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NTSC

NTSC

19 Films

NTSC

19 Included Films

Aliases: ntsc

Type: Keyword

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray

Kino Lorber has some additional noise reduction. Universal NTSC DVD's worse than either of the Blu-rays.

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Shout! Factory Blu-ray

Kino Lorber has some additional noise reduction. Universal NTSC DVD's worse than either of the Blu-rays.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray, caps

As with other Kurosawa 4K's, Criterion has a less processed master than Toho and BFI.

Best Audio:

Criterion NTSC DVD overall. The 4K restoration's track is denoised and sounds muffled, but has a few of moments where it edges out in detail

Audio analysis between the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, BFI Blu-ray and Toho 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray, caps

As with other Kurosawa 4K's, Criterion has a less processed master than Toho and BFI.

Best Audio:

Criterion NTSC DVD overall. The 4K restoration's track is denoised and sounds muffled, but has a few of moments where it edges out in detail

Audio analysis between the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, BFI Blu-ray and Toho 4K Blu-ray

Cruel Story of Youth poster
Letterboxd
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray (caps)

Criterion is a very nice uptick in detail and resolution. The color grade is very similar, but leans more neutral, reducing the greenish/blueish hues seen on the MoC disc.

Best Audio:

Unrestored: Shochiku JP NTSC DVD
Restored: Masters of Cinema UK Blu-ray

The JP DVD track is unfiltered and sounds much more natural and detailed, but suffers from a strong CRT whine and an intermittent low-end hum. The track used on all later restorations is a bit muffled and has overemphasized bass.

Criterion applied additional EQ and roll-off to the restored track, but the audible difference is minimal.

Additional Info:

Criterion has a different translation to MoC, but both are solid and trade blows, see comparison.

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray (caps)

Criterion is a very nice uptick in detail and resolution. The color grade is very similar, but leans more neutral, reducing the greenish/blueish hues seen on the MoC disc.

Best Audio:

Unrestored: Shochiku JP NTSC DVD
Restored: Masters of Cinema UK Blu-ray

The JP DVD track is unfiltered and sounds much more natural and detailed, but suffers from a strong CRT whine and an intermittent low-end hum. The track used on all later restorations is a bit muffled and has overemphasized bass.

Criterion applied additional EQ and roll-off to the restored track, but the audible difference is minimal.

Additional Info:

Criterion has a different translation to MoC, but both are solid and trade blows, see comparison.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

All pre-4K BDs (Twilight Time US, Suevia Spain, Imprint Australia, Koch Media Germany) are the same, and significantly better than the 4K restoration (Shout! FactoryArrow, Kino Lorber), and a bit better than the MGM NTSC DVD.

Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

All pre-4K BDs (Twilight Time US, Suevia Spain, Imprint Australia, Koch Media Germany) are the same, and significantly better than the 4K restoration (Shout! FactoryArrow, Kino Lorber), and a bit better than the MGM NTSC DVD.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Universal Region 2 PAL DVD (original Dolby Stereo), Region 1 NTSC is minimally worse

The DTS:X remix is very revisionist with a lot of sound effect changes

Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Universal Region 2 PAL DVD (original Dolby Stereo), Region 1 NTSC is minimally worse

The DTS:X remix is very revisionist with a lot of sound effect changes

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

5.1 mix: Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: MGM NTSC DVD

The 5.1 track sounds very good and is said to be sourced from the original 6-track mix used for 70mm blow-up releases, but there is no conclusive proof of that.

WarGames poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

5.1 mix: Germany Capelight 4K Blu-ray
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: MGM NTSC DVD

The 5.1 track sounds very good and is said to be sourced from the original 6-track mix used for 70mm blow-up releases, but there is no conclusive proof of that.

Gonza the Spearman poster
Letterboxd
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Channel Streaming

Best Video:

2024 Carlotta FR Blu-ray

Best Audio:

2009 Shochiku JP NTSC DVD

The audio track on the new 4K restoration sounds flat and lifeless, both its low and high frequencies were significantly attentuated.

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Channel Streaming

Best Video:

2024 Carlotta FR Blu-ray

Best Audio:

2009 Shochiku JP NTSC DVD

The audio track on the new 4K restoration sounds flat and lifeless, both its low and high frequencies were significantly attentuated.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Twilight Time Blu-ray or MGM NTSC DVD for the original mono mix

  • Shout! Factory 4K only has a stereo downmix (which sounds muffled, as do the surround tracks)

  • Twilight Time Blu-ray has the mono track with seemingly the best fidelity, but its dynamic range has been heavily compressed

  • MoC UK Blu-ray has a proper dynamics and good fidelity, but bizzarely, everything is repeated after a few miliseconds, rendering echoey and metallic

  • MGM NTSC DVD has been denoised and has had a strong EQ applied and sounds muffled as a result, but it retains proper dynamics

  • Koch Media DE BD had poor dynamics and wrong pitch

  • Analog 1986 US LaserDisc sounds poor

Perhaps the digital JP LD would be better.

Salvador poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Twilight Time Blu-ray or MGM NTSC DVD for the original mono mix

  • Shout! Factory 4K only has a stereo downmix (which sounds muffled, as do the surround tracks)

  • Twilight Time Blu-ray has the mono track with seemingly the best fidelity, but its dynamic range has been heavily compressed

  • MoC UK Blu-ray has a proper dynamics and good fidelity, but bizzarely, everything is repeated after a few miliseconds, rendering echoey and metallic

  • MGM NTSC DVD has been denoised and has had a strong EQ applied and sounds muffled as a result, but it retains proper dynamics

  • Koch Media DE BD had poor dynamics and wrong pitch

  • Analog 1986 US LaserDisc sounds poor

Perhaps the digital JP LD would be better.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

MCA 1989 LaserDisc or Universal 1999 NTSC DVD

The 'Burbs poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

MCA 1989 LaserDisc or Universal 1999 NTSC DVD

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Cabal Cut: Very rare Blu-ray self-released by Clive Barker

Best Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Shout! Factory see caps

Cabal Cut: Very rare Blu-ray self-released by Clive Barker

Best Audio:

Theatrical Cut: Arrow 4K Blu-ray (stereo), Warner Bros NTSC DVD (5.1 remix)
Director's Cut: Arrow Blu-ray (stereo), 5.1 is the same on all discs

Best English-Friendly:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Cabal Cut: Very rare Blu-ray self-released by Clive Barker

Best Video:

Arrow 4K Blu-ray > Shout! Factory see caps

Cabal Cut: Very rare Blu-ray self-released by Clive Barker

Best Audio:

Theatrical Cut: Arrow 4K Blu-ray (stereo), Warner Bros NTSC DVD (5.1 remix)
Director's Cut: Arrow Blu-ray (stereo), 5.1 is the same on all discs

The Crying Game poster
Letterboxd
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray (caps)

Criterion is a new restoration from the original camera negative, supervised and approved by director Neil Jordan, graded using a 35mm print from the Academy Film Archive as a color reference.

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Criterion is a new transfer from the magnetic track and sounds better than previous releases. The 5.1 track on the NTSC DVD is a poor quality upmix.

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray (caps)

Criterion is a new restoration from the original camera negative, supervised and approved by director Neil Jordan, graded using a 35mm print from the Academy Film Archive as a color reference.

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Criterion is a new transfer from the magnetic track and sounds better than previous releases. The 5.1 track on the NTSC DVD is a poor quality upmix.

Thunderheart poster
Letterboxd
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: 2003 Sony/Columbia NTSC DVD 2.0
5.1 remix: 2024 Sony Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The 5.1 track on the UHD is a remix originally included on the 2024 Blu-ray, but missing the LFE track. The UHD 2.0 track is a downmix of the faulty 5.1, severely lacking bass.

The digital track on the earlier LaserDisc is most likely the same as DVD, minus the lossy compression.

Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: 2003 Sony/Columbia NTSC DVD 2.0
5.1 remix: 2024 Sony Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The 5.1 track on the UHD is a remix originally included on the 2024 Blu-ray, but missing the LFE track. The UHD 2.0 track is a downmix of the faulty 5.1, severely lacking bass.

The digital track on the earlier LaserDisc is most likely the same as DVD, minus the lossy compression.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray 

The US/Theatrical Cut on the Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled and has DNR, along with Kino Lorber's usual poor compression.

Director's Cut uses a proper transfer but suffers from terrible compression, even by Kino standards.

The Umbrella with its FiM encode looks blurrier due to a slight low-pass filter, but is still far better than Kino.

Best Audio:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray and US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are the same.

The 5.1 track is a direct port of the lossy NTSC DVD track.

Best English-Friendly:

Umbrella 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray > US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray 

The US/Theatrical Cut on the Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled and has DNR, along with Kino Lorber's usual poor compression.

Director's Cut uses a proper transfer but suffers from terrible compression, even by Kino standards.

The Umbrella with its FiM encode looks blurrier due to a slight low-pass filter, but is still far better than Kino.

Best Audio:

AU Umbrella 4K Blu-ray and US Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are the same.

The 5.1 track is a direct port of the lossy NTSC DVD track.

The Arrival poster
Letterboxd
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has terrible compression, but still beats out the old disc which was sourced from a mediocre old scan with edge enhancement, and which has compression issues of its own.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 mix: 1997 Pioneer LaserDisc or 1997 Live Entertainment NTSC DVD
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

The film originally premiered with two mixes, a 5.1 for upgraded theaters, and a distinct matrixed Dolby Stereo mix for older venues. The original 5.1 mix can only be found on the earliest LD/DVD releases, as all later releases replace it with a mediocre 7.1 mix with reduced dynamic range.

The Atmos mix is based off of the previous 7.1 remix, but with futher alterations as per director's wishes. One scene intentionally drops out into silence, see this post for details.

The Arrival poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray has terrible compression, but still beats out the old disc which was sourced from a mediocre old scan with edge enhancement, and which has compression issues of its own.

Best Audio:

Original 5.1 mix: 1997 Pioneer LaserDisc or 1997 Live Entertainment NTSC DVD
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo mix: Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

The film originally premiered with two mixes, a 5.1 for upgraded theaters, and a distinct matrixed Dolby Stereo mix for older venues. The original 5.1 mix can only be found on the earliest LD/DVD releases, as all later releases replace it with a mediocre 7.1 mix with reduced dynamic range.

The Atmos mix is based off of the previous 7.1 remix, but with futher alterations as per director's wishes. One scene intentionally drops out into silence, see this post for details.

High Art poster
Letterboxd
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Audio:

5.1 remix: Criterion Blu-ray
Original matrixed stereo: Universal NTSC DVD

The 5.1 track is a new mix from the original elements, rather than a straight transfer.

Additional Info:

Criterion booklet notes:
> High Art is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Supervised and approved by director Lisa Cholodenko, this new 4K restoration was undertaken by the Academy Film Archive and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, in conjunction with the Sundance Institute, using the 35 mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the DA-88 edit masters and mix masters. Funding was provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frameline, the Sundance Institute, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Red Hook Post, and Monkeyland Audio.

High Art poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Audio:

5.1 remix: Criterion Blu-ray
Original matrixed stereo: Universal NTSC DVD

The 5.1 track is a new mix from the original elements, rather than a straight transfer.

Additional Info:

Criterion booklet notes:
> High Art is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Supervised and approved by director Lisa Cholodenko, this new 4K restoration was undertaken by the Academy Film Archive and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, in conjunction with the Sundance Institute, using the 35 mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the DA-88 edit masters and mix masters. Funding was provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frameline, the Sundance Institute, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Red Hook Post, and Monkeyland Audio.

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

A24 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

A24 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

NTSC DVD has the best dynamics for the original stereo, France BAC Films Blu-ray has the best original stereo in lossless

Pi poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

A24 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

A24 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

NTSC DVD has the best dynamics for the original stereo, France BAC Films Blu-ray has the best original stereo in lossless

Barbie in the Nutcracker poster
Letterboxd
DVD
Best English-Friendly:

2002 PAL (Australian) Universal DVD

Best Video:

2002 PAL (Australian) Universal DVD

Additional Info:

Mainframe Entertainment, one of the co-producers of this movie, while based in Canada, made their content for 25 FPS/the PAL standard, making the 2002 Australian PAL Universal DVD release the one closest to the original intent (and it also has a higher resolution of 576i compared to the 480i of the NTSC offerings).

Note, for the NTSC DVD offers, not all have the correct aspect ratio. The 2015 US and Canadian Universal releases have the intended 1.78:1, while the 2010 Universal and 2001 Lionsgate are both shown in 1.85:1.

Best English-Friendly:

2002 PAL (Australian) Universal DVD

Best Video:

2002 PAL (Australian) Universal DVD

Additional Info:

Mainframe Entertainment, one of the co-producers of this movie, while based in Canada, made their content for 25 FPS/the PAL standard, making the 2002 Australian PAL Universal DVD release the one closest to the original intent (and it also has a higher resolution of 576i compared to the 480i of the NTSC offerings).

Note, for the NTSC DVD offers, not all have the correct aspect ratio. The 2015 US and Canadian Universal releases have the intended 1.78:1, while the 2010 Universal and 2001 Lionsgate are both shown in 1.85:1.

Together poster
Letterboxd
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MGM MoD Blu-ray

Best Video:

MGM MoD Blu-ray

Best Audio:

MGM NTSC DVD includes 5.1, Blu-ray is only stereo

Additional Info:

The Blu-ray has burned-in English subtitles

Together poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MGM MoD Blu-ray

Best Video:

MGM MoD Blu-ray

Best Audio:

MGM NTSC DVD includes 5.1, Blu-ray is only stereo

Additional Info:

The Blu-ray has burned-in English subtitles

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Original Theatrical Version: US Universal Widescreen Edition NTSC DVD

Cut UK Home Video Version: US Universal or International Sony Blu-ray? (caveat: DNR applied)

Best Video:

Original Theatrical Version: US Universal Widescreen Edition NTSC DVD

Cut UK Home Video Version: US Universal or International Sony Blu-ray? (caveat: DNR applied)

Best Audio:

Original Theatrical Version: Cinema DTS

Cut UK Home Video Version: US Universal Blu-ray for DTS-HD MA track

Additional Info:

International Sony Blu-ray releases have the original DVD extras

Peter Pan poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Original Theatrical Version: US Universal Widescreen Edition NTSC DVD

Cut UK Home Video Version: US Universal or International Sony Blu-ray? (caveat: DNR applied)

Best Video:

Original Theatrical Version: US Universal Widescreen Edition NTSC DVD

Cut UK Home Video Version: US Universal or International Sony Blu-ray? (caveat: DNR applied)

Best Audio:

Original Theatrical Version: Cinema DTS

Cut UK Home Video Version: US Universal Blu-ray for DTS-HD MA track

Additional Info:

International Sony Blu-ray releases have the original DVD extras

19 films

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