Imprint is the boutique arm of Via Vision Entertainment, an Australian independent distributor, and began in 2020 with The War of the Worlds, The Duellists and Waterloo. Its numbered Imprint Collection issues studio-library classics and long-unreleased titles in limited hardbox and slipcase editions on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, with new transfers and commentaries. Sub-lines include Imprint Television, Imprint Asia and cheaper Standard Editions.
Imprint
Best 4K release by tier:
- Excellent14
- Solid3
Also known as: Via Vision
How we pick the best Imprint releases
22 in 4K
Best video release on UHD Blu-ray or 4K streaming
Directors: Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
FiM encode and none of the low-pass filtering present on the Criterion 4K, resulting in more detail and better handling of highlights on Imprint
Review, comparisons
Audio Notes:
All HD and 4K sources use the same 2009 restoration. Criterion's master (also used by Imprint) is a bit more rolled off, though the difference is minor.
Director: Spike Lee
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
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
Director: Martin Scorsese
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Imprint Australia 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Imprint Australia 4K Blu-ray has slightly better compression than Criterion 4K Blu-ray.
The master in DV looks all but identical to the Criterion’s HDR grade. Detail-wise, FiM’s encode looks like it uncovered a tiny bit of extra high-frequency information that got filtered on the Criterion. See nicolas review
Audio Notes:
1990 Criterion LaserDisc/1993 MGM LaserDisc/2002 R2 MGM DVD are the best. See blah-ray https://blah-ray.blogspot.com/2018/01/raging-bull-1980.html
Imprint Australia 4K Blu-ray has better audio than Criterion 4K Blu-ray, from nicolas:
I believe that what’s on Imprint’s 4K is one of the good mixes MGM and Criterion released during the LaserDisc days. Music is powerful and detailed, dialogues have excellent fidelity and ambient sounds have perceptible depth. I compared the "new" 2.0 with the anemic 5.1 as well as the Criterion 4K mix and could clearly hear the improvements.
Director: John Woo
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
Video Notes:
Arrow has a different grade and a better encode than the Shout! Factory, though the difference in either is not major. Imprint release, which leaves Shout! Factory's master and subtitles as is, is encoded by FiM. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24473097&postcount=56
Best Audio:
Original mix: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Alternate mix: Scanbox Nordic PAL DVD
Surround remix: HK Video France 4K Blu-ray (5.0)
Audio Notes:
Original mix: Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray (similar to Criterion LaserDisc, but less distorted)
Alternate mix: Scanbox Nordic PAL DVD
Surround remix: HK Video France 4K Blu-ray (5.0)
Arrow used the alternate mix, but with extra filtering and lowered dynamic range. The alternate mix has much better fidelity.
Imprint presumably used the Shout! Factory original mix and left it as is, though no official confirmation.
Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Director: John Carpenter
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray possibly teased?
Video Notes:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray > Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray
See caps for Kino: caps. Here’s a particularly egregious example.
Additional Info:
Kino Lorber has a exclusive commentary
Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray > 2025 Germany Constantin Film 4K Blu-ray > 2021 Germany Constantin Film 4K Blu-ray caps
Imprint has a FiM encode, DV and lossless audio.
Constantin 2025 has a solid encode, DV but lossy DTS-HD HR audio.
Constantin 2021 has bad encoding, HDR10 only and lossy audio.
Audio Notes:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray has the best audio among all UHDs
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray possibly teased?
Video Notes:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray > Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Director: Michael Mann
Best Video, Audio & English-Friendly:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray is slightly better than the Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray see caps https://slow.pics/c/E1WBYjTH
See also this Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray vs Blu-ray caps https://slow.pics/c/OzvKrEEl
Audio Notes:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray has the same audio as Vinegar Syndrome
Director: David Lynch
Best English-Friendly:
Theatrical: Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray?
TV Cut: Australia Imprint Blu-ray included in their 4K Blu-ray set?
Spicediver Cut: Germany Plaion Blu-ray included in their Ultimate Edition release
Best Video:
Theatrical: Arrow 4K Blu-ray or Australian Imprint 4K Blu-ray?
TV Cut: Australia Imprint Blu-ray included in their 4K Blu-ray set?
Spicediver Cut: Germany Plaion Blu-ray included in their Ultimate Edition release
Best Audio:
Universal 1998 DVD has the original 70mm 6-track mix in Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Stereo: Arrow 4K Blu-ray (5.1 mix is an inferior remix)
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
UK Arrow 4K Blu-ray possibly teased?
Video Notes:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray > Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Best Audio:
23 in HD
Best video release on Blu-ray or HD streaming · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Zhang Yimou
Best English-Friendly:
Imprint Blu-ray or new restoration soon
Video Notes:
Or potential new resto https://www.fareastfilm.com/eng/news/far-east-film-festival-26/?IDLYT=13308
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Kevin Costner
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Shout! Factory/Australia Via Vision Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
4K restoration of the extended cut to be screened in Locarno Film Festival
Video Notes:
PQ looks the same for all BDs, but only Shout! Factory/Australia Via Vision Blu-ray/Germany Kinowelt Anniversary Blu-ray has both theatrical and extended cut
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Director: Zhang Yimou
Best English-Friendly:
Korea Nova Media Blu-ray, or Imprint Boxset Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
Film Movement Blu-ray release soon
Best Video:
No comparisons, but Korea Nova Media caps
DVDBeaver's Imprint Blu-ray caps
Directors: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Imprint The Cinema of Powell and Pressburger: Collection One Blu-ray
Director: Fritz Lang
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Imprint Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Imprint Blu-ray not only has the best encoding, but also has the "correct" aspect ratio compared to ClassicFlix which is horizontally stretched or Eagle Pictures which is squished see DVDBeaver caps
5 for audio only
The best audio is Imprint's; the video and English-friendly picks are other releases · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Best Audio:
5.1 mix is flawed on Shout! Factory/ICON, a phasey upmix instead of the proper discrete surround. The UHD 2.0 tracks are downmixes of that track.
2008 Fox Blu-ray sounds great, very close to the original 70mm mix, only with split surround.
2001 DVD has the original mix as 4.1 and matrixed 2.0.
Imprint 4K has a 4.0 track. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has a different 5.1, unclear if it's the same as Fox BD.
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Video Notes:
UK ICON 4K Blu-ray (caps)
UK 4K Blu-ray has a slightly better encode than US Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray and Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray
Director: Roman Polanski
Best Audio:
Atmos Remix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1: Imprint Australia Blu-ray or StudioCanal Germany/France Blu-ray
Audio Notes:
Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray encoded the "Original 5.1" as lossy Dolby Digital, which is very different from the AC3 on the original DVD. This new "Original 5.1" may in fact be a downmix of the Atmos track. FWIW, the original DVD AC3 still sounds very good.
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
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.
5 announced
Imprint's release is announced; until it is out, the picks are other releases · by Letterboxd rating
Director: John Woo
Upcoming Release:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Video Notes:
Correct grade and archival extras missing from the Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray
Audio Notes:
Both Arrow 4K Blu-ray and Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray are worse.
Additional Info:
Criterion USA LaserDisc [CC1397L]: Original Cantonese mono.
Best Cantonese mono still was from Criterion LaserDisc, as the Shout one was boosted with clipping, with some filtering and losing dynamic range over the Criterion LD.
There’s no need for other Cantonese audio, as all 5.1 remixes are extremely bad and not worth including.
For English Dub the Shout offered the best, it was pure mono. All other 5.1 remixed of said dub are also terrible and offer no value, only less fidelity and more echo.
Directors: Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski
Upcoming Release:
Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Director: Jack Cardiff
Director: Roger Donaldson
Upcoming Release:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray scheduled for August 2026 release
Best Video & English-Friendly:
88 Films & Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray
Video Notes:
(88 Films is FiM encoded)
Additional Info:
88 Films and Scream Factory have exclusive extras
Director: Peter Medak
Upcoming Release:
Imprint 4K Blu-ray scheduled for August 2026 release
Best Video & English-Friendly:
Know a film where the Imprint release is the one to buy? Suggest it