Heimat (1984)
TV series • Drama • 15h 24m
Cast: Kurt Wagner, Marita Breuer, Rüdiger Weigang, Gertrud Bredel, Karin Rasenack, Willi Burger, Johannes Lobewein, Hans-Jürgen Schatz, Eva Maria Schneider, Arno Lang, Sabine Wagner, Eva Maria Bayerwaltes, Helga Bender, Alexander Scholz, Jörg Hube, Otto Henn, Manfred Kuhn, Gabriele Blum, Gudrun Landgrebe, Dieter Schaad, Jörg Richter, Peter Harting, Karin Kienzer, Markus Reiter, Matthias Kniesbeck
Best video release
UK Second Sight / Germany / France
About the series
Spanning 1919 to 1982, in the fictional village of Schabbach, lives Maria Simon and her family, whose lives and community are changed by historical events around them.
- TSPDT
- 2026: #9252025: #9072024: #8922023: #870
- Alternative Titles
- {"iso_3166_1":"DE","title":"Heimat - Eine deutsche Chronik","type":""}, {"iso_3166_1":"US","title":"Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany","type":""}
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
UK Second Sight Trilogy Boxset 4K Blu-ray
US Magnolia Pictures 4K Blu-ray uses the same source but with worse encoding
Director: Phil Joanou
UK Second Sight Blu-ray maybe better than all the other Blu-rays?
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray is disappointing with DNR and poor compression
Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Second Sight 4K Blu-ray > Le Chat Qui Fume 4K Blu-ray > Umbrella 4K Blu-ray see caps
Second Sight uses the same Le Chat Qui Fume master, but encoded by FiM and applied Dolby Vision. Umbrella's encoding is visibly worse than Le Chat Qui Fume.
Mondo Vision Blu-ray and Anchor Bay DVD have an alternate audio track with an unauthorized soundtrack.
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
UK Second Sight 4K Blu-ray is FiM encoded and superior to French Severin or German 4K Blu-ray: see comparison
Second Sight UK Blu-ray for restored versions of both theatrical cut and festival cut
Second Sight UK Blu-ray replacement disc
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Atmos on the Sony 4K Blu-ray maybe better?
Regarding the "original theatrical audio" 5.1 mixes:
The Sony UHD and the BD DTS-HD 5.1 mixes are the same but the UHD has been pushed slightly harder and has a lot of clipping. The UHD is 16 bit vs the BD's 24 bits.
The Second Sight UHD DTS-HD 5.1 is a downmix of its respective Atmos track. Definitely different from the Sony UHD/BD mix plus a little less dynamic. Whether or not that's representative of the theatrical Dolby Digital mix is anyone's guess.
So, if you want the best version of the original 5.1, the 2012 BD is the winner.
Directors: Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Lionsgate retains more detail, but Second Sight might be better in motion. Both are very close. Caps
Director: Martin Scorsese
2024 Second Sight 4K Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Second Sight 4K Blu-ray is a Criterion SDR master with a HDR grade. Caps & comparison
Director: George A. Romero
2020 Second Sight 4K Blu-ray
Theatrical: 2017 Midnight Factory Blu-ray or 2013 Japan Happinet Blu-ray
European: 5.1 remix on 2016 Midnight Factory and 2021 ESC 4K Blu-ray
Theatrical: 2017 Midnight Factory Blu-ray or 2013 Japan Happinet Blu-ray
European: 5.1 remix on 2016 Midnight Factory and 2021 ESC 4K Blu-ray much more detailed than all mono mixes
More Drama on Blu-ray
Shout! Factory's Blu-ray has both cuts of the film in addition to the 3.0 stereo and 2.0 mono mixes making it the first time the full theatrical cut is available with the 3.0 mix. The new commentary is good. The 3.0 stereo sounds wonderful and the mono sounds solid.
That's where the positives end. This is the same terrible Universal DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc with a terrible encode making both versions share the disc separately taking up more space. This master was already poor for DVD and is nearly unwatchable here on the Shout! Factory disc. It looks virtually identical to the upscaled DVD most of the time with only a bit less noise due to it being 1080p. This is one of the most appalling cases of "DVD master slapped on a Blu-ray disc" you can possibly find. Absolutely shameful video presentation. This should have never been released this way. Sadly it's still ever so slightly better than the DVD and the only way you get the proper theatrical cut with lossless 3.0 stereo. This is still the best source we have for the film.
Director: Anthony Mann
This is an ancient Universal master of a film in dire need of restoration. This only looks somewhat better than the old Universal DVD upscaled and is clearly the same master. Tons of wear, color fringing and other issues abound. The film is stuck at the theatrical widescreen ratio of 1.85:1 when it was composed for Academy ratio. The proper ratio is only found on the trailer, original VHS master and Region 2 PAL DVD. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is their usual barebones affair except for flawed low res trailer files and a basic commentary. The film's 3.0 stereo mix is intact alongside the more limited mono mix thankfully. The Blu-ray does edge out over the old Universal DVD but that is merely due to it being the same master resolving better in 1080p. This presentation is sadly poor and the film deserves much better.
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Criterion 4K Blu-ray > Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray
1991 Orion LaserDisc vs 2024 Arrow 4K Blu-ray vs Criterion
Three masterings of the original Dolby Stereo SR mix exist: the original Orion video releases, the Criterion (which is from their LD) and the Arrow. All three are excellent with slight mastering differences between them. The original Orion still is probably the one with the most fidelity, the Criterion is the cleanest with a kind of warm feel to it and the Arrow has a bit of both aspects. The Arrow mastering has a tiny almost imperceptible bit of audio bleeding into the surround that isn't on the Criterion. Each has their own pluses and minuses but you can't go wrong with any of them. Whatever you do though: DO NOT WATCH WITH THE 5.1 REMIX. It is another MGM botch job that fundamentally alters the impact of many scenes. It is vastly inferior to the original mix in every way.
Director: Robert Altman
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Cinematrographe's HDR grading is overcooked, which is a known VinSyn tendency. Additionally, their booklet mis-credits the encode to FiM.
YMMV, but for some, the included BD encoded by Marcus Johnson—ironically may make for a more pleasing experience.
Director: Roman Polanski
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
UK 4K teased by 88 Films https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=24252379
Carlotta France 4K Blu-ray > Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray (better encode on Carlotta without any low-pass filtering, more extras and English subtitles on Vinegar Syndrome)
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