1347 Ruggles of Red Gap

[domino harvey]

Directed by renowned Hollywood humanist Leo McCarey, Ruggles of Red Gap is one of the great comedies about the American ideal. Charles Laughton leads a delightful ensemble cast as Marmaduke Ruggles, an English valet who, while accompanying his employer on a trip to Paris, finds himself gambled away to a new-money American couple. The bewildered butler’s tradition-bound world is upended when the couple bring him back to their frontier outpost in Washington State, but there he eventually discovers a newfound sense of self-determination in a land “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Balancing relaxed physical humor with a heart-swelling affection for everyday people, McCarey fashions a comedy of rare effortlessness and poignancy.
FILM INFO

United States
1935
90 minutes
Black & White
1.35:1
English
Spine #1347

New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
New interview with critic Farran Smith Nehme
Three radio adaptations
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

[Finch]

I actually rewatched the MoC BD, one of their earliest efforts if I remember correctly, earlier this year. This new BD should be a nice upgrade though!

[Never Cursed]

FWIW the three radio adaptations are carried over from the long-OOP Eureka Blu (though I wish they carried over the copy of Laughton reciting the Gettysburg Address!)

This is one of the best comedies of the 1930s and is more than worth a blind buy. One of the only films that has ever made me feel patriotic.

[domino harvey]

This is a wonderful movie, truly feel good and funny. I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it

[therewillbeblus]

This is the most exciting Criterion announcement in a long time. I wish there were more extras, but what a terrific W

[Finch]

Love Affair is the only McCarey that I might like just a smidgen better but both films are superb (as is Make Way for Tomorrow in third). I may just hold on to the MoC though: their Wrigley era booklets were among the best and the new CC cover is no match for the original poster artwork.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Without a doubt my favorite movie. What a nice surprise!

[Lowry_Sam]

I take it that the 1918 & 1923 versions no longer exist.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The Library of Congress co-sponsored an audit of around 11,000 silent-era features from the U.S., and as of 2021 it lists both versions as lost.

[TMDaines]

This is the most exciting Criterion announcement in a long time. I wish there were more extras, but what a terrific W

You have clearly posted in the wrong thread.

[mfunk9786]

Wondering aloud why this is the 4K restoration that didn't warrant a 4K disc. Just quality of the available materials? Low potential sales?

[onedimension]

Wondering aloud why this is the 4K restoration that didn't warrant a 4K disc. Just quality of the available materials? Low potential sales?

Is it ever a rights/contract issue? Like, did Criterion negotiate a deal for the blu ray rights a decade ago, rights were going to revert to Warner if they didn't release it, and they put out the blu instead of negotiating to add in UHD rights?

[andyli]

Could be that they got burnt by the sale figures of Scarface 4K. Now it's been a while since they issued any Universal 4K restoration from that era on UHD. We have had Midnight, the Lubitsch films and now this on Blu-ray only. Still exciting though!

[hearthesilence]

I think I mentioned this before, but after I compared the UHD of Scarface to the Blu-ray, it was obvious that the extra resolution brought NOTHING to the picture - the information simply wasn't there. What you got was a sharper, crisper presentation of the film grain so that the individual "grain" was clearly defined, but there was no improvement whatsoever to the actual image capture burned into the film element (which tbf was a dupe negative, so at least a few generations removed from the camera negative). It's possible better elements exist for Ruggles though, we'll see.

[therewillbeblus]

I think I mentioned this before, but after I compared the UHD of Scarface to the Blu-ray, it was obvious that the extra resolution brought NOTHING to the picture - the information simply wasn't there.

That’s how I felt about the 4K of Él too

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I think I mentioned this before, but after I compared the UHD of Scarface to the Blu-ray, it was obvious that the extra resolution brought NOTHING to the picture - the information simply wasn't there. What you got was a sharper, crisper presentation of the film grain so that the individual "grain" was clearly defined, but there was no improvement whatsoever to the actual image capture burned into the film element (which tbf was a dupe negative, so at least a few generations removed from the camera negative). It's possible better elements exist for Ruggles though, we'll see.

The restoration notes for Ruggles say it was sourced from "the 35mm Nitrate Fine Grain borrowed from the Library of Congress," which as I understand it should only be a generation removed from the negative—but then it also mentions "dirt, projection cues, and damage in Reels 2 and 4," so it sounds like it wasn't necessarily in the greatest of shape.

[Finch]

The Scarface 4K was a baffling decision although on paper it made sense: Hawks and Muni made a stone cold classic together with a brief role from Boris Karloff as an added bonus. But this particular film and Rules of the Game are prime examples of Bluray being absolutely sufficient. Maybe Ruggles of Red Gap is more of the same, even in a 4k restoration. But if isn't, maybe they'll reconsider eventually. No one was expecting The Irishman to get upgraded.