2046 (2004)
Drama, Science Fiction, Romance • 2h 8m
Overview
Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years after the author loses the woman he considers his one true love.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Gong Li, Faye Wong, Takuya Kimura, Zhang Ziyi, Dong Jie, Carina Lau, Chang Chen, Maggie Cheung, Thongchai McIntyre, Siu Ping-Lam, Wang Sum, Farini Cheung Yui-Ling, Cheung Sien, Akina Hong Wah, Fei-lin Miao, Jiang Xinyu, Benz Kong To-Hoi, Ronny Ching Siu-Lung, Alice Lee, Li Hsiao-Ming, Berg Ng Ting-Yip, Ben Yuen Foo-Wah
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye
2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.
Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.
The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.
Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration
Wong Kar-Wai on the framing:
With Fallen Angels, I have changed the format to cinemascope, because it was originally what I had intended to release the film in. When we were cutting the film, we accidentally turned the Steenbeck on anamorphic instead of standard. I felt that the film looked much more interesting because it enhanced the distance of the characters on top of the extreme wide angle that we shot on. Back then, it was impossible to shoot a film in standard and release it in anamorphic. With this restoration, we have successfully fulfilled this wish.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
2010 US Kino Lorber or 2012 UK Artificial Eye
2017 JP Kadokawa Blu-ray has the best encoding out of all the older discs.
Kino Lorber and Artificial Eye Blu-ray use the same master, between the two the PQ on Kino's release is slightly better, but the difference is negligible.
The 4K restoration (Criterion, 4K etc) are cropped to 2.35:1, have revisionistic colour grading and other changes.
Caps: old master, old master vs 4K restoration
Wong Kar-Wai on the framing:
With Fallen Angels, I have changed the format to cinemascope, because it was originally what I had intended to release the film in. When we were cutting the film, we accidentally turned the Steenbeck on anamorphic instead of standard. I felt that the film looked much more interesting because it enhanced the distance of the characters on top of the extreme wide angle that we shot on. Back then, it was impossible to shoot a film in standard and release it in anamorphic. With this restoration, we have successfully fulfilled this wish.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Criterion 4K Blu-ray has original SDR master while Plaion Germany and France has a subtle additional HDR-regrade. Either one is good depending on user preference.
Important to note, Criterion 4K Blu-ray still has different color timing from 2008 Criterion Blu-ray see https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15680&d2=15679&s1=165346&s2=165329&i=10&l=0
Original mono is on the 1996 Japan DVD and 2005 Spain Boxset DVD. But 2008 Criterion Blu-ray’s 5.1 remix at least is in the correct pitch. All 5.1 tracks on later 4K-resto BDs have a raised pitch. Furthermore, the 2008 5.1 and 4K-resto 5.1 differ in content in the scene where Tony Leung drinks coffee in slow-mo, with the 2008 version having only background / ambient sound, while the 4K-resto version plays Faye Wong’s song. Note that it's quite easy to pitch correct the 4K-resto 5.1 to match the original pitch and only a delay adjustment is needed to sync.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Criterion 4K Blu-ray has original SDR master while Plaion Germany and France has a subtle additional HDR-regrade. Either one is good depending on user preference.
Important to note, Criterion 4K Blu-ray still has different color timing from 2008 Criterion Blu-ray see https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15680&d2=15679&s1=165346&s2=165329&i=10&l=0
Original mono is on the 1996 Japan DVD and 2005 Spain Boxset DVD. But 2008 Criterion Blu-ray’s 5.1 remix at least is in the correct pitch. All 5.1 tracks on later 4K-resto BDs have a raised pitch. Furthermore, the 2008 5.1 and 4K-resto 5.1 differ in content in the scene where Tony Leung drinks coffee in slow-mo, with the 2008 version having only background / ambient sound, while the 4K-resto version plays Faye Wong’s song. Note that it's quite easy to pitch correct the 4K-resto 5.1 to match the original pitch and only a delay adjustment is needed to sync.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
2012 Criterion Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray unrecommended because of controversial colours, no HDR, minimal resolution uptick, and DNR master
2012 Criterion Blu-ray is the most accurate, but some may prefer the Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2002 Criterion DVD for original Dolby Digital 5.0 theatrical. The 4K Blu-ray 5.1 adds additional foley and effects.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
2012 Criterion Blu-ray, 4K Blu-ray unrecommended because of controversial colours, no HDR, minimal resolution uptick, and DNR master
2012 Criterion Blu-ray is the most accurate, but some may prefer the Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2002 Criterion DVD for original Dolby Digital 5.0 theatrical. The 4K Blu-ray 5.1 adds additional foley and effects.
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Director: Orson Welles
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > StudioCanal: Although Criterion is low-pass filtered, StudioCanal exhibits very clear and distracting macroblocking.
Director: Orson Welles
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > StudioCanal: Although Criterion is low-pass filtered, StudioCanal exhibits very clear and distracting macroblocking.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/2020 remastered StudioCanal Blu-ray (preference)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The HDR grading has messed up highlights, so some may prefer the 2020 remastered StudioCanal Blu-ray
Criterion's subtitles seem to be better than StudioCanal's which omits too much IMO.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/2020 remastered StudioCanal Blu-ray (preference)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray > StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The HDR grading has messed up highlights, so some may prefer the 2020 remastered StudioCanal Blu-ray
Criterion's subtitles seem to be better than StudioCanal's which omits too much IMO.
Director: Michael Bay
4K possibly teased?
Director: Michael Bay
4K possibly teased?
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Wicked Vision Germany 4K Blu-ray or US Criterion 4K Blu-ray?
Director: David Lynch
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.
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.
Director: David Lynch
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.
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.
Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173
The master is heavily DNR'd.
Maybe Umbrella Australia 4K Blu-ray (FiM encode), Plaion Germany 4K Blu-ray, or Pony Canyon Japan 4K Blu-ray. All other existing 4K Blu-rays have terrible compression: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=21423337&postcount=173
The master is heavily DNR'd.
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Martin Ritt
Director: Martin Ritt
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Frank Urson
Lobster Films DVD > Flicker Alley Blu-ray (Flicker Alley Blu-ray/DVD has every 25th PAL frame deleted)
2026 4K restoration at proper speed is available to watch on YouTube for free
Director: Frank Urson
Lobster Films DVD > Flicker Alley Blu-ray (Flicker Alley Blu-ray/DVD has every 25th PAL frame deleted)
2026 4K restoration at proper speed is available to watch on YouTube for free
Director: Shane Meadows
2026 Second Sight Blu-ray
2026 Second Sight Blu-ray
Director: Shane Meadows
2026 Second Sight Blu-ray
2026 Second Sight Blu-ray
Director: Adrian Lyne
Italy Paramount/Plaion 4K Blu-ray, better compression than other 4K Blu-rays
Director: Adrian Lyne
Italy Paramount/Plaion 4K Blu-ray, better compression than other 4K Blu-rays
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
Japan "4K Remastered" Disney Blu-ray has the original 6.1 mix
Japan Disney 4K Blu-ray for the DTS:X remix
Funimation US Blu-ray for the Bandai dub
Manga Entertainment UK Blu-ray for the Manga Entertainment dub
Italy Dynit Blu-ray has the best picture quality but has no English subtitles or original theatrical 6.1 mix.
All "4K Remastered" and 4K Blu-ray releases (including from Disney) are taken from a 35mm filmout rather than the original digital source, and then heavily DNR'd, destroying original detail and making lines smearier than before. The Japan Disney 4K Blu-ray is the least bad presentation of the 4K remaster, being encoded with a very healthy bitrate and HDR10+ metadata, with the original 6.1 mix included on the pack-in "4K Remastered" Blu-ray.
The film has multiple English subtitle translations, and the Disney subtitles done by Linda Hoaglund and Judith Aley with Aura are often seen as the best translation, with these subtitles present on the Japan Disney 4K Blu-ray.
Japan "4K Remastered" Disney Blu-ray has the original 6.1 mix
Japan Disney 4K Blu-ray for the DTS:X remix
Funimation US Blu-ray for the Bandai dub
Manga Entertainment UK Blu-ray for the Manga Entertainment dub
Italy Dynit Blu-ray has the best picture quality but has no English subtitles or original theatrical 6.1 mix.
All "4K Remastered" and 4K Blu-ray releases (including from Disney) are taken from a 35mm filmout rather than the original digital source, and then heavily DNR'd, destroying original detail and making lines smearier than before. The Japan Disney 4K Blu-ray is the least bad presentation of the 4K remaster, being encoded with a very healthy bitrate and HDR10+ metadata, with the original 6.1 mix included on the pack-in "4K Remastered" Blu-ray.
The film has multiple English subtitle translations, and the Disney subtitles done by Linda Hoaglund and Judith Aley with Aura are often seen as the best translation, with these subtitles present on the Japan Disney 4K Blu-ray.
UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray in October
Australia Imprint Blu-ray?
Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling
UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray in October
Australia Imprint Blu-ray?
Germany Filmjuwelen 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with AI upscaling
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original 7.1 mix
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original 7.1 mix
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Director: James Foley
Director: James Foley
Director: Iain Softley
Director: Iain Softley
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