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Chinatown (1974)
Chinatown (1974) poster

Chinatown (1974)

Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller • 2h 11m

Director: Roman Polanski

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

UHD Blu-ray

Best English-friendly & video release · updated 4 months ago

UHD tiers

Solid
Paramount

Overview

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

Release details

Best Audio Release

1991/1998 Paramount LaserDisc

TSPDT
2026: #68
2025: #70
2024: #70
2023: #71
2022: #71
Length
131 mins
Type
Movie

Featured in National Film Registry

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Director: James Cameron

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly:

2013 MGM Blu-ray, or 4K Blu-ray if you MUST have the mono mix, 1997 Image DVD/2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix

Sources: vimeo.com (opens in a new tab) · facebook.com (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

Capelight 4K Steelbook and Mediabook announced for 2026

Best Video:

2013 MGM Blu-ray for non AI transfer, 1997 Image DVD/2001 MGM DVD for a purist version with original colors and the international mono mix

Best Audio:

1991 Image Entertainment LaserDisc for the US mono mix, 2001 MGM DVD for the International mono mix

Comparison between the US and International mixes: https://vimeo.com/246332731

Additional Info:

The 4K Blu-Ray and the 2001 MGM DVD have exclusive extras.

Director: Rob Reiner

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray releasing December 14 2026

Director: David Fincher

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Additional Info:

4K Blu-ray has exclusive “unrated” audio with a small change to one line under the request of David Fincher (removed the poor dub over of frickin’ in the line “Screw it, let’s gut the f**kin’ nerd.”).

Director: John Schlesinger

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Imprint 4K Blu-ray

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

Additional Info:

Included Imprint Blu-Ray also has markedly better image compression than the Criterion Blu-Ray, though do note the Imprint has some adjusted color grading within roughly the first five minutes of the film

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=16775595&postcount=450

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24237074&postcount=73

Director: Fred M. Wilcox

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

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

Best Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray see comparison video 

Best Audio:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray  used what was also originally screened theatrically: The Perspecta Stereo 3.0 and a mono option. The Perspecta track sounds best with better dynamic range and was set as default with the mono as optional. The previous releases stereo were downmixes of a now lost original 4-track, and it sounds very thin as a result. See comparison

Director: John Carpenter

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray. Maybe Turbine Blu-ray instead for better audio?

Sources: blog.sporv.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

Director: W.S. Van Dyke

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray, 4k scan

Director: Martin Scorsese

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

2024 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook

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

Best Video:

2024 Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook fixes duplicate shot seen on the previous Columbia Classics release and has better encoding

Best Audio:

Original mono mix: 1990 Criterion LaserDisc/1991 Columbia LaserDisc
The 4K Blu-ray mono is only minimally worse (see blah-ray).

5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray

Director: George Stevens

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion Blu-ray, 2K restoration

Director: Alexander Mackendrick

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion or Arrow Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion = Arrow, not sure about France

Best Audio:

1989 MGM LaserDisc

More from Roman Polanski

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Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount disappointing 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1998 Paramount LaserDisc or 2004 R2 Paramount DVD

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray

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

Best Video:

Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray see caps. Much better contrast and grain exposure but the grade is a bit questionable as it skews heavily towards magenta in some caps and the encode looks low-pass filtered.

Lionsgate and the upcoming Imprint have the same discs.

Best Audio:

Atmos Remix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1: Imprint Australia Blu-ray or StudioCanal Germany/France Blu-ray

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray encoded the Original 5.1 as lossy Dolby Digital.

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK Screenbound Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The UK disc has supposedly had some revisionist changes done along with DNR. The disc is OOP. Tentative alternative is Criterion DVD

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Severin Blu-ray

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Germany Universum Film Blu-ray

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

2023 Italy Eagle Pictures Blu-ray

Additional Info:

France steelbook is prone to rot and 2014 Italy disc is 1080i

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Italy Rai Blu-ray (ENG subs)
Germany DVD (ENG audio)

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Video:

France Gaumont Release (no English subtitles or audio)

Director: Roman Polanski

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Disappointing
Best Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has poor encode and heavy DNR

Additional Info:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray is from original DI master. The film was an early DI and film prints also looked poor. Shout! Factory Blu-ray is representative of original release. StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has some new VFX work done along with some plates reshot as well as poorly upscaled original VFX work.

More from Paramount

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Director: Peter Faiman

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

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)

Upcoming Release:

US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut

Best Audio:

Australia Cut: Laserdisc

Additional Info:

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: Martin Scorsese

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray

Sources: capelight.de (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Paramount US, same black crush as the US disc but encoded by FiM and very good new supplements

Additional Info:

Paramount US 4K Blu-ray has FEL Dolby Vision 

Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray has MEL Dolby Vision

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2D version: Paramount Blu-ray

3D version: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray on October 26 2026

Director: Billy Wilder

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray or Blu-ray

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

Best Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice

Best Audio:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the Blu-ray mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.

Additional Info:

The 5.1 remix on the 4K Blu-ray is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the Blu-ray master.

Director: Robert Altman

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for Dec 2026 release

Director: Richard Linklater

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

4K · Solid

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

Additional Info:

Germany Blu-ray has English audio 

Germany Blu-ray is part of a 3-film box set like the Criterion but by StudioCanal 

Director: Michael Bay

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Original AR: Paramount 4K Blu-ray

IMAX AR: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Donen

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Paramount Blu-ray

Director: Trey Parker

Best format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Paramount Blu-ray

Directors: Arturo Perez Jr. & Samantha Jayne

Best format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)

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Researched and maintained by

M_AAdamA

· last reviewed 4 months ago

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