1949 on 4K UHD

4 movies from 1949 on 4K Blu-ray, ranked S to D by transfer quality. 1 S-Tier pick including Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Kind Hearts and Coronets(1949)

dir. Robert Hamer

S-Tier StudioCanal 4K. Alec Guinness playing eight members of the same family. The StudioCanal 70th anniversary set is the one to get if you're region-free, with better packaging than the Kino release.

StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)

The Third Man(1949)

7.9/10

dir. Carol Reed

A-Tier

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

StudioCanal · 4K + Blu-ray (United Kingdom)

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff(1949)

6.7/10

dir. Charles Barton

Announced

Lost Caverns Hotel bellhop Freddie Phillips is suspected of murder. Swami Talpur tries to hypnotize Freddie into confessing, but Freddie is too stupid for the plot to work. Inspector Wellman uses Freddie to get the killer (and it isn't the Swami).

Kino Lorber · 4K Ultra HD

Stray Dog(1949)

7.6/10

dir. Akira Kurosawa

Criterion's 4K drops May 5 with the new restoration that BFI already used for their Blu-ray. Early Kurosawa that plays more like a Tokyo noir than a samurai film, and collectors have been curious how well the 1949 source material would clean up.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray Special Edition

Announced