UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading [Archive]

[Finch]

Road House has the usual Vinegar Syndrome compression and skin tone issues. However, both the 4k and the enclosed BD look much better than Shout's, and the folks on BR who bought and watched the disc are very happy with the release overall.

[rrenault]

I know Taxi Driver is still boxset only in UHD, but is the disc included in the Columbia set reference quality or a solid upgrade over the 4K-sourced blu-ray? You have the first two Columbia sets listed as reference quality but then Lawrence of Arabia individually is only a solid upgrade, so I wasn't sure.

[Finch]

On its own, it's a stunning disc but set against the most recent BD, it's not a huge gap: Geoff post

Waiting for Sony to release Taxi Driver on its own makes me feel like the skeleton on a bench meme. Maybe in 2023?

[hearthesilence]

On its own, it's a stunning disc but set against the most recent BD, it's not a huge gap: Geoff post

Waiting for Sony to release Taxi Driver on its own makes me feel like the skeleton on a bench meme. Maybe in 2023?

TBH, that cap Geoff provides makes his case pretty convincingly. I've seen this film projected both in 35mm and on a DCP from presumably the same 4K restoration, and I never even noticed that Brooks's suit in that shot had any lines.

On the other hand, it's both a restoration and a Blu-ray mastering that's been done extremely well, so while the UHD doesn't seem to be that much better, I wonder if there's really that much room for improvement in general?

[Finch]

Matt seconds samlop's take on the Carrie UHD: the encode is good but not as strong as Black Christmas or The Fog.

Adding a caveat to the High Plains Drifter UHD from Kino as they've now admitted that the audio included is a downmix and the OG mono is still absent.

[tenia]

I see Kino's thread there is still a thing of wonder where asking for OG mono is somehow already too much nitpicking.

[Finch]

Silent Running (Arrow) (if compared to the MoC BD) caps
Silent Running (Arrow) (if compared to Arrow's BD)

Coraline (Laika/Shout!) caps

Ju-On The Grudge was encoded by David; the other films in the set were not.

I've seen comments on Studio Canal's The Trial having poor compression; no one has done a detailed review yet. On the other hand, early feedback and the caps for The Driver are good. David hasn't confirmed (to my knowledge) yet if he's encoded that disc.

[perrinpages]

honestly the new laika 4k releases are disappointing considering the source, super dull hdr grades with some ugly highlight clipping in paranorman...most if not all of the upgrade comes from higher bitrate hevc and a more modern p3 color grade.

[Finch]

Geoff reviews the Another 48 Hrs UHD: the inferior film gets a better encode in HDR10 but they also seem to have used a lower generation source for a significant chunk of the film. Paramount gotta Paramount.

Sticking Road House in the Disappointing column: samlop's review. Unless you're a superfan, you might want to wait for the standard edition at a lower rate IF said edition will still include the new Blu-Ray or if they offer the BD on its own, buy that instead.

The Wings of Desire UK 4k early feedback: SDR only, good compression, no DNR; however, for people needing subs (like me): Curzon have only included SDH subtitles.

[ryannichols7]

The Wings of Desire UK 4k early feedback: SDR only, good compression, no DNR; however, for people needing subs (like me): Curzon have only included SDH subtitles.

this is very frustrating to me. a shame as the Criterion Bluray definitely shows its age (I just watched it about a week ago) and this is certainly a title that could use an upgrade. I wonder if this is one the big C will be doing soonish? their backlog only grows stronger though...

glad the restoration looks good though, I will weigh it and consider picking it and the new Paris, Texas discs that utilize new transfers

surprised by no Croupier review yet but it surprisingly wasn't encoded by Fidelity in Motion (who Arrow is usually loyal to)

Adding a caveat to the High Plains Drifter UHD from Kino as they've now admitted that the audio included is a downmix and the OG mono is still absent.

KL Insider also is defending the move tooth and nail and insulting members of that forum, ala the Silence of the Lambs color errors

[kekid]

The Curzon big Wim Wenders box seems to have no subtitles for English dialogue.
I have only watched The American Friend, and the Wenders interview that accompanies it. Wenders speaks in clear English, and his interview has no subtitles. The American Friend has English subtitles only for parts spoken in other languages. There are no SDH subtitles. I would assume the same would hold for other films, but need to confirm that. The picture quality looked very good to me. (However, please understand that I am not a very critical viewer).

[Mire]

I must admit to be a little bit surprised to find Heat amongst the films in the «Appreciable/Solid upgrades» category, considering the amount of reviews stating the differences are just slightly noticeable from the Definitive Director's Edition on Blu-ray. And as an owner of the UHD version, I could also not see the real difference from the Blu-ray version which I also own. A little disappointed on the purchase, actually.

Anyway... What about the 2019 Universal Studios 25th Anniversary Edition UHD release of Schindler's List? For those who have seen or own both the Blu-ray and UHD version, how do those compare?

[MichaelB]

The Curzon big Wim Wenders box seems to have no subtitles for English dialogue.
I have only watched The American Friend, and the Wenders interview that accompanies it. Wenders speaks in clear English, and his interview has no subtitles. The American Friend has English subtitles only for parts spoken in other languages. There are no SDH subtitles. I would assume the same would hold for other films, but need to confirm that. The picture quality looked very good to me. (However, please understand that I am not a very critical viewer).

Wrong thread, surely?

[tenia]

Wings of Desire had an individual UHD release along the boxset. I suppose that's why this remarn about how subtitles have been handled, which is also the case for this UHD, ended up here.

[Finch]

Hi Mire, I'm sorry you were disappointed with the Heat UHD but I'm standing by the disc's place in the Solid tier. I think Geoff has made a compelling argument for why it is an appreciable upgrade in detail and he understands and evaluates the technology and the transfers better than 95% of the other (official and customers) reviewers out there.

The enclosed BD of Schindler's List is the same as the 2019 disc which was excellent for its format. The UHD is a further improvement on the BD. Also, caps.

If you or anyone else wants me to look up other titles, catalogue or new alike, just drop a post below. Thanks!

[kekid]

The Curzon big Wim Wenders box seems to have no subtitles for English dialogue.
I have only watched The American Friend, and the Wenders interview that accompanies it. Wenders speaks in clear English, and his interview has no subtitles. The American Friend has English subtitles only for parts spoken in other languages. There are no SDH subtitles. I would assume the same would hold for other films, but need to confirm that. The picture quality looked very good to me. (However, please understand that I am not a very critical viewer).

Wrong thread, surely?

Thank you.
Moved to Curzon thread.

[Finch]

The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (Kino) caps and reactions from post 86 onwards

This is never going to be reference material due to how the film was shot, but the UHD handles the colors and highlights better and the users who actually watched the disc on a big screen as opposed to viewing captions on their phones or computers are happy with how the grain looks. I can't remember now where I saw it but I remember reading fans who had bought the film a few times preferring the MGM BD (which caps are using for their comparison to the 4k) to the Kino BD.

[mrb404]

Any thoughts on the recent UHDs of Joint Security Area and Memories of Murder released by The Jokers (France)?
They came out a few weeks ago and have no HDR, just like their upcoming UHD release of the Infernal Affairs trilogy (February 2023).

[Finch]

I haven't seen any in depth reviews of the PQ of either film yet, at least not in English. A BR user has apparently created English subs for both discs.

What I will say is that caps a holic did screen grabs of the new Dark Water UHD out of Germany (no English subs) and it is a huge improvement over the dated HD sources that Arrow were given. Hopefully they'll port it over to the UK.

[Mire]

[...] If you or anyone else wants me to look up other titles, catalogue or new alike, just drop a post below. Thanks!

I see. I have not read the review(s) you are referring to, but I can imagine, though, they outline some valid points for sure. Another thing... What do you refer to when you mention bad compression on the Halloween films?

Have you seen the 4K UHD versions of 3:10 to Yuma, Hacksaw Ridge, the Ip Man films (all four), Unforgiven and Warrior (from 2011)? If so, how do they compare to their previous BD counterparts?

[mrb404]

I haven't seen any in depth reviews of the PQ of either film yet, at least not in English. A BR user has apparently created English subs for both discs.

What I will say is that caps a holic did screen grabs of the new Dark Water UHD out of Germany (no English subs) and it is a huge improvement over the dated HD sources that Arrow were given. Hopefully they'll port it over to the UK.

Thanks! Yes, I did spot the Dark Water UHD. The improvement is indeed remarkable.

Regarding The Jokers' releases (previously known as La Rabbia), I'm a bit apprehensive because their previous UHD was In the Mood for Love and it looks terribly DNRed:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0 ... 5&i=0&l=0

[M-A]

Any thoughts on the recent UHDs of Joint Security Area and Memories of Murder released by The Jokers (France)?
They came out a few weeks ago and have no HDR, just like their upcoming UHD release of the Infernal Affairs trilogy (February 2023).

A guy got them and posted some screencaps (JPG unfortunately)

Memories of Murder has the same colour timing as the French blu instead of the Criterion blu

They do have forced french subtitles, so beware.

[mrb404]

A guy got them and posted some screencaps (JPG unfortunately)

Memories of Murder has the same colour timing as the French blu instead of the Criterion blu

They do have forced french subtitles, so beware.

Thanks, much appreciated!

[Finch]

david hare's feedback on the Trial UHD on Facebook:

This is without a doubt the worst UHD 4K transfer I’ve yet had the privilege to pay good money for and then try to watch.
God only knows what Canal did to its 4K master to render such an appalling, compressed mess of gray and white with virtually no registration that comes anywhere near a 35mm print. The first interior scene is so fuzzy, the walls are barely readable as surfaces and any hint of gray quickly merges into an overall black crush. Whites flare, and shot to shot continuity looks like the person timing the master fell asleep.
Total, pure shit. I hope the DCP at least isn’t anything like this. If it is they need to burn it and start again.

in a BTL comment on the BD:

there's definitely grain on the Blu, but it's hard to tell whether it's real or electronic, as it fluctuates and occasionally merges with the black crush and also the blown out whites. So far there doesn't appear to be much in the way of grey scales, but I need to watch the whole thing first before I can be definitive.

Two BR users also complained about the poor compression a while ago.

[Finch]

One final review for Kino's The Taking of Pelham 123