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Re:The Silence of the Lambs

I can see why Criterion did not snatch up UHD rights. I'll bet they had a look and passed. Kino stepped in and agreed to release it. Makes me wonder what's in store for Some Like It Hot.

The issue with Silence of the Lambs would be a relatively easy fix. I'm sure Criterion didn't get UHD rights because they just weren't in that game at the time.

After the deal with those early Paramount license, I assume, just to future proof, Criterion would have picked up the UHD rights to titles like Silence of the Lambs had they been available.

ShellOilJunior wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:40 pm Re:The Silence of the Lambs

I can see why Criterion did not snatch up UHD rights. I'll bet they had a look and passed. Kino stepped in and agreed to release it. Makes me wonder what's in store for Some Like It Hot.

Both the Criterion Blus and Kino UHDs are from the exact same 4K restorations.

FlickeringWindow wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 1:16 pm

ShellOilJunior wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:40 pm Re:The Silence of the Lambs

I can see why Criterion did not snatch up UHD rights. I'll bet they had a look and passed. Kino stepped in and agreed to release it. Makes me wonder what's in store for Some Like It Hot.

Both the Criterion Blus and Kino UHDs are from the exact same 4K restorations.

Naturally, the respective blu-rays are unaffected but the UHD has the problem due to the HDR master.

Whilst the problem is unique to the HDR master, it is not related to the HDR or caused by it. For the first reel the native P3 gamut has been folded into the Rec.2020 container twice instead of once, clipping the entire top end of the gamut. It's an accidental mastering error.

GeoffD says Shout's new Halloween UHD has significant compression issues on top of the audio, so I'm moving it from the Solid Upgrade to the Disappointing section.

Are The Shining and Suspiria agreed to be Tier 1 titles? I don't see them ranked anywhere on the list.

The Shining is a resounding yes IMHO and although I have yet to get Syanpse's Suspiria release, I believe thats meant to be a sizeable upgrade over their BD too.

King of New York should be Tier 1. The upgrade over the last Blu-ray is massive. The color saturation and contrast is beautiful and the picture just leaps out of the screen. Also the aspect ratio has been corrected to 1.85:1 from 16:9.

I have added The Shining to the Top Tier list.

With the Suspiria UHD, I get the impression that the superiority over Synapse's own Blu-Ray is not as significant so I've added it to the Appreciable/Solid list instead. Happy to amend if enough people who have both chime in to say it ought to be among the Reference discs too. Remember that I'm also trying to bear in mind how each UHD compares to the most recent Blu-Ray available. Suspiria on UHD has better grain and colors but the BD was a 10/10 for its format and I think both discs are from the same source so the gap isn't as pronounced as with other titles, *to my knowledge*.

As Eddie said at one point, all the discs in the top two columns are worth getting, and I'll try my best to keep them as accurate as possible all the times (which can be a challenge when most or all reviewers aren't picking up on flawed presentations and it requires fans with an intimate knowledge of the films to highlight issues post-release). So, with some boutique labels, you might want to exercise caution and forego a pre-order (especially if it is not guaranteed that the label will offer a replacement).

bluesforyou wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 3:23 am King of New York should be Tier 1. The upgrade over the last Blu-ray is massive. The color saturation and contrast is beautiful and the picture just leaps out of the screen. Also the aspect ratio has been corrected to 1.85:1 from 16:9.

They also re-issued King of New York on Blu-Ray which is why I've put the UHD in the Appreciable/Solid column instead. But yes, compared to the older Blu-Ray, the UHD is much better.

That makes me wonder though. Some titles, like the Ferrera, also get re-issued on BD simultaneously or, with Synapse's Suspiria, within such a short timeframe that the same restoration is still the source for the UHD.

I could list King of NY in both tiers (significant upgrade from the OLD BD/solid upgrade from the NEW BD), ditto Suspiria.

Thoughts?

Finch,
If it’s not too much work or too complicated I like the suggestion of comparing to a BD that gets issued at the same time as well as a BD that was issued previously (for those applicable).
At least for me when I make a decision on wether to buy a UHD I compare it to the last version of the film I already own. If I don’t own a BD yet, I will go for the UHD - unless significant problems are reported. If I already have a BD, it will depend on how important the movie is to me. If it’s one of my favorite films I will buy the new UHD, otherwise I may buy the UHD if it is reference quality, but not if it’s only a solid upgrade.

And thank you for pulling all this together, I find it very helpful.

I don't mind doing so at all. I'll add affected titles in both columns. If anyone can think of more films that had had a simultaneous BD re-issue with the UHD, please let me know (right now, I am only aware of the Ferrera and Argento but I'm sure there's a few more).

I'm taking pretty much the same approach as you, vsski, though in my case there are several titles dear to me in the Appreciable/Solid upgrade tier.

I'll also add UHDs that have great sound upgrades. The original Independence Day is frequently cited as having a UHD that has a very solid picture upgrade but absolutely murders the BD in the sound department. Again, if you know of more, drop a line here.

When it comes to something like King of New York having a simultaneous BD/UHD release/reissue I'm simply never going to watch the new BD (unless I take it to a friend's place to watch), so I'd only compare it to the old blu-ray I had and that's what I'd want to know from a list like the one at beginning of the thread (should I upgrade my blu-ray to the new UHD release?). Which as mentioned already is a major improvement and definitely should be a tier 1 release since this thread is dedicated to UHD upgrades. But regardless this thread and the list is still very helpful, so thanks all.

Edit: Blue Underground's Daughters of Darkness and Dead & Buried are simultaneous BD/UHD reissues.

I moved King of NY to the Tier 1 category as more people (including myself) will have had the old BD but I also kept the original entry in Tier 2 for the few people that may have gotten the new BD and might be contemplating replacing it with the UHD (same with Suspiria).

Did Daughters of Darkness and Dead & Buried have previous BD releases from Blue Underground?

Yes they both had previous Blu-rays, using older masters, from Blue Underground.

Thanks. Updating OP.

The Final Countdown and Vigilante also had a previous (old masters) Blu-rays from Blue Underground. Actually, I think every Blue Underground UHD has had a previous Blu-ray from them.

Seventh Seal from the BFI added to Tier 1 (that font on the cover though, ugh), and Second Sight's The Bababook UHD to Tier 2

With the announcement of a world premiere restoration of Giant at the TCM Film Festival I think the chances of a 4k UHD release are pretty strong

Hills Have Eyes 4k at Beaver
I've never seen Hills Have Eyes but I wonder if the first comparison capture (blonde in red sweater) really is from the Arrow Blu-Ray or if Gary has accidentally mislabeled the Image Entertainment BD? If it IS from the Arrow, then that would represent a substantial upgrade to my eyes. Also, if he has the Arrow BD, why is he not using it for the other captures too? Anyone have the Arrow BD?

first review of the Body Snatchers 76 UHD is promising (5.1 mix appears inferior to previous discs but the original 2.0 track seems fine (which is really all that matters))

Holding off on adding this to the list until more reviews and user feedback has come in (ditto Hills Have Eyes).

Finch wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 9:48 pm Hills Have Eyes 4k at Beaver
I've never seen Hills Have Eyes but I wonder if the first comparison capture (blonde in red sweater) really is from the Arrow Blu-Ray or if Gary has accidentally mislabeled the Image Entertainment BD? If it IS from the Arrow, then that would represent a substantial upgrade to my eyes. Also, if he has the Arrow BD, why is he not using it for the other captures too? Anyone have the Arrow BD?

It is the Arrow BD in that one shot, note the aspect ratio: 1.85:1 for the Image BD but 1.78:1 for the Arrow BD. But yes, a surprisingly huge improvement considering how much of an upgrade the Arrow BD already was over older BD releases.

Anyone get DNR vibes from those BFI Seventh Seal caps? Looks spectacular, but maybe better than it ought to, artificially so? Or does Dolby mastering bring out what’s there on the original film?