Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Comedy, Romance • 1h 31m
Director: Howard Hawks
Cast: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George Winslow, Marcel Dalio, Taylor Holmes, Norma Varden, Howard Wendell, Steven Geray, David Ahdar, Alex Akimoff, Aladdin, John Alban, Gordon Armitage, Virginia Bates, Mary Ellen Batten, Harry Baum, Mary Bayless, Kip Behar, Eumenio Blanco, Herman Boden, Jack Boyle, Paul Bradley, Tex Brodus, William Cabanne, Peter Camlin, Harry Carey, Jr., Steve Carruthers, Albert Cavens, George Chakiris, Spencer Chan, Jack Chefe, Beulah Christian, John Close, Robert Cole, Joan Collenette, Paul Cristo, Roy Damron, Drusilla Davis, George Davis, Jean De Briac, Josette Deegan, Jean Del Val, Bobby Diamond, Deena Dikkers, Jack Dodds, Dan Dowling, Joe Evans, Adolph Faylauer, Bess Flowers, George Ford, Robert Foulk, Alex Frazer, Raoul Freeman, Joel Friend, Robert Fuller, Ed Fury, Kay Garrett, Kenneth Gibson, Joe Gilbert, June Glory, James Gonzalez, Herschel Graham, Bennett Green, Stanley Hall, Sam Harris, John Hedloe, Bill Hickman, Chuck Hicks, Stuart Holmes, Casse Jaeger, Dorothy Kellogg, Colin Kenny, Larry Kert, Tommy Ladd, Richard LaMarr, Judy Landon, Joan Larkin, Henri Letondal, Carl M. Leviness, Shirley Lopez, Robert Locke Lorraine, Herb Lurie, Warren Mace, John Marlin, Alphonse Martell, Matt Mattox, Bert May, Frank McLure, Russell Meeker, Buzz Miller, Harold Miller, King Mojave, Ray Montgomery, Alvy Moore, Roger Moore, Donald Moray, Leo Mostovoy, Fred Moultrie, James Moultrie, Noel Neill, Julie Newmar, Robert Nichols, Ron Nyman, William H. O'Brien, Monty O'Grady, Gayle Pace, Alfred Patix, Stephen Papich, John Pedrini, Ralph Peters, Hamil Petroff, Foster H. Phinney, Joe Ploski, José Portugal, Frank Radcliffe, Fred Rapport, Ellen Ray, Steve Reeves, Barry Regan, Jack Regas, Suzanne Ridgway, James H. Russell, Loretta Russell, Paul Russell, Rolfe Sedan, Bernard Sell, Harry Seymour, Peggy Smith, Buddy Spencer, Ray Spiker, Norman Stevens, Roberta Stevenson, Robert Street, F. Philip Sylvestre, Charles Tannen, Lee Theodore, Arthur Tovey, Blaine Turner, Tyra Vaughn, Ray Weamer, John Weidemann, Dick Wessel, Leo Wheeler, Marc Wilder, Max Willenz, James Young
Best English-friendly release · updated 1 year ago
Overview
Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus' rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.
Director: Howard Hawks
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: Howard Hawks
Director: Howard Hawks
Director: Howard Hawks
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion, 4k transfer
Director: Howard Hawks
Director: Howard Hawks
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray (not by much, caps)
Closest to original: 1995 Columbia LaserDisc
But Sony 4K Blu-ray is the best available one.
From cbc:
I much prefer the 4K Blu-ray track. LaserDisc has several nasty constant hums, and even after you remove that, the detail level is on-par with the 4K Blu-ray and has a lot of crackling. The 4K Blu-ray has some variable noise reduction, but it's done well and non-intrusive IMO, I watched it with that track and was happy.
Directors: Henry Hathaway & Howard Hawks & Henry King & Henry Koster & Jean Negulesco
Director: Howard Hawks
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: Howard Hawks
Video format: 4K Streaming
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain
Director: David Butler
Video format: Only Unofficial Sources
Sources: archive.org (opens in a new tab)
The DVD isn't an official one, and according to a user review on Amazon:
This DVD comes from Archive.org, where the movie can be viewed for free. The original source, comes from the Fox Movie Channel
Director: James Cameron
Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)
Fox Blu-ray for original cuts without the extra scene added in the re-release and AI upscaling
Newer Blu-ray/4K has the extra scene, but is poor and has excessive AI upscaling
An additional scene was added to the ending of the movie in the 2022 re-release: https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=493908
Director: Peter Faiman
Australia Cut: Australia Fox DVD
International Cut: Paramount Blu-ray
Encore Cut: Germany Winkler Film 4K Blu-ray, censored but good encoding
Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)
US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut
Australia Cut: Laserdisc
The film exists in three versions:
- the original Australian cut (~104 minutes at 24fps/~100 minutes at 25fps);
- the American/international version (~98 minutes at 24fps/~94 minutes at 25fps) trimming some exposition in the Outback first half of the film and some shorter extensions of a few seconds in the New York section, altering some of the dialogue – including censoring a "fuck" to "screw" – but featuring one additional dialogue extension not in the Australian version (a comparison of the two cuts can be found at Movie Censorship);
- the Australian Encore Cut (~95 minutes at 24fps/~91 minutes at 25fps) which uses the international version source so it already has those alterations but also removes approximately three minutes consisting of parts of two scenes featuring Mick grabbing the crotch of a cross-dressing prostitute and a later sequence when he does the same thing at a party to a woman with a deep voice (a comparison of the international version and the Encore Cut can be found at Movie Censorship).
Director: Ridley Scott
Theatrical Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray
2003 Directors Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray
(additional scenes appear to be upscaled)
Original Theatrical 70mm 6-Track Stereo: Fox 4K Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 4.1)
Original Theatrical 35mm Matrixed Dolby Stereo: 1999 DVD? (2.0 mix on the UHD is a downmix)
2003 Directors Cut: Fox 4K Blu-ray, Fox Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Directors: Neil Nightingale & Barry Cook
Fox 3D Blu-ray has both the theatrical cut and the "Cretaceous Cut"
Fox 3D Blu-ray has both the theatrical cut and the "Cretaceous Cut" which removes the dialogue and the framing device, essentially serving as a director's cut of the film. The "Cretaceous Cut" is not available on the 2D Blu-ray or on digital streaming.
More Comedy on Blu-ray
TV series
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative for all episodes
Director: Norman Taurog
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Delbert Mann
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Garson Kanin
Video format: 1080p Blu-ray
Only Streaming has 1080p
Director: Preston Sturges
No information on French Elephant Films Blu-ray
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Eureka UK are considering doing a 4K and actively exploring the possibility: 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.
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Maintained by the community
· last reviewed 1 year ago
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