London distributor that opened in 1999 with a restored reissue of The Third Man and began releasing DVDs in 2004 under Optimum Home Entertainment, Optimum Classic, Optimum World and Optimum Asia. Its UK catalogue spanned French classics, world cinema, cult titles and Studio Ghibli. StudioCanal bought the company in 2006 and renamed it StudioCanal UK in 2011, retiring the Optimum name.
Optimum
3 films on Best BluraysBest video release: 1 in 4K2 in HD4 more for audio only
Best 4K release by tier:
Based in United KingdomFounded 1999
Films where Optimum's release is the pick. How picks are made
Films where Optimum's release is the pick. How picks are made
Director: David Lynch
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Reddit (opens in a new tab) · dvdexotica.com (opens in a new tab)
Video Notes:
Criterion 4k resto, but it was AI upscaled although supervised and approved by Lynch https://www.reddit.com/r/davidlynch/comments/12klbw9/inland_empire_and_ai_upscaling/
See another detailed review: https://www.dvdexotica.com/2015/05/lets-get-serious-about-inland-empire.html
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray and 2011/2013 Optimum Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Upcoming Release:
New 4K restoration sourced from the original camera negatives to be shown in theatres in October
Video Notes:
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray and 2011/2013 Optimum Blu-ray both have issues, up to preference. UK Optimum/Japan Amuse Soft Blu-ray is better, Criterion is worse
Japan Amuse Soft Blu-ray is better encoded than the Optimum, is in the original 1.85 ratio, and has the original colors
1 with a weaker 4K
Best 4K release rated Disappointing or Worse Than BD · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray and 2011/2013 Optimum Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Upcoming Release:
New 4K restoration sourced from the original camera negatives to be shown in theatres in October
Video Notes:
Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray and 2011/2013 Optimum Blu-ray both have issues, up to preference. UK Optimum/Japan Amuse Soft Blu-ray is better, Criterion is worse
Japan Amuse Soft Blu-ray is better encoded than the Optimum, is in the original 1.85 ratio, and has the original colors
4 for audio only
The best audio is Optimum's; the video and English-friendly picks are other releases · by Letterboxd rating
Director: David Lynch
Best Audio:
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
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Audio Notes:
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.
Best English-Friendly:
Best Video:
SDR: Criterion 4K Blu-ray
HDR: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Best Audio:
2000 Optimum DVD
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Best English-Friendly:
Criterion 4K Blu-ray/2020 remastered StudioCanal Blu-ray
Best Video:
Video Notes:
(preference)
> StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The HDR grading has messed up highlights, so some may prefer the 2020 remastered StudioCanal Blu-ray
Additional Info:
Criterion's subtitles seem to be better than StudioCanal's which omits too much IMO.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Director: Richard Stanley
Best Audio:
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: 2018 Ronin Flix US Blu-ray / 2009 Optimum UK Blu-ray
5.1 surround remix: Umbrella AU 4K Blu-ray / Umbrella Blu-ray
Audio Notes:
The 2.0 on the 4K Blu-ray is a downmix.
Best English-Friendly:
Best Video:
Umbrella AU 4K Blu-ray, encoded by Fidelity in Motion
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