Lancelot of the Lake (1974)
Lancelot du Lac
Drama, Romance, History • 1h 25m
Overview
Having failed in their quest for the Holy Grail, the knights of the Round Table return to Camelot, their number reduced to a mere handful. Seeing a rift developing between Lancelot and Mordred, Arthur urges his knights to bury their differences and become friends. However, the king is unaware that Lancelot is having an affair with his queen, Guinevere. Lancelot is torn between his duty to his king and his love for the queen, whilst Mordred is determined to use his infidelity to destroy him.
Director: Robert Bresson
Cast: Luc Simon, Vladimir Antolek-Oresek, Laura Duke Condominas, Patrick Bernhard, Humbert Balsan, Arthur De Montalembert, Daniel Benoin, Charles Balsan, Christian Schlumberger, Joseph-Patrick Le Quidre, Jean-Paul Leperlier, Marie-Louise Buffet, Marie-Gabrielle Cartron, Antoine Rabaud, Jean-Marie Becar, Guy de Bernis, Philippe Chleq
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
France Rimini 4K Blu-ray see caps vs Artificial Eye Blu-ray
France Rimini 4K Blu-ray see caps vs Artificial Eye Blu-ray
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
France StudioCanal or Kadokawa Blu-ray, 4K restoration
France StudioCanal or Kadokawa Blu-ray, 4K restoration
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Robert Bresson
Director: Jean Renoir
The BFI and Gaumont Blu-ray releases are both from the same restoration by Éclair. Although this restoration is much superior in detail to the old Criterion DVD, like many Éclair restorations, it has issues with colour. There is a definite yellow cast to the footage, making skin tones appear sickly and dampening the impact of the colour. The image is also murkier than the Criterion.
As Renoir scholar Tag Gallagher notes: "I talked a lot toward the end about the light blue walls (Criterion); but when I got the BFI blu I was greatly deflated, because the walls are light gray!"
That said, as visible in the screen caps at DVD Beaver, the Criterion has compromised colour too, and often looks too blue/magenta. There is a regraded edition of the BFI Blu-ray out there on the high seas.
The audio on the Blu-ray releases is slightly compressed, but better than earlier DVD releases and relatively full frequency.
The BFI is most likely the best English-friendly release as it includes English subtitles for the bonus features.
Director: Jean Renoir
The BFI and Gaumont Blu-ray releases are both from the same restoration by Éclair. Although this restoration is much superior in detail to the old Criterion DVD, like many Éclair restorations, it has issues with colour. There is a definite yellow cast to the footage, making skin tones appear sickly and dampening the impact of the colour. The image is also murkier than the Criterion.
As Renoir scholar Tag Gallagher notes: "I talked a lot toward the end about the light blue walls (Criterion); but when I got the BFI blu I was greatly deflated, because the walls are light gray!"
That said, as visible in the screen caps at DVD Beaver, the Criterion has compromised colour too, and often looks too blue/magenta. There is a regraded edition of the BFI Blu-ray out there on the high seas.
The audio on the Blu-ray releases is slightly compressed, but better than earlier DVD releases and relatively full frequency.
The BFI is most likely the best English-friendly release as it includes English subtitles for the bonus features.
Director: Jean Vigo
Director: Jean Vigo
Director: Luc Besson
StudioCanal / Gaumont / Sony 4K Blu-ray
SC caps. Great-looking 4K master except for DNR'd higher-gen shots such as the opening sequence. StudioCanal resolves finer detail but has encoding issues in highlights, the non-Original Camera Negative shots and traces of chroma noise. Sony used a low-pass filter which makes the film look less sharp and finely detailed but the encode is more consistent.
Director: Luc Besson
StudioCanal / Gaumont / Sony 4K Blu-ray
SC caps. Great-looking 4K master except for DNR'd higher-gen shots such as the opening sequence. StudioCanal resolves finer detail but has encoding issues in highlights, the non-Original Camera Negative shots and traces of chroma noise. Sony used a low-pass filter which makes the film look less sharp and finely detailed but the encode is more consistent.
Director: Christian-Jaque
Director: Christian-Jaque
Director: Luc Besson
2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.
StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.
2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.
2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps
2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1
Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-Ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.
Director: Luc Besson
2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.
StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.
2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.
2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps
2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1
Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-Ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.
Director: Louis Malle
Director: Louis Malle
Directors: Eric Summer & Éric Warin
2D Version: Entertainment One Canada Blu-ray
3D Version: A Contracorriente Films Spain 3D Blu-ray
2D Version: Gaumont France Blu-ray
3D Version: A Contracorriente Films Spain 3D Blu-ray
Original French audio: Gaumont France Blu-ray
English export dub: StudioCanal Australia Blu-ray
Also known as: Leap!.
France Blu-ray has the best video and best audio for the original French version, but has no English subtitles.
Canada Blu-ray has inferior video and audio to other versions, but is the only version that has French audio with English subtitles (dubtitles from the export dub).
UK Blu-ray censors one of the songs. Australia and Canada Blu-rays present the uncensored export dub, with better audio in the former.
US Blu-ray only has the redub.
Spain 3D Blu-ray has the English export dub titles instead of the original French titles.
Directors: Eric Summer & Éric Warin
2D Version: Entertainment One Canada Blu-ray
3D Version: A Contracorriente Films Spain 3D Blu-ray
2D Version: Gaumont France Blu-ray
3D Version: A Contracorriente Films Spain 3D Blu-ray
Original French audio: Gaumont France Blu-ray
English export dub: StudioCanal Australia Blu-ray
Also known as: Leap!.
France Blu-ray has the best video and best audio for the original French version, but has no English subtitles.
Canada Blu-ray has inferior video and audio to other versions, but is the only version that has French audio with English subtitles (dubtitles from the export dub).
UK Blu-ray censors one of the songs. Australia and Canada Blu-rays present the uncensored export dub, with better audio in the former.
US Blu-ray only has the redub.
Spain 3D Blu-ray has the English export dub titles instead of the original French titles.
Director: Maurice Pialat
Director: Maurice Pialat
Director: Henri Verneuil
Director: Henri Verneuil
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original Dolby Atmos mix
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Pony Canyon Blu-ray for original Dolby Atmos mix
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray
US/UK Crunchyroll 4K Blu-ray
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray/Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray has better bitrate and detail than Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray, both releases have English subtitles.
The original theatrical Atmos mix has not been given a home release.
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray
US/UK Crunchyroll 4K Blu-ray
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray/Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray
Hong Kong Neofilms 4K Blu-ray has better bitrate and detail than Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray, both releases have English subtitles.
The original theatrical Atmos mix has not been given a home release.
Director: James Ivory
Cohen 4K Blu-ray caps. Same 4K master that Cohen released on BD but grain resolves much better and the gamma levels are now correctly set.
Director: James Ivory
Cohen 4K Blu-ray caps. Same 4K master that Cohen released on BD but grain resolves much better and the gamma levels are now correctly set.
251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts
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.
Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.
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)
Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.
251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts
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.
Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.
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)
Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.
Director: Shinji Aoyama
Director: Shinji Aoyama
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.
Director: Gary Ross
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.
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.
Director: Gary Ross
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.
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.
Director: Ronny Yu
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut (aka. Unrated Cut): Universal Blu-ray
US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray, Starz Streaming for open matte
Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore, Singapore Disney DVD for open matte
Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand, Thailand Disney DVD for open matte
Director: Ronny Yu
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut/US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray
Director's Cut: Hong Kong Edko Films Blu-ray
International Theatrical Cut (aka. Unrated Cut): Universal Blu-ray
US Theatrical Cut: Universal Blu-ray, Starz Streaming for open matte
Hong Kong Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Singapore, Singapore Disney DVD for open matte
Thai Theatrical Cut: Disney+ Streaming in Thailand, Thailand Disney DVD for open matte
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