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M is definitely mid-tier Losey, but I find it to be a better candidate to revisit than his other mid-tier films if only to compare to the original. The ending is also an excellent take on the original, it's just too bad he wasn't as adventurous with what comes before it, it could have been among his best.

Finch wrote: Tue Jul 21, 2026 7:29 pm The next Vintage Classics title is Accident (1967) on September 28th on UHD.

Yay! Day 1 purchase for me regardless of extras, which will most certainly be better than Kino's. Can't count on Criterion picking this one up, though they should do a 4K box of all three Losey/Pinter films to make up for not releasing The Servant in 4K the first time around.

For me, this is the quintessential Losey film, even if it's a hard one to recommend to any normal person.

Specs for Studiocanal's 4K of Accident:

• 32-page booklet
• NEW - Course Collision: Pamela Hutchinson on Accident
• NEW- Starting by Accident: An Interview with dialogue coach Claire Davidson
• NEW - Maxwell Caulfield interviewed by Michael Billington
• Audio commentary by Kat Ellinger
• John Coldstream on Dirk Bogarde
• Interview with Harold Pinter expert Harry Burton
• Interview with feminist author and academic Melanie Williams
• Interview with film critic Tim Robey
• Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter discuss Accident (1957)
• Behind the Scenes Stills gallery
• Colour Lobby Cards gallery
• Trailer

Manhunter theatrical vs 4k restoration early comparison

Heavily compressed but gives you some idea. Theatrical first, 4k restoration second.

I just found the 2011 UK Blu-ray for a reasonable price on eBay. Doubt that any US release of this new version will include the theatrical, never mind in restored form.

I recall the UK Blu-ray of Manhunter had a bunch scratch/dirt removal errors and the US disc from MGM does not.

dwk wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2026 8:42 pm I recall the UK Blu-ray of Manhunter had a bunch scratch/dirt removal errors and the US disc from MGM does not.

I believe the current best in class is the Shout version which has only nominally better video over the MGM, but has the original stereo the MGM does not. The UK is somewhat less robust videowise, as mentioned.

Finch wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2026 3:52 pm Manhunter theatrical vs 4k restoration early comparison

Heavily compressed but gives you some idea. Theatrical first, 4k restoration second.

Barf.

I read the opposite about the US versions that the MGM has better compression but the Shout evidently has it beat with the OG audio and extras and accordingly goes for even higher prices. I think the UK BD on sale may be a bootleg since they're offering multiple copies as NEW which strikes me as odd for a 15 year old release. I sent a cancellation request and bought the MGM Blu-ray from another seller. If the Final Cut extras sound good, I'll get the 4k at reduced price and stick my MGM BD in the UHD keepcase.

Finch wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2026 3:52 pm Manhunter theatrical vs 4k restoration early comparison

Heavily compressed but gives you some idea. Theatrical first, 4k restoration second.

The old Blu-ray of the theatrical cut looks really flat and not very filmic, I don't mind the colours of the new 4K 'final cut' but wow is it dark. Way too dark, unless there's some colour space conversion issues in where those screencaps were taken from.

Finch wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 2:24 am I read the opposite about the US versions that the MGM has better compression but the Shout evidently has it beat with the OG audio and extras and accordingly goes for even higher prices. I think the UK BD on sale may be a bootleg since they're offering multiple copies as NEW which strikes me as odd for a 15 year old release. I sent a cancellation request and bought the MGM Blu-ray from another seller. If the Final Cut extras sound good, I'll get the 4k at reduced price and stick my MGM BD in the UHD keepcase.

Apologies, It would seem you are correct concerning Shout vs MGM...although I qualified my statement with "nominal", you can barely spot any difference at all, even in stills, so it is pretty much a total wash, with the MGM by the smallest possible margin. Which I realize is why I didn't buy the Shout at the time, even as a superfan (I already had the DVD for the silly re-edits). I kind of wish I had that stereo mix on the MGM though, but the 5.1 is totally fine.

Either blows the UK Blu out of the water, so consider giving that a pass although far easier to come by.

https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=41

malachi_lui wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 7:02 am

Finch wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2026 3:52 pm Manhunter theatrical vs 4k restoration early comparison

Heavily compressed but gives you some idea. Theatrical first, 4k restoration second.

The old Blu-ray of the theatrical cut looks really flat and not very filmic, I don't mind the colours of the new 4K 'final cut' but wow is it dark. Way too dark, unless there's some colour space conversion issues in where those screencaps were taken from.

The old BD is transfer is aging and has some very minor print damage, but it looks very true to how I always remembered it and very evocative. There is a florescent clinical flatness to the interiors and warm flooded light of the beach that was in stark contrast to the creepy goings on and Lava Lamp interiors of the Tooth Fairy's home. Consider for instance that it was a distinct choice to present Lector in a antiseptic white room rather than the drippy wet dungeon from Silence of the Lambs. The new edit loses all that visual storytelling for a generic and ugly dark modern orange and teal presentation.

According to Studio Canal's X account, the UHD for Manhunter has been pushed back to November 30th. Now I'm doubly glad I didn't preorder this and didn't combine it with something else at Orbit (who aren't taking any more preorders anyway, and rarewaves also seem to have sold their allocated stock). My ebay order of the MGM BD is arriving tonight.

Update on the David Lynch set! A box set is indeed coming in 2027 but it will be from Studiocanal in Europe and not from Criterion. They revealed this to Variety today.

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/term ... 236844897/

Also, a home video release of the Chaplin biopic is coming later this year.

nicolas wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2026 9:45 pm Update on the David Lynch set! A box set is indeed coming in 2027 but it will be from Studiocanal in Europe and not from Criterion. They revealed this to Variety today.

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/term ... 236844897/

Also, a home video release of the Chaplin biopic is coming later this year.

What does a company do for their loyal customers who have been buying individual discs over the years when a big box is released (either by themselves or by someone else)?

I have long had an idea. They should sell empty packaging to anyone who wants it. People can insert discs in appropriate slots. What they have may not exactly match the new extras, but they can buy the missing films from anyone who issues them and have a complete box.Thus we can have a David Lynch box with mostly Criterion discs.

Advantages for customers: save money, save shelf-space, be kind to the environment (not have to discard old discs).

Criterion can take the idea, and sell properly designed empty packaging to customers who can't pull discs out of their Pasolini 101 box (for a reasonable cost). Use that packaging to sell additional boxes to new customers.

Extending the thought process, they can include a few extra slots for films missing from a box. (E.g., Criterion could have included two extra slots for Face to Face in their Bergman box).

Perhaps what is good for the customers may not be good for the sellers, who want customers to buy stuff over and over. Perhaps it is Quixotic. Bernard Shaw said: We need men who can dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

You’d need more slots than that for the Bergman box: It Rains on Our Love, Music in the Darkness, Eva, Face to Face, Faithless, that Billie August movie, the MGM Bergman box bonus disc

tbh, if space and money concerns weren't an issue, I'd rather have the titles I own as individual releases. Most of my box sets, especially those with more than a few movies, make access to the discs more difficult. They usually have poor designs that are likely to scuff and scratch them as well, specifically those with tight "pockets." Meanwhile, a soft plastic case with a single disc sitting in the crater is completely free of any hassles or worries. Had I been confident that the Hitchcock titles would get separate UHD releases, I absolutely would've sprung for those instead of the box sets.

kekid wrote: Thu Aug 27, 2026 11:58 pm They should sell empty packaging to anyone who wants it.

The Library of America used to do this for their book boxed sets.

domino harvey wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2026 12:01 am You’d need more slots than that for the Bergman box: It Rains on Our Love, Music in the Darkness, Eva, Face to Face, Faithless, that Billie August movie, the MGM Bergman box bonus disc

I was suggesting extra slots only for films directed by Bergman (or any other director - such as David Lynch - for whom the idea is adopted). So films directed by others based on Bergman's ideas or scripts were not part of my concept. Nor any documentaries or extras. But your point is well taken that the Bergman box would have required more slots than just Face to Face.

DavidLynch.com used to mail their stuff in branded shoeboxes. If somebody wants so buy my leftover for 1 million dollars, you could loosely throw your discs in there and set it next to your sneaker collection.

Watched the Billy Liar UHD last night and noticed an odd, pale green caste on a couple of scenes.

Otherwise, lovely. I still think the Pickles / Courtenay showdown at the foot of the stairs one of the great scenes.