UHD New Releases, Reissues and Upgrades

[Finch]

Superior Imports/versions:
Aguirre (BFI UK > Shout US) (better colours and compression, German title cards, comprehensive extras)
Akira (Japan > everyone else) (all 4ks have some DNR but the JPN has the original 1988 home video audio + subs for the film itself)
Animal House (Plaion Germany > Universal US) (Dolby Vision and original mono on the German release)
Apocalypse Now (Eagle Pictures Italy > Lionsgate US) (better compression than the US/UK disc)
Apocalypse Now (Arthaus Germany > Lionsgate US) (the only global release with the original audio track (lossless))
Basic Instinct (Lionsgate US > Studio Canal Europe) (good encode, original audio and more extras)
Benedetta (Capelight/Koch Media Germany > MUBI UK) (good encode and correct colors on the German import)
Beverly Hills Cop (Paramount/Plaion Pictures Italy > Paramount US)(good, superior compression to the US disc)
Blade Runner 2049 (Sony Global > WB US) (slightly sharper, better encode on the Sony BD100)
Breathless (Criterion US > Studio Canal Europe) (stronger encode on the Criterion)
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Studio Canal Europe > Shout Factory US) (the European disc has more extras but the "theatrical cut" offered appears to be the DC with the DC scenes removed)
Carlito's Way (Arrow UK > Universal Global) (original audio & more extras)
Carnal Knowledge (Indicator UK > Criterion US) (book & more extras, missing fade on the Criterion)
Carrie (Arrow UK > Scream Factory US) (stronger encode)
Citizen Kane (Warner Europe > Criterion US) [color=#008000](fewer extras but superior compression and grain on the film itself)
Cliffhanger (Eagle Pictures Italy > SC Europe & Sony US) [color=#008000](better compression than SC and no DNR unlike Sony's UHD)
Crimes of the Future (Second Sight UK > Metropolitan France & Decal US) (more extras than the other versions)
Cross of Iron (Via Vision AUS > Studio Canal Global) (more and better extras than the other versions)
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (MOC UK > OneGateMedia Germany) (excellent encode on the MoC + bigger booklet)
Delicatessen (Severin US > Studio Canal Europe) (better encode + more extras)
Dog Soldiers (Second Sight UK > Scream Factory US) (superior compression)
Don't Look Now (Studio Canal UK > Criterion US) (superior compression on the UK disc)
Escape from New York (Eagle Pictures Italy > Scream Factory US/Studio Canal UK) (better compression than SF & SC)
Four Flies On Grey Velvet (Carlotta France + Plaion Germany > Severin US) (better compression and more saturated colors than the Severin 4k)
Ghost in the Shell (Bandai Japan > Lionsgate US) (more accurate image and correct song over the end credits)
Hannibal (Universal UK > Kino US) (better transfer & compression)
Hard Target (Universal UK > Kino US) (better transfer & compression)
Henry (Arrow UK > Turbine Germany) (Arrow's grade is faithful to the theatrical release; Turbine's is too vibrant due to a color gamut error)
In The Heat Of The Night (Wicked Vision Germany > Kino US) (adds HDR and DV)
Inglourious Bastards (Arrow UK > Universal) (better encode & new extras & book)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978 (Arrow UK + Capelight Germany > Kino US) (excellent encode)
Jacob's Ladder (Lionsgate US + Studio Canal UK + AU) (better encode & audio)
La Haine (BFI UK > Criterion US) (excellent vs. solid encode)
La La Land (Eagle Pictures Italy > Lionsgate US) (better compression than Lionsgate & brightness levels fixed)
Le Samourai (Criterion US > Pathe France) (better compression on the HDR10 layer and better audio)
Lock Up (Eagle Pictures Italy > Studio Canal Europe) (better compression than SC)
Mad Max (Kino US > Warner Europe) (Kino has Dolby Vision + US dub + more extras)
Malcolm X (Icon UK > Criterion US) (better encode though fewer extras)
Mean Streets (Second Sight Canal UK > Criterion US) (better compression on the SS)
Mulholland Drive (Studio Canal UK > Criterion US) (better compression on the SC, however fewer extras)
Night of the Living Dead (Criterion US > Studio Canal Europe) (better encoding on the Criterion, Studio Canal's is pretty bad in places)
Paris, Texas (Curzon UK > Criterion US) (better encode)
Paths of Glory (MoC UK > Kino US) (FiM encode, better audio and more extras)
Perfect Days (MUBI UK > Criterion US) (better encode)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Second Sight UK > Criterion US) (UK edition has the theatrical cut)
Point Break (Icon UK > Shout US) (better encode & good OG 2.0 audio)
Possessor Uncut (Second Sight UK > Turbine Germany > Well Go USA) (new HDR grade and Dolby Vision added for the UK and German editions)
Prince of Darkness (Eagle Pictures Italy > Studio Canal UK & Scream Factory US) (better compression than SC & SF and in the correct color space unlike the SF)
Raging Bull (Imprint Australia > Criterion US) (slightly better compression than CC and superior audio)
Rambo I - III (Eagle Pictures Italy > Studio Canal UK) (better compression than SC and no forced subs on non-English dialogue)
Red Heat (Eagle Pictures Italy > Studio Canal UK) (better compression than SC)
Roman Holiday (Paramount/Plaion Pictures Italy > Paramount US) (good, superior compression to the US disc)
Ronin (Capelight Germany > Kino US) (better compression than Kino, stronger highlights)
Short Night of the Glass Dolls (Celluloid Dreams US > 88 Films UK) (better grading)
The Amityville Horror (88 Films UK > Vinegar Syndrome US) (additional commentaries and audio options)
The Apartment (Kino US > Capelight Germany) (better encoding)
The Fifth Element (UK Studio Canal > Sony US) (superior grading)
The Firm (Paramount/Plaion Pictures Italy > Paramount US) (good, superior compression to the US disc)
The Fog (Scream Factory US > Studio Canal UK) (for the inclusion of original mono, vastly improved HDR10 compression)
The Haunting of Julia/Full Circle (BFI UK > Scream Factory US) (more extras + Fidelity in Motion encode on the UK disc)
The Hitcher (Second Sight UK > WB US) (more extras on the UK disc)
The Howling (Scream Factory US > Studio Canal UK) (for the inclusion of original mono, more extras)
The Italian Job (Paramount UK > Kino US) (very good encode & stronger colors)
The Others (Studio Canal UK > Criterion US) (OG 5.1 audio on the UK disc is better than the Atmos track)
The Princess Bride (Criterion US > Turbine Germany) (better compression on the CC 4k but audio purists might prefer the Turbine for the OG audio)
The Rules of the Game (ESC France > Criterion US 4k + BFI UK BD) (if your player can convert the HDR into SDR manually)
The Running Man (German Capelight > Lionsgate/Paramount US) (Capelight is the more substantial release)
The Seventh Seal (Criterion US > BFI UK) (more extras on the Criterion, some may prefer the Criterion subs)
The Silence of the Lambs (Arrow UK > Kino US) (fixed color space, better encode and audio)
The Taking of Pelham 123 (Arrow UK > Kino US) (OG mono)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Second Sight UK > Dark Sky US) (additional restoration work done by SS, stronger encode by Fidelity in Motion)
The Three Colors Trilogy (Curzon UK > Criterion US) (better encode on the UK set across all three films + documentaries in HD)
The Trial (Criterion US > Studio Canal UK) (better extras on the Criterion)
The Truman Show (Paramount/Plaion Pictures Italy > Paramount US) (good, superior compression to the US disc)
The Virgin Suicides (Studio Canal UK > Criterion US) (better encode on the UK 4K)
The Wages of Fear (Criterion US. BFI UK) (better audio + subs on the US 4K)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Arrow UK > Paramount US) (same black crush as the US disc but encoded by Fidelity in Motion and very good new supplements)
Time Bandits (Arrow UK > Criterion US) (better encode on the Arrow, especially in HDR10)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Studio Canal UK > Kino US) (more extras on the UK disc)
Total Recall (Eagle Pictures Italy > Studio Canal UK) (good HDR10 and DV whereas the SC release only looks acceptable in Dolby Vision)
Triangle of Sadness (Criterion US > Alamode Germany) (HDR10 grade on the German disc was not approved by the filmmakers, Criterion's SDR only master is the most faithful representation and the German disc is not English-friendly)
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me (Criterion US > all other releases) (best encode and correct framing)
Vanilla Sky (Paramount/Plaion Pictures Italy > Paramount US) (good, superior compression to the US disc)
Werckmeister Harmonies (Curzon UK > Criterion US) (better audio)
Wings of Desire (Curzon UK > Criterion US) (UK version without low-pass filtering and with better encoding)
Withnail & I (Arrow UK > Criterion US) (slightly stronger encode on the Arrow)
You're Next (Lionsgate US > Second Sight UK) (excellent Atmos track on the US 4K)

Good to excellent imports:
Crimes of the Future (Metropolitan) (French import)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Eagle) (Italian import) (region locked) review
Le Samourai (Pathe) (French import)
Men (German import)
Pearl (Plaion) (German import)
Sex, Lies & Videotape (L'Atelier d'Images) (French import) (technically a reference disc as the compression is far superior to Criterion's HD release from the same 4k master but forced French subs on the English audio)
The Crimson Rivers (Gaumont) (French import)
The Princess Bride (Turbine) (German import) (2.0 track unlike the CC 4k)
The Running Man (Capelight) (German import) (recommendation for REPLACEMENT discs only)

Good or Great in Dolby Vision, poor in HDR:
Arizona Dream (Studio Canal) (German import)
Deep Impact (Paramount)
Election (Paramount)
Escape from New York (Studio Canal)
High Crime (Blue Underground)
Le Cercle Rouge (Studio Canal)
Le Samourai (Pathe) (French import)
North Dallas Forty (Kino)
Prince of Darkness (Studio Canal)
Saturday Night Fever (Paramount)
Saving Private Ryan (Paramount)
Staying Alive (Kino)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Criterion)
The Doors (Studio Canal)
They Live (Studio Canal)
Three Colors Red (Criterion)
Three Days of the Condor (Studio Canal) (French/German import)
TIme Bandits (Criterion)
Total Recall (Studio Canal)

[nicolas]

Two new disappointing Kino releases with poor encodes:

Happy Gilmore - Dolby Vision caps
Coneheads - Dolby Vision caps

[mfunk9786]

Two new disappointing Kino releases with poor encodes:

Happy Gilmore - Dolby Vision caps
Coneheads - Dolby Vision caps

This post made me laugh out loud (not by any fault of yours, Nicolas). Home media is just such a funny hobby sometimes.

[Finch]

FWIW, someone on BR said they had the Australian and US BDs of Master and Commander and that the Aussie BD's audio was identical to the US disc. Be that as it may, the 4K's audio got neutered further but the actual film did get a new scan and looks appreciably better than the BD. I'll put it in the solid tier with a caveat for the audio.

[Finch]

I've moved svet "reviews" and related posts to his dedicated Professional Bassoonery thread in the Infighting sub-forum. yolos is right: linking to his reviews on the main forum is frowned upon but it is okay to post them in the PB thread.

[nicolas]

Trouble Every Day (Eureka) - review

[nicolas]

People are reporting that the new Umbrella 4K restoration of “The Salute of the Jugger” has an altered color scheme which the DP supervised as he wanted the film to have a “2024 look”. He drained out the colors for a desaturated appearance.

[nicolas]

Casper (Universal) - caps. Looks like a red category upgrade but Universal omitted OG audio

[bearcuborg]

Ernest Dickerson's Juice looks phenomenal on 4k. I'm far from a tech expert on the matter, and maybe I was blown away by how creative Ernest was with his lighting - but this movie is a lot better than I remember. I bought a steelbook copy years ago to watch the blu ray, thinking I'll never get a 4k TV at the time - I'm not even sure I watched the movie at the time, but I wanted to listen to the commentary. I had not seen it since watching it on cable TV back in the day. It's a near perfect movie - the studio really robbed us of the original ending. Tupac just has incredible star power - you can't take your eyes off him but the whole cast is wonderful - with lots of hip hop cameos. And the soundtrack created for the movie is a really unique Bomb Squad design. It's all done with beats - and matches Dickerson's experimental mise en scene. Absolutely recommended for the old heads, 90s romantics and cinematography fans. Now if we could only get a 4k Belly.

[nicolas]

Ernest Dickerson's Juice looks phenomenal on 4k. […] Now if we could only get a 4k Belly.

Belly was released in 4K by Lionsgate a few years ago. And just for context, while the underlying Juice master is gorgeous, the encoding is atrocious and does a real disservice to the film. Glad that you enjoyed it so much though! Belly looks much better in that vein.

[bearcuborg]

Thanks for that response. Any defects in Juice went unnoticed in my viewing, being so into the movie. I wasn’t aware of a Belly 4k. I was always hoping Criterion would get it, and release all of Hype’s music videos too.

[Fus1on]

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal) - Because this is a Judd Apatow comedy from the mid-2000s, it's not quite a stunner in 4K, but it's a MASSIVE improvement from that god-awful 2008 Blu-ray. Very nice grain management, and none of that awful edge enhancement from the old BD. And from what I can tell, it seems like most (if not all) of the legacy special features have made their way onto this release. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

[nicolas]

The Inquisitor 4K (+ Deadly Circuit BD) (Radiance) - review

[nicolas]

Red category:

- The Hidden Fortress (BFI) - excellent master and grade, no DNR, tasteful HDR, Perspecta and stereo mixes
- Harvey (Universal) - same as above except for audio
- Malcolm X (Imprint) - Criterion master beautifully encoded by Fidelity in Motion without Pixelogic’s filtering.

Blue category:

- Daybreakers (Umbrella) - people report that Umbrella got access to a different, more organic-looking master without the DNR on the Lionsgate 4K. Encoding and possibly further mastering by FiM. Still “just” an upscale.
- Bad Lieutenant (101 Films) - same master as Kino, minimally better encoded but not by much. Adds a new extra (~25 min) with Abel Ferrara

Disappointing:

- Scum (88 Films) - fine master, solid HDR but very poorly encoded with strong blocking artifacts in normal areas and clipped highlights that bring Criterion’s Walkabout to mind. Their BD is slightly better overall but then again still not as good as FiM’s encode for Indicator. I’ll part with my 88 edition again and will wait for reviews in the future.

[Finch]

Hopefully Armor of God 2 and Come Drink With Me fared better than Scum. Otherwise, I'm going to wait for reviews of future 88 discs too.

[nicolas]

Hopefully Armor of God 2 and Come Drink With Me fared better than Scum. Otherwise, I'm going to wait for reviews of future 88 discs too.

I forgot about their Armour of God 2 4K. Someone on the other forum posted caps a few days ago: https://slow.pics/c/CgeFcozU. Better than expected but not perfect. That sky shot just about holds together but I see a couple of square lines and pixel blocks when it gets bright, which is exactly what Scum is riddled with. Cap 3 shows where finely resolved grain cuts off once the cloud touches the people. A damn shame that this stupid German label had to release these two films as 2K upscales, otherwise we might have had a nice alternative. I have Come Drink with Me on pre-order but will cancel for now.

[rberrios15]

@nicolas

Curious how you think Imprint's release compares the Icon's release of Malcolm X

Red category:

- The Hidden Fortress (BFI) - excellent master and grade, no DNR, tasteful HDR, Perspecta and stereo mixes
- Harvey (Universal) - same as above except for audio
- Malcolm X (Imprint) - Criterion master beautifully encoded by Fidelity in Motion without Pixelogic’s filtering.

Blue category:

- Daybreakers (Umbrella) - people report that Umbrella got access to a different, more organic-looking master without the DNR on the Lionsgate 4K. Encoding and possibly further mastering by FiM. Still “just” an upscale.
- Bad Lieutenant (101 Films) - same master as Kino, minimally better encoded but not by much. Adds a new extra (~25 min) with Abel Ferrara

Disappointing:

- Scum (88 Films) - fine master, solid HDR but very poorly encoded with strong blocking artifacts in normal areas and clipped highlights that bring Criterion’s Walkabout to mind. Their BD is slightly better overall but then again still not as good as FiM’s encode for Indicator. I’ll part with my 88 edition again and will wait for reviews in the future.

[ryannichols7]

- The Hidden Fortress (BFI) - excellent master and grade, no DNR, tasteful HDR, Perspecta and stereo mixes

would you say this is the BFI's best Kurosawa 4K to date? maybe they're hearing our complaints. I wish I had read the Throne of Blood reviews before buying, cause it really seems like I should've just waited for the Criterion (who has of course knocked their editions out of the park)

[nicolas]

@nicolas

Curious how you think Imprint's release compares the Icon's release of Malcolm X

I haven’t gotten the Imprint. This was posted on the other forum by a user who compared all three and mentioned that the Imprint lacks Criterion’s filtering and the compression issues of the Icon. The latter is news to me as I’ve read nothing but praise for the Icon and after having taken another look at it right now, I don’t see anything to be concerned about once again. I haven’t seen the full film on the Icon yet after having watched the Criterion not long before Icon announced their 4K, so I don’t want to speak for the entirety of the encode.

Update: I went back to the screenshots that compared the Icon and Criterion and can see what the user was talking about but in motion it’s no big deal and neither are these weird, chroma noise-type artifacts. FiM’s encode surely has none of that and is probably flawless on a technical basis but I doubt they’d recover significantly more detail than the Icon encode.

[nicolas]

- The Hidden Fortress (BFI) - excellent master and grade, no DNR, tasteful HDR, Perspecta and stereo mixes

would you say this is the BFI's best Kurosawa 4K to date? maybe they're hearing our complaints. I wish I had read the Throne of Blood reviews before buying, cause it really seems like I should've just waited for the Criterion (who has of course knocked their editions out of the park)

Yes, this is my favorite so far. I don’t want to judge the quality of the subtitles as I’m no expert on that but PQ-wise, it’s top notch. I can see Criterion doing more cleanup but still doubt there'd be other significant improvements this time.

[ryannichols7]

- The Hidden Fortress (BFI) - excellent master and grade, no DNR, tasteful HDR, Perspecta and stereo mixes

would you say this is the BFI's best Kurosawa 4K to date? maybe they're hearing our complaints. I wish I had read the Throne of Blood reviews before buying, cause it really seems like I should've just waited for the Criterion (who has of course knocked their editions out of the park)

Yes, this is my favorite so far. I don’t want to judge the quality of the subtitles as I’m no expert on that but PQ-wise, it’s top notch. I can see Criterion doing more cleanup but still doubt there'd be other significant improvements this time.

the subs unfortunately have been a real issue with me for some BFI stuff, one of those cases where I almost wish I didn't have a grasp on the language being spoken in these films, but considering this edition does have exclusive extras, I can justify it

[bearcuborg]

nicolas-any thoughts on the Equilazer 4k releases? I hear great things from a visual point of view. I was thinking about the trilogy set-but I wonder if the individual releases are better?

[nicolas]

nicolas-any thoughts on the Equilazer 4k releases? I hear great things from a visual point of view. I was thinking about the trilogy set-but I wonder if the individual releases are better?

I was about to reply that in 9/10 cases, individual and box set releases have the same discs but I had no idea that Sony decided to completely re-do all three parts for the 2023 trilogy set. They not only stripped the third film of Dolby Vision but replaced the Atmos mixes with DTS:X ones in order to label the release “IMAX enhanced”. Also, no Blu-ray copies with the special features in that set. I wouldn’t buy that. I have the first film in 4K (individual release) and it’s a good disc. It’s a fine 2K upscale like most films from that time but the Atmos mix is fantastic. The same surely applies to the sequels as well.

[nicolas]

Thief (Arrow) - caps

[rberrios15]

Sunset Boulevard 75th Anniversary Paramount Presents 4K coming later this year. I was hoping they licensed it to Arrow or Criterion.

I've seen a few of the usual wide ranging views on the other forum but any thoughts yet on Paramount's release?