UHD New Releases, Reissues and Upgrades

[nicolas]

@Finch

ROAD HOUSE (Arrow)

5/31/25: improved color grading by Arrow

Verdict (so far): in progress

[nicolas]

BRAZIL (Criterion)

5/31/25: screenshots and BD comparison
6/2/25: director and DP statements re. the film’s colors

Verdict (so far): new color grade, aspect ratio corrected, highlights are poorly encoded

Tentative rating suggestion: Red category

[Finch]

Umbrellas of Cherbourg thumbs up for the audio on Criterion's 4K

[jt938]

BRAZIL (Criterion)

5/31/25: screenshots and BD comparison

Verdict (so far): new color grade, aspect ratio corrected, highlights are poorly encoded

Tentative rating suggestion: Red category

Predictably, the usual suspects over at bluray.com are complaining about the color grading and saying the magenta master looks better.

[nicolas]

BRAZIL (Criterion)

5/31/25: screenshots and BD comparison

Verdict (so far): new color grade, aspect ratio corrected, highlights are poorly encoded

Tentative rating suggestion: Red category

Predictably, the usual suspects over at bluray.com are complaining about the color grading and saying the magenta master looks better.

Yes, it’s a shame. The thread over there will inevitably turn into Night Moves 2.0. The color grade doesn’t surprise me ant all after Criterion’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 4K replicated what Gilliam and the DP went for, especially the “teal” colors. I believe at the time the film was released, the DP gave an interview where he named the color he wanted in the film and what he did to get it on celluloid. Criterion’s master replicated that on home video for the first time. While Roger Pratt, who shot Brazil, is no longer alive, like Fear and Loathing, Gilliam supervised the 4K master and surely talked about his artistic intentions which the colorist probably executed precisely once again.

A BR user also posted a second screenshot comparison.

[Finch]

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (Shout Factory 4K) Review/Impressions in progress

6/1/25: Geoff D:

That looks like as decent an upgrade as I'd dare hope for from such a source. Better gradations, less aliasing, tighter looking grain/noise, and slightly more refined detail with it.

caps-a-holic

[onedimension]

No word on the Mishima UHD yet?

[nicolas]

No word on the Mishima UHD yet?

Not yet. I’ll report if there’s still nothing when I get my copy, hopefully at some point next week.

[Finch]

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 (Arrow)

6/21/25: replaced the Kino with the Arrow in the Solid Upgrade column

6/11/25: I'll link to the screenshots when I'm at a PC again. Donald McDonald on BR.com says the reason to upgrade from the Kino 4K is the inclusion of the mono (which they say is identical to the MGM 2000 DVD) which sounds much better than the downmix on the Kino. Adding the Arrow to the superior import column.

[jegharfangetmigenmyg]

Reports on the Wake in Fright UHD are great! It blows the very weird old restoration that MOC released out of the water. But that was also one of the worst looking restoration I ever saw.

[nicolas]

No word on the Mishima UHD yet?

Not yet. I’ll report if there’s still nothing when I get my copy, hopefully at some point next week.

Got it just now. The 4K disc looks sensational with no encode issues. It’s obviously a smaller upgrade due to SDR but if you have a big screen and appreciate better encoding, you’ll be very happy with the 4K upgrade.

I also got The Wiz alongside Mishima and it looks just as terrific. Universal’s restoration turned out beautifully and it seems they graded it very faithfully to how the film would look projected. That means it’s a less bright and boosted grade even though you’d think they make the film “pop” as it’s a musical. Encoding is again fantastic. I couldn’t notice anything blocky, which did surprise me as this is a HDR / Dolby Vision master. The Atmos mix sounds good to me with the audio’s dynamic range persevered and no discernible filtering. I think they added additional foley though. A shame the original mix wasn’t included but nonetheless a warm recommendation!

[tenia]

They also are 2 bits of dialogues missing : https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... tcount=122

[Finch]

Chris's review of the Brazil 4K

twwb would probably be interested to hear that Universal gave Jurassic Park a new transfer as part of their new trilogy steelbook where the grain has been left mostly intact. Apparently not a whole new scan though.

Criterion's Sorcerer 4K is in the correct aspect ratio and has the original audio with no gun shots added at the end.

Pullback Camera on BR says the audio on Shout's Alfredo Garcia 4K is filtered. Between that and hearthesilence's complaints about the grain removal, I'd pass on the Shout for the time being and see if Arrow revisit the film soon.

Connery Bonds: feedback so far mentions grain management and filtered mono audio but on the other hand, they do look better than the old Lowry masters used for the Blu-Rays.

First reactions to Warner Archive's High Society 4K are very positive.

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks for the thoughtfulness, Finch! I already have the previous 4K version and probably won't upgrade unless it's a substantial improvement, but that's great news that people are at least trying to fix what must be one of the most ideal movies to receive the format upgrade

[bearcuborg]

I got my copy of Lethal Weapon in the mail a few days ago, and just played it tonight. I can’t imagine the movie ever looked better.

[tenia]

Well, it's been grain managed to some extent, exactly like Dirty Harry and at least some of the James Bond, with shots exhibiting frozen grain and an overall "lightly degrained" texture.

[mfunk9786]

Shout's 4K disc of The Last Voyage of the Demeter is an easy addition to the red category. Difficult film to watch at a low bitrate because so much of the action happens at night, but the triple-layer UHD solves pretty much any complaint I had about the brief attempt I had to watch it on streaming, and has great implementation of HDR.

The movie's just okay.

[Yakushima]

Arrow's 4K disc of Dark City Director's Cut is a stunner—a gigantic improvement over the old Blu-ray edition. It felt as if watching the film for the very first time (and I've seen it countless times on video).

[MichaelB]

...and it seems to have sold out everywhere, although there's a standard edition coming.

[EddieLarkin]

Annoying it drops the theatrical cut disc, which is the only version I've ever seen. What is the consensus on the Director's cut?

[swo17]

I think it's only the UK edition that's sold out for now

[dwk]

The director's cut of Dark City is pretty much everyone's preferred cut.

[Yakushima]

Annoying it drops the theatrical cut disc, which is the only version I've ever seen. What is the consensus on the Director's cut?

When you watch the Director's Cut you'll never want to go back to the theatrical version.

[Yakushima]

...and it seems to have sold out everywhere, although there's a standard edition coming.

Wow, glad I have pre-ordered!

[Finch]

Mishima (Criterion) Chris's review

FWIW, Geoff D did not do his usual in depth review of Lethal Weapon but liked Warner's 4K a lot. I didn't see anyone complain about filtering on the mono track.

Sorcerer (Criterion) Chris's review

With Sorcerer, I'm erring on the side of caution since we are likely never going to know how the film is truly supposed to look like.