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Roma (1972)
Roma (1972) poster

Roma (1972)

Comedy, Drama • 2h 8m

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-friendly & video release

Video notes:

Eureka MoC marginally better than Criterion

Updated 1 year ago


About the film

A virtually plotless, gaudy, impressionistic portrait of Rome through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens.

TSPDT
2026: #609
2025: #613
2024: #600
2023: #584
2022: #584
Alternative Titles
Fellini's Roma

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Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Fellini's segment on Spirits of the Dead

The Toby Dammit segment is also available in Criterion boxset but seems to be SD, so Arrow Blu-ray > Plaion Blu-ray > Criterion boxset Blu-ray

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

2022 Paramount Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

2014 Criterion Blu-ray is from the same master and has only slightly worse compression. JP/DE/FR releases all have incorrect levels. Caps

Audio Notes:

All Blu-ray releases are from the same mastering, superior to the one on older DVD releases which is sourced from a higher generation source. They all sound about the same, with the exception of Criterion, which sounds worse due to extraneous filtering.

Paramount's disc also includes a contemporary English dub, previously unreleased on home video.

Director: Federico Fellini

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2017 StudioCanal Blu-ray

Director: Federico Fellini

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Audio Notes:

Image Entertainment DVD is slightly better than Criterion 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray/DVD (all basically the same)
Other Blu-ray releases are all much worse.

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Cohen Blu-ray

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

Video Notes:

Cohen Blu-ray is the best with the least amount of DNR or sharpening among Germany StudioCanal, UK MoC and France Gaumont. Even though Cohen doesn't have the best encoding, it's definitely the most superior release. See caps-a-holics caps

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Arrow Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Federico Fellini

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

HD Streaming

Best Video:

France Tamasa Blu-ray

Video Notes:

But not English friendly.

WB has HD Streaming on multiple platforms, but no home release.

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Essential Fellini Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Essential Fellini Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Directors: Tatti Sanguineti & Federico Fellini

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Intervista Blu-ray extras

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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 Comedy on Blu-ray

Director: Bong Joon Ho

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

UK Artificial Eye 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray releasing January 2027

Best Video:

France The Jokers 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

France The Jokers 4K Blu-ray has the least DNR (UK Artificial Eye might be similar? Both better than Universal 4K Blu-ray)

Criterion even though doesn’t have 4K, it has the B&W version and a lot of extras.

Director: Damien Chazelle

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Upcoming Release:

US Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray re-release announced with Dolby Vision, a new exclusive bonus, and the previously retailer pre-order bonus-exclusive/Hong Kong-exclusive bonus interviews in HD

Video Notes:

Italy Eagle Pictures has DV, better encode, and no brightness shifts compared to Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray for the original Dolby Atmos mix

Additional Info:

Hong Kong Panorama 4K Blu-ray has two interviews available in HD that are SD everywhere else and only included as retailer-exclusive pre-order bonus DVDs with the US Blu-ray

Director: Paul King

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

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray minimal picture upgrade (2K upscale)

Audio Notes:

StudioCanal UK 4K Blu-ray has good new Atmos mix

Director: H. C. Potter

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: David Butler

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Marion Gering

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Kubrick

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

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Kubrick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray 

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

Video Notes:

Included in the Complete Kubrick box set with FiM encode of the same master from the Sony release without the filtering; Comparison between Sony and Criterion.

Best Audio:

Mono: 1994 LaserDisc (marginally, unfiltered) or Criterion 4K Blu-ray (filtered)
5.1 Remix: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Director: Fred Dekker

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

UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

> US Kino Lorber

Director: Steve De Jarnatt

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

UK Transmission 4K Blu-ray in January 2027

Best Audio:

Either the 2015 Kino Lorber Blu-ray or the Arrow Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

The 2024 Kino Lorber Blu-ray is botched.

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· last reviewed 1 year ago

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