Films
The best release of every film, picked by the community. How we decide
6,182 films · page 160 of 310
Director: Spike Lee
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Imprint 4K Blu-ray > UK ICON > Criterion.
Imprint is same master as Criterion but encoded by Fidelity in Motion without Pixelogic’s filtering.
See: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23389310&postcount=10 and https://criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=844792#p844792
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
4k transfer, go with Criterion Blu-ray, Artificial Eye have AR issues https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=305332
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
The DTS-HD 5.1 on the 4K Blu-ray. The Atmos is compressed. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22426684&postcount=840
The Director's Cut DVD has some exclusive features like an isolated score track.
Director: Joseph Losey
StudioCanal 2019 Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
StudioCanal 2019 Blu-ray is a new 4K restoration, see comparisons with the 2013 Blu-ray: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=16878625&postcount=38
Director: Delbert Mann
Kino Lorber 2022 4K restoration Blu-ray
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
Kino Lorber 2022 4K restoration Blu-ray although it's still using the incorrect 1.37:1 aspect ratio, see Robert Furmanek's from 3D Film Archive's comment
Otherwise, the new restoration is better in PQ than older releases: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=17660&d2=15881&s1=198260&s2=168249&i=0&l=0
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Director: Jean Renoir
Directors: Frank Capra & Anatole Litvak
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
US Periscope Blu-ray OOP https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Why-We-Fight-Blu-ray/87823/ Otherwise there are DVDs
Director: Jacques Demy
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · mondo-digital.com (opens in a new tab)
Japan Blu-ray new 2K resto of 6K scan https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=334691 Screencaps look great https://www.mondo-digital.com/ladyoscar.html
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
No clear winner, Criterion SDR 4K Blu-ray has better defined grain and is cleaned-up more thoroughly. But looks grayer and flatter in daytime scenes. BFI 4K Blu-ray's HDR/DV is better in contrast but the grading can be debatable.
Director: Jack Nicholson
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has terrible encoding, but presumable still better than Paramount Presents Blu-ray from Chinatown 4K.
It was an old Blu-ray, and not the latest restoration. Unfortunately, there's no caps comparison yet.
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Lionsgate and StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray share the same video master: both have considerable improvement over the old awful Blu-ray but marred by teal grading and DNR. Lionsgate is additionally better compressed than StudioCanal.
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has the original theatrical 2.0 track, sourced from LaserDisc (absent on StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray), but the 5.1 track has issues which are not present on their new Blu-ray (LFE channel is missing, and instead it's the back left surround duplicated)
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray has original SDR master while Plaion Germany and France has a subtle additional HDR-regrade. Either one is good depending on user preference.
Important to note, Criterion 4K Blu-ray still has different color timing from 2008 Criterion Blu-ray see https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=15680&d2=15679&s1=165346&s2=165329&i=10&l=0
Original mono is on the 1996 Japan DVD and 2005 Spain Boxset DVD. But 2008 Criterion Blu-ray’s 5.1 remix at least is in the correct pitch. All 5.1 tracks on later 4K-resto BDs have a raised pitch. Furthermore, the 2008 5.1 and 4K-resto 5.1 differ in content in the scene where Tony Leung drinks coffee in slow-mo, with the 2008 version having only background / ambient sound, while the 4K-resto version plays Faye Wong’s song. Note that it's quite easy to pitch correct the 4K-resto 5.1 to match the original pitch and only a delay adjustment is needed to sync.
Flicker Alley Children of Divorce Blu-ray extras
Available in Flicker Alley Children of Divorce Blu-ray extra, although since it was a TV movie, its source is still likely SD
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
But their grade doesn't exceed 100 nits, it's just SDR.
https://slow.pics/c/F3u2viqj which is why those comps match near exactly. The 4K Blu-ray here has been clipped (i.e. all values above SDR range were thrown out), not tonemapped.
Director: Michael Mann
Theatrical: Universum Film Germany Blu-ray 2004 Director's Cut: Sony Director's Cut DVD 2017 Director's Cut: Sony Blu-ray
Director: Todd Solondz
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Solid upgrade and the increase in resolution works well with the 16mm source in making it appear a bit more film-like than the Blu-ray, which is obviously very good as well