WCL

7 films on Best Blurays

Based in ChinaFounded 2017

World Cinema Library is a numbered Blu-ray and 4K UHD series from the Chinese label Diskino, which began with The Last Emperor in 2017. It mixes Chinese classics, including Xi'an Film Studio restorations such as Red Sorghum, with licensed Hollywood and world cinema, in limited runs of about 100 to 1,200 copies. Most discs carry English subtitles, and a sister line, MLIFE, covers recent and genre films.

Aliases: wcl, diskino

Love and Duty (1931)

Director: Bu Wan-Cang

Best English-Friendly & Video:

China WCL Blu-ray

Diabolique (1955)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

WCL China Blu-ray

Best Video:

France Coin Germany mire Cinema 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

(not English friendly)

Best Audio:

Audio Notes:

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"

4.2

Yellow Earth (1984)

Director: Chen Kaige

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Video:

WCL China Blu-ray

Video Notes:

WCL China Blu-ray is the only Blu-ray available as of Aug 2026

3.7

The Horse Thief (1986)

Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang

Best English-Friendly & Video:

China WCL Blu-ray

A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Director: John Woo

4K · Solid

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Upcoming Release:

2026 Arrow 4K Blu-ray (part of a trilogy box set)

Audio Notes:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray has the original mono

Best Video:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray > Disk Kino/WCL China import

review: Disk Kino

Red Sorghum (1988)

Director: Zhang Yimou

Best English-Friendly:

Most likely WCL China Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

WCL China Blu-ray

Video Notes:

WCL China Blu-ray probably best transfer https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=19502187&postcount=Crocodile124 over Imprint Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou & Gong Li

3.8

Departures (2008)

Director: Yojiro Takita

Best English-Friendly:

WCL China 4K Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

WCL China 4K Blu-ray, caps

Best Audio:

Audio Notes:

The 4K Blu-ray has slightly neutered dynamics

Additional Info:

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)

4.1

Missing a WCL film? Suggest it