UHD New Releases, Reissues and Upgrades

[nicolas]

I’ve also heard from David Mackenzie that all the weird things in the Throne of Blood master, including the blocking in the highlights, which I’d suspected are encoding-related were actually delivered to him like that from Toho. Here’s hoping that Criterion are again able to access this master at an earlier stage like with the other Kurosawas.

[nicolas]

In The Heat of the Night (Criterion) Chris's review

I haven't seen any comparisons to the Kino 4K yet (Kino's is SDR only as well) and I believe there are international versions (German?) forthcoming with HDR/DV added.

The German edition with HDR/DV is already out and looks very good. LSP did the grading and encoding. Upcoming is an Imprint box also with DV but they confirmed that it won’t be handled by Fidelity in Motion.

[tenia]

Geoff reviews Dirty Harry.

Oh well.
On this matter, I see that some are wondering if the debatable UHD's grading is coming from a known colorist at Warner MPI, Jan Yarbrough : it is, according to Digital Bits.

[nicolas]

Geoff reviews Dirty Harry.

Oh well.
On this matter, I see that some are wondering if the debatable UHD's grading is coming from a known colorist at Warner MPI, Jan Yarbrough : it is, according to Digital Bits.

According to this document which I found at Warner MPI’s website, Doug Drake did Dirty Harry, a plethora of other Eastwood films and other titles with questionable grading and grain management: https://s30412.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploa ... redits.pdf

Yarborough isn’t that much different, so it probably doesn’t matter all that much who’s doing the work over there except for Sheri Eisenberg. Luckily she got to do Casablanca or Training Day for example.

[tenia]

I think Doug Drake didn't do the 4K release of Dirty Harry but the previous one. These curriculae are in reverse chronological order, the Dirty Harry credit quite low in the list, and isn't noted "4K resto" while Christmas Vacation is, and Christmas Vacation'sk master was already available in 2015.

Side note : of the 3 recent 4K Eastwood upgrades, the Dirty Harry one was already aside-looking just from the caps, and Geoff's review confirms this to me, but it is yet another case of too many pro reviews failing to mention it as they should have, thus allowing for such issues to happen since they mostly go unnoticed.

[nicolas]

I think Doug Drake didn't do the 4K release of Dirty Harry but the previous one. These curriculae are in reverse chronological order, the Dirty Harry credit quite low in the list, and isn't noted "4K resto" while Christmas Vacation is, and Christmas Vacation'sk master was already available in 2015.

Side note : of the 3 recent 4K Eastwood upgrades, the Dirty Harry one was already aside-looking just from the caps, and Geoff's review confirms this to me, but it is yet another case of too many pro reviews failing to mention it as they should have, thus allowing for such issues to happen since they mostly go unnoticed.

Yeah, you’re probably right re. the colorist. Geoff wrote that Robert Harris called the new Dirty Harry master “reference quality”. Randy Miller, who is the Warner reviewer at the other forum is also very tolerant with masters like this but awarded Criterion’s The Power of the Dog 4K 3.5/5 because he didn’t like how the film was shot. Same old story unfortunately.

[tenia]

Not surprised by RAH, who is way too permissive, but surprised by Randy Miller III, who more often than not catches stuff like this and provides articulate detailed reviews pondering this (see his WB cartoons reviews for instance).

[Drucker]

Can I chime in (have I already done this?) and say this doesn't feel like the first time I've gotten mixed messages reviewing this thread? I could have sworn a few days ago I saw a post referencing Dirty Harry as reference quality, now I see a different post saying it's totally tampered with? It's too much to follow! As someone who hasn't yet upgraded his TV to 4k, I find this thread often more harmful than helpful, and quite content to remain ignorant with my poor poor blu-rays!

[Finch]

I don't think it was me who called Dirty Harry a reference disc. I liked the transfer more than Geoff but I also do not have his or nicholas' eagle eyes. The changing skin tones I did not notice on my viewing of the 4K though in hindsight I ought to have. On balance, I still find the 4K video preferably to the BD and, to me anyway, the mono track, still makes it an acceptable upgrade, ditto Josey Wales (haven't seen Pale Rider but caps seem to suggest the video is the same as the other two).

I would say that with some companies like Warner who are still inconsistent with their catalogue titles, I'd remind myself and ask others to hold off with instant feedback until after a few weeks have passed and more people have had a chance to see the film in question. Exceptions could be made for labels like Indicator who've had a 100% record so far (until they don't, of course).

[tenia]

I researched this thread for Dirty Harry, and all I could find in terms of detailed feedback was Finch's one, which graded B the 4K video, and then spoke about Josey Wales looking consistently better than Dirty Harry. Except if I missed something, this would fall in line IMO with the blue tier, because there's the OG mono, and because it does improve over the now-very-dated BD.

More generally speaking : this thread remains open to thinking too early a trustworthy consensus has been reached, while it actually hasn't. I do find the master list to be the most trustworthy listing on the Web, but when it comes to instant feedbacks on new releases, it'd definitely from not jumping too quickly to conclusions when relying too much on feedbacks that either aren't cross-checked enough, or come from people who might be mistaken more often that we'd like. But in an case, releases like this one will always be trouble, because it's a fine line between "there are issues but they're not that intrusive" and "there are issues and they're quite problematic".

[Finch]

Okay, for consistency's sake, let's apply a blanket ruling on all labels and I'm not going to add anything to the master list for at least a month post-release. Perhaps this might work: if I see or receive feedback about a new title, I create a post that's explicitly marked as a review/impressions in progress and update that post for the title until a consensus has been reached? People can PM me their thoughts and I can copy and paste them into the film's post so that the thread is easier to follow? Once a consensus has been reached, I can update the top of the post and then add the film to the master list. Would that work for everyone?

[Finch]

BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA (Shout Factory 4K) Reviews/Impressions IN PROGRESS

5/26/25: caps Shout 4K vs Arrow BD

Cemetery and Kris Kristofferson scenes graded differently on Shout 4K vs Arrow BD.

FORUM MEMBERS FEEDBACK

hearthesilence:

Ugh. I know Shout Factory has been unapologetic about its use of grain removal, and it's visible on some of these downscales of their UHD. Frame #4 especially.

And yet Frame #5 seems to keep the grain pretty intact, and it's also one of the restored day-for-night shots (and having seen this in 35mm at Lincoln Center's Peckinpah retrospective, I do recall some scenes that had that look in the vintage print).

Frustrating. Maybe Arrow can do a UHD that corrects their mistakes without any of the grain removal on Shout's?

Post will be updated as more info comes in. PM me if you see anything and I'll add it.

[nicolas]

Okay, for consistency's sake, let's apply a blanket ruling on all labels and I'm not going to add anything to the master list for at least a month post-release. Perhaps this might work: if I see or receive feedback about a new title, I create a post that's explicitly marked as a review/impressions in progress and update that post for the title until a consensus has been reached? People can PM me their thoughts and I can copy and paste them into the film's post so that the thread is easier to follow? Once a consensus has been reached, I can update the top of the post and then add the film to the master list. Would that work for everyone?

That does sound good particularly if multiple things come in for a particular title, such as early thoughts, screencaps, audio comparisons etc. With one combined post per film / release, all of that can be collected and once enough voices and “authoritative” info are there, we can then decide the category depending on that. With controversial releases, there will almost always be more discussion and analysis than for a great disc. For releases we can pretty much instantly rate as superb, threads often quiet down very quickly and people don’t bother as much with comparisons. For example, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an Indicator 4K being extensively compared to another release.

On a general note, Finch, I feel like PM’ing you with things to add to your planned release posts would eventually lead to less activity here on the thread. I found it actually really comfortable to periodically check in and supply caps, reviews etc. Maybe a consensus can be found for us to keep on doing that, with the sole difference being that we collect as much as possible first and don’t categorize a release straight away.

[Finch]

An option could be to add your feedback to the thread and mark it for my attention. If a post doesn't already exist for the film, I'll make one and add the feedback. If I already made one, I'll add the comments with a date. Once the comments have been added, I'll delete the feedback post from the user so that the thread is easier to follow. Whatever the majority feels most comfortable with, this or PM'ing me, I'm good.

[hearthesilence]

Example:

BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA (Shout Factory 4K) Reviews/Impressions IN PROGRESS

5/26/25: caps Shout 4K vs Arrow BD

Cemetery and Kris Kristofferson scenes graded differently on Shout vs Arrow. Speculation as to whether this new grade might account for day for night filters missing for those scenes on previous releases.

Post will be updated as more info comes in. PM me if you see anything and I'll add it.

Ugh. I know Shout Factory has been unapologetic about its use of grain removal, and it's visible on some of these downscales of their UHD. Frame #4 especially.

And yet Frame #5 seems to keep the grain pretty intact, and it's also one of the restored day-for-night shots (and having seen this in 35mm at Lincoln Center's Peckinpah retrospective, I do recall some scenes that had that look in the vintage print).

Frustrating. Maybe Arrow can do a UHD that corrects their mistakes without any of the grain removal on Shout's?

[Finch]

FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (Arrow 4K) Review/Impressions IN PROGRESS

5/26/25: Geoff's review

Tentative rating suggestion: Red category (or solid in comparison to Kino's 4K)

[Drucker]

I don't think it was me who called Dirty Harry a reference disc. I liked the transfer more than Geoff but I also do not have his or nicholas' eagle eyes. The changing skin tones I did not notice on my viewing of the 4K though in hindsight I ought to have. On balance, I still find the 4K video preferably to the BD and, to me anyway, the mono track, still makes it an acceptable upgrade, ditto Josey Wales (haven't seen Pale Rider but caps seem to suggest the video is the same as the other two).

I would say that with some companies like Warner who are still inconsistent with their catalogue titles, I'd remind myself and ask others to hold off with instant feedback until after a few weeks have passed and more people have had a chance to see the film in question. Exceptions could be made for labels like Indicator who've had a 100% record so far (until they don't, of course).

This is on me. I just re-read your post a few pages ago and realize you gave the disc a B. Given your note about how good the close-ups look and the solid-ness of the audio, I must have overlooked your grading.

[Tuco]

I seem to have forgotten where to find this list. Memo to self: use bookmarks.

[nicolas]

@Finch

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Disney)

5/27/25: caps

Verdict (so far): Upscale from the DI, slightly modified grading, ringing around the letterbox bars removed, Dolby Atmos mix is less loud and punchy than the old 5.1 but potentially with superior dynamic range when played back

Tentative rating suggestion: Blue category

[nicolas]

@Finch

SCENT OF A WOMAN (Shout)

5/27/25: caps, audio impressions and disc stats

Verdict (so far): Great restoration and grade, strong encode, 2.0 audio is better compared to the 5.1 mix

Tentative rating suggestion: Red category

[vanshady]

@Finch After syncing the latest lists to https://www.bestblurays.com/uhd/best-uhd I've noticed some minor errors or duplicates in your lists. Some are really minor so feel free to ignore.

Reference:

• For A Handful of Dollars is duplicate of A Fistful of Dollars
• Howard's End should be Howards End (I know... this is minor)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers should be 1978 instead of 1976
• Looking for Me Goodbar -> Looking for Mr. Goodbar
• Miracle -> Miracles: The Canton Godfather
• Monty Python and the Meaning of Life -> Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
• The Draughtman's Contract -> The Draughtsman's Contract

Solid:

• Doctor Strangelove -> Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
• Undefeatible -> Undefeatable
• Withnail and I -> Withnail & I

Superior Imports:

• Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1976 -> 1978
• The Wolf of Wall St -> The Wolf of Wall Street
• [ color=#000000]Werckmeister Harmonies The formatting needs to be fixed here
• color=#000000]Paris, Texas same, formatting

Disappointing:

• Gunfight at the OK Corral -> Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
• Roadhouse -> Road house
• The Wolf of Wall St -> The Wolf of Wall Street

[Finch]

Thanks, I fixed the various spelling issues and the year for Body Snatchers. I'm not going to include the full title for Strangelove due to the character limit for the OP. I already had to split off entire sections of the OP for that reason.

[Finch]

KILLER OF SHEEP CRITERION 4k Reviews/Impressions in Progress

5/28/25: Chris's review

[nicolas]

@Fus1on:

Queer (MUBI) - review

[nicolas]

Honestly, having just now seen Criterion's 4K of Anora, I'm genuinely considering moving it up to the Reference Tier. It looks incredible on its own, and now that we have caps showing it's the best looking version of the film available, I don't see why it shouldn't be up there.

Here’s my writeup of the Capelight 4K. Maybe there’ll be a proper cap comparison between the two (or all three) releases to give us an even better idea in the coming weeks as I’m currently too busy.