Kino Lorber "raw' version or VCI replacement Blu-ray

Kino Lorber "raw' version or VCI replacement Blu-ray, no comparison available 

See DVDBeaver for the whole fiasco but Kino Lorber's main feature was a DNR mess but it fortunately included the "raw" version. VCI initially had a bitrate < 10 Mbps but have sent out new disc with bitrate around 35 Mbps.

UCLA has a new restoration done in 2015, but no release yet

Only VCI has optional subtitle and commentaries, while Kino Lorber doesn't

France Movinside Blu-ray

France Movinside Blu-ray although has contrast boosting, still better than Kino Lorber's aggressive DNR caps

Official NFPF HD Streaming https://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/the-middleton-family-at-the-new-york-world-s-fair-1939

Official NFPF HD Streaming https://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/the-middleton-family-at-the-new-york-world-s-fair-1939

The Library of Congress HD Streaming has very heavy DNR compared to NFPF and very muted colors https://www.loc.gov/item/2023600635/

Disney UK Blu-ray or bootleg 35mm scan having less DNR and digital repaint/recomposit

Disney UK Blu-ray or bootleg 35mm scan having less DNR and digital repaint/recomposit

UK BFI Pioneers of African American Cinema boxet Blu-ray or US individual Film Masters Blu-ray

UK BFI Pioneers of African American Cinema boxet Blu-ray or US individual Film Masters Blu-ray no comparison available

Specifically the BFI boxset is better than the Kino Lorber boxset as you can clearly see the DNR in Kino Lorber http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_73/pioneers_of_african-american_cinema_blu-ray.htm

Puppetoon Productions Blu-ray link

Puppetoon Productions Blu-ray link is 4K scan of Original Camera Negative while has some degree of DNR is still a significant upgrade over previous release

New 2016 Pathé France 4K transfer Blu-ray

New 2016 Pathé France 4K transfer > Criterion/Second Sight with old transfer heavy DNR https://slow.pics/c/z8p3fR0G

UK Arrow Blu-ray

UK Arrow Blu-ray

Kino Lorber Blu-ray is significantly worse with potential DNR see caps

OOP Olive Films Blu-ray seems to be the same transfer as Arrow but with Quicktime Gamma Bug see comparison

Paramount 4K Blu-ray or Blu-ray

Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice

Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the BD mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.

The 5.1 remix on the UHD is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the BD master.

Unrestored: 35mm scans or 1990 Disney LaserDisc

Restored: 1998 Disney LaserDisc/VHS and DVD and Blu-ray versions are edited (colors altered, DNR applied, and animation errors fixed)

Unrestored: 35mm scans or 1990 Disney LaserDisc

Restored: Disney Blu-ray

35mm scans, possibly?

Italy Minerva DVD

Italy Minerva DVD:

Even though there is a RaroVideo Blu-ray, it has aggressive DNR and bad encoding so Minerva DVD is still visibly superior, see DVDBeaver caps.

While Minerva DVD has contrast boosting and black crush, it's still much superior to UK Optimum DVD.

Fox Blu-ray

Fox Blu-ray, DNR

BFI 4K Blu-ray

BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR

Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray

BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.

The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.

Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.

Criterion Blu-ray

Criterion Demy Set, but terrible DNR from master for all releases

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Criterion 4K Blu-ray: intact grain compared to Toho/BFI UHDs' DNR'd master

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is good, derived from the 1995 Criterion LaserDisc (which would be minimally better due to its lack of filtering) see blah-ray

UK Screenbound Blu-ray

The UK disc has supposedly had some revisionist changes done along with DNR. The disc is OOP. Tentative alternative is Criterion DVD

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

France Carlotta > Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps: https://slow.pics/c/s7AfL3XW

Grain is sharper/clearer on the new Carlotta/Criterion 4K; BFI's grain resolves slightly worse and more so in motion, being a standard Blu-ray; The Toho 4K's grain is softer, probably DNR'd.

Toho 1993 LaserDisc

BFI Player used to have the same mastering available to stream in 2019.

US OOP Twilight Time Blu-ray

US OOP Twilight Time Blu-ray > UK Paramount Blu-ray or US Inspired Blu-ray

The UK Blu-ray not only have some DNR applied, it's also squeezed and cropped: see comparison

The color contrast from Twilight Time is however possibly suffering the Quicktime Gamma Bug, but that's an easier issue to fix than DNR or cropped images.

Criterion Blu-ray

Criterion, less bitrate but MoC uses too much DNR

Paramount 2008 Blu-ray Coppola Restoration

Paramount 2008 Blu-ray Coppola Restoration

2008 Blu-ray lossy mono. (Britain release only has 5.1)

The Paramount 4K "restoration" is a desecration. It has completely revisionist color timing, harsh HDR, treatment of stock footage, bad encoding, selective DNR and grain management so bad that the entire screen frequently freezes up with only characters moving around in grain soup. It is so bad that the film's restorer Robert Harris publicly washed his hands of it saying essentially the 2007 restoration (with Willis and Coppola supervising) is how the film was intended and made. This is Paramount's modern version done their way. The new 1080p SDR Blu-rays in print are the crap 4K desecration master with the same problems still there just harder to spot and with crap encodes.
The mono option is an unnecessarily processed version of the lossy mono from the 2008 Blu-ray. The 2008 Blu-ray of the 2007 Coppola Restoration while an imperfect outdated disc is LIGHT YEARS better than this 4K desecration. The only truly major issue is that it is very slightly redder than the 2007 finished master as seen on DCPs. The lossy mono on the 2008 Blu-ray is the best version of the original mix known to exist as it is better than the late 80's mastering for VHS and LaserDisc.
DFIC review of the hideous crap 4K Blu-rays: https://youtu.be/0uw6-Kcy_UA?si=ob1nDg0wTCvemjH0