Best English-friendly release · updated 6 months ago
Overview
An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu'er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as "my Grandpa" by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed by Jiu'er. When the Japanese invaders subject the area to their rule and cut down the sorghum to make way for a road, the community rises up and resists as the sorghum grows anew.
Director: Zhang Yimou
Director: Zhang Yimou
Korea Nova Media Blu-ray, or Imprint Boxset Blu-ray
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)
Film Movement Blu-ray release soon
Director: Zhang Yimou
Well Go US 4K Blu-ray
Any of the 4K Blu-ray
Engilsh dub: Well Go 4K Blu-ray
5.1: 2019 Hong Kong 4K Blu-ray (upsampled to 24/96)
Director: Zhang Yimou
Sources: fareastfilm.com (opens in a new tab)
Or potential new resto https://www.fareastfilm.com/eng/news/far-east-film-festival-26/?IDLYT=13308
Director: Chen Kaige
Video format: 1080p Blu-ray
Director: John Woo
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
2026 Arrow 4K Blu-ray (part of a trilogy box set)
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray has the original mono
Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray > Disk Kino/WCL China import
review: Disk Kino
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
France Coin Germany mire Cinema 4K Blu-ray
(not English friendly)
Arrow Blu-ray is the less manipulated track, but according to cbc: "I find it sounds a bit shrill at times, and the 4K Blu-ray is not bad at all, it does lose some high freq detail but I would probably prefer it for watching"
Director: Yojiro Takita
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
The 4K Blu-ray has slightly neutered dynamics
4K Blu-ray is from a 4K restoration, better detail, compresison is passable, grading is a bit of a mixed bag (might have been a regrade from SDR)
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Ron Shelton
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray disappointing, nice new master, but poor encode, grain completely crippled in some scenes, artifacts abound, etc, makes Kino Lorber look like FiM.
Director: Sian Heder
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Has full and forced English subtitles
Apple TV 4K Blu-ray with Atmos
(Eagle Pictures is 5.1)
Director: Celine Song
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
UK StudioCanal Blu-ray is the better release. Plaion Italy 4K Blu-ray has macroblocking and chroma noise issues, and the US Lionsgate Blu-ray has elevated gamma levels and macroblocking https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22310555&postcount=31
Director: Dennis Hopper
BFI Blu-ray renders grain structure better than Severin 4K Blu-ray’s disappointing encode, although Severin does feature an HDR grading with Dolby Vision. Furthermore, Severin’s soundtrack is worse due to the noise reduction applied.
Severin 4K Blu-ray has very good extras that are more relevant to the film
Kino Lorber Blu-ray or Germany Blu-ray but no comparison available
Germany Blu-ray doesn’t have good encoding, with visible blocking and banding etc.
Germany Blu-ray lacks English subtitles. Kino Lorber Blu-ray has English subtitles but is OOP
Kino Lorber Blu-ray retains both the French and German dialogue in their native languages.
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