video Release

Amazon Streaming Release

Best Audio Release

Amazon Streaming Release

Additional Info

The Amazon Streaming release is the only HD release so far, and looks to be a faithful, non-upscaled copy of the film, so preferable to the old DVD.

The Streaming release also has a 2.0 mix which is likely the original mix and preferable to the 5.1 mix on the old DVD

Format

HD Streaming

External Links

Length

123 mins

Type

Movie

Last Updated

a month ago

Contributors

Best English-Friendly Release

Amazon Streaming Release

Best Video Release

Amazon Streaming Release

Best Audio Release

Amazon Streaming Release

Additional Info

The Amazon Streaming release is the only HD release so far, and looks to be a faithful, non-upscaled copy of the film, so preferable to the old DVD.

The Streaming release also has a 2.0 mix which is likely the original mix and preferable to the 5.1 mix on the old DVD

Format
HD Streaming
Length
123 mins
Type
Movie
Last Updated
a month ago
Contributors

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According to one source: "Best audio is the original dolby stereo that is included on the UHD Blu-ray. It sounds miles better than anything released on DVD, Blu-ray (they sound much more muffled), and when compared to the atmos...However, it's not without its faults, as WB had to spoil and boost it causing clipping, still it's the best audio available for the time being."

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Additional Info:

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Best Audio:

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WB 2014 Blu-ray

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Best Audio:

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Best English-Friendly:

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229 min cut (Theatrical): WB Blu-ray

139 min cut (US theatrical): VHS

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps

The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.


Nic's review:

Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.

Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.

I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.

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Best Audio:

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229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)

Additional Info:

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US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.

Best English-Friendly:

251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts

229 min cut (Theatrical): WB Blu-ray

139 min cut (US theatrical): VHS

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps

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Nic's review:

Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.

Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.

I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.

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Best Audio:

251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)

Additional Info:

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UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion or StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is SDR
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is HDR

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SC has a missing fade that Criterion reinstated.

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2001 R1 Paramount US NTSC DVD/2008 R2 Optimum UK PAL or 1999 Pioneer JP LaserDisc

Restored stereo mix: Criterion / StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

The film was originally mixed in Dolby Stereo (matrixed LCRS). For the 4K restoration, this mix has been transferred from the original magnetic elements and remastered with Lynch's supervision. Unfortunately, the fidelity suffered in the process, with many sections ending up significantly less detailed due to a noise reduction pass. This track has been altered compared to the original, with reverb added to some dialogue, different ambient sound effects, changed panning, and extended bass.

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The LD also has some ambiance buried too low in the mix, and some dialogue panned more to the centre than the DVD. There are no content changes I was able to find. Unfortunately, I don't know what accounts for those differences.

The other available tracks all have more significant flaws. The Italian and Japanese BDs use the same base mastering as the DVD, but with some patching in a few shots. HD-DVD is sourced from an inferior transfer, the same as the Momentum DVD.

The 5.1 remix, originally introduced on the 2002 DVD, and carried over without changes to the 2009 BD is a light and mostly faithful remix, with fairly minimal LFE and surround use, but still potentially worthwhile as the only discrete track.

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion or StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is SDR
StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is HDR

The DV/HDR grade is tasteful and not overdone. SC has better compression, though not flawless; encoded by FiM, but Criterion also holds up quite well. Both releases claim to be approved by Lynch.

SC has a missing fade that Criterion reinstated.

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2001 R1 Paramount US NTSC DVD/2008 R2 Optimum UK PAL or 1999 Pioneer JP LaserDisc

Restored stereo mix: Criterion / StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

The film was originally mixed in Dolby Stereo (matrixed LCRS). For the 4K restoration, this mix has been transferred from the original magnetic elements and remastered with Lynch's supervision. Unfortunately, the fidelity suffered in the process, with many sections ending up significantly less detailed due to a noise reduction pass. This track has been altered compared to the original, with reverb added to some dialogue, different ambient sound effects, changed panning, and extended bass.

For the unrestored mix, there are two major options, each with its own merits and flaws. The 2001 Paramount DVD, which I would say is the best well-rounded mastering, and the 1999 Japanese LaserDisc, which has noticeably better clarity and high-end detail, as well as better dynamics, but suffers from occasional distortion and has less bass than the DVD.

The LD also has some ambiance buried too low in the mix, and some dialogue panned more to the centre than the DVD. There are no content changes I was able to find. Unfortunately, I don't know what accounts for those differences.

The other available tracks all have more significant flaws. The Italian and Japanese BDs use the same base mastering as the DVD, but with some patching in a few shots. HD-DVD is sourced from an inferior transfer, the same as the Momentum DVD.

The 5.1 remix, originally introduced on the 2002 DVD, and carried over without changes to the 2009 BD is a light and mostly faithful remix, with fairly minimal LFE and surround use, but still potentially worthwhile as the only discrete track.

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S1: OOP Shout! Factory Blu-ray
S2 & 3: Australia Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray for the uncut episodes?

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S1: OOP Shout! Factory Blu-ray
S2 & 3: Australia Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray for the uncut episodes?

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S2 & 3: Australia Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray for the uncut episodes?

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UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray, but a shot was cut from the film

Warner Bros Blu-ray for the uncut version, but it's a older master.

Best Video:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray, but a shot was cut from the film

Warner Bros Blu-ray for the uncut version, but it's a older master.

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UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray, but a shot was cut from the film

Warner Bros Blu-ray for the uncut version, but it's a older master.

Best Video:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray, but a shot was cut from the film

Warner Bros Blu-ray for the uncut version, but it's a older master.

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Honkytonk Man (1982) backdrop

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