James Stewart

dir. Otto Preminger

S-Tier 4K. Otto Preminger's courtroom drama. The black-and-white photography with all those close-ups of faces gains resolution.

Sony Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Henry Koster

S-Tier Universal 4K. Jimmy Stewart and a giant invisible rabbit. The transfer is warm and clean.

Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Frank Capra

S-Tier Sony 4K with Dolby Vision. Part of the Frank Capra at Columbia box set for the 100th anniversary, alongside It Happened One Night. The set is 20 films with 9 in 4K. People are waiting for 50% off sales but also feeling pressure to buy early to show demand for this kind of catalog deep dive from a major studio.

Sony Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Reference quality transfer that people keep calling a system showcase. The courtyard detail jumps in 4K, and longtime fans say it feels like meeting old neighbors for the first time. Universal's Hitchcock 4K set is the way most people get it, and Gruv regularly discounts it to around $45 USD. Comments consistently call this one worth $50 USD on its own.

Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Part of the Hitchcock Classics Collection Volume 3, which has been discounted as low as $18 USD with coupons. Collectors consistently say the set is worth it for Rope and Frenzy alone. The biggest collector request is Dial M for Murder in 4K, followed by North By Northwest. The single-take technique makes this one interesting to revisit on a better display.

Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Part of the Hitchcock Classics Collection Volume 3, which Gruv has discounted as low as $18 USD with coupons. Collectors call this the weaker of Hitchcock's two versions of the story (the 1934 British original is preferred by purists) but the Doris Day performance and "Que Sera, Sera" sequence make it the more visually interesting disc.

Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Alfred Hitchcock

VistaVision source material gives this a level of detail that pre-1960s films rarely reach on disc. Colors are incredible and the shoulder stitching on Kim Novak's wardrobe is visible in scenes where it used to be a smear. A standard pick in any top 3 reference disc conversation alongside Dune and Lawrence of Arabia.

Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Anthony Mann

Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting competition against him. McAdam wins the prize, a one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, but Dutch steals it and leaves town. McAdam follows, intent on settling his old quarrel, while the rifle keeps changing hands and touching a number of lives.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Frank Capra

A-Tier Paramount 4K. The steelbook drops to $9.96 USD on Amazon pretty regularly, which makes it an easy December pickup. The 4K disc is black and white, and the included Blu-ray is the colorized version. Black and white films actually benefit a lot from HDR because you get more shades of gray and better contrast. The UK steelbook has two B&W discs while the US version splits color and B&W across formats.

Paramount Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. John Ford

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.

Paramount Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Anthony Mann

Two men with questionable pasts, Glyn McLyntock and his friend Cole, lead a wagon-train load of homesteaders from Missouri to the Oregon territory...