1953 on 4K UHD

dir. William Cameron Menzies

S-Tier Ignite Films 4K. The 1953 sci-fi classic, possibly sourced from the last surviving print. Ignite had some packaging problems with slipcovers taped directly to cases in a way that damages the cardboard, and shipping was slow. It's been running about $44 USD, with 20% off occasionally from Ignite's own store.

Ignite Films · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Terence Fisher

Another deep Terence Fisher pre-horror cut from Hammer's in-house 4K program, a 73-minute noir with Paul Henreid escaping an asylum to hunt the real killer. Avforums rates picture 10/10, rare for any release and extraordinary for a 1953 black-and-white. UK Limited Collector's Edition, so the Blu-ray half is Region B locked.

Hammer Films · Limited Edition

dir. Fritz Lang

After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Ida Lupino

S-Tier Indicator 4K. Ida Lupino's noir thriller.

Indicator · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot

In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Terence Fisher

A deep-catalog pick from Hammer's own 4K program and an early Terence Fisher sci-fi romance from before he defined the label's horror era. Avforums rates it 9/10 for picture, with the black-and-white grain handling carrying the disc. It's a DigiPack UK release, so expect Region B locked Blu-ray even if the 4K disc plays region-free.

Hammer Films · DigiPack

dir. Jack Arnold

Universal repackage of the 2023 release with a 3D Blu-ray included. If you missed it then, here it is again. Most people in the comments have already bought this once.

Universal Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Terence Fisher

Another Terence Fisher Hammer pre-horror 4K, a 76-minute 1953 London crime thriller with Tom Conway as a private eye investigating jewel theft at a fashion house. A-Tier on avforums at 8/10. Collector reception is mixed since horror-focused Hammer fans are passing on the noir era, which keeps aftermarket prices down on these.

Hammer Films · Limited Edition

dir. Fred Zinnemann

A-Tier Sony 4K. Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr on the beach. Columbia Classics line.

Sony Pictures · 4K Box Set (Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 3)

dir. Terence Fisher

Another deep Terence Fisher pre-horror Hammer 4K, a 1953 space noir with Howard Duff as a rocket engineer framed for murder on the world's first space station. A-Tier on avforums at 8/10. Region ABC on both discs and a booklet covering Hammer's 1950s radio-to-film run.

Hammer Films · Limited Edition

dir. William Wyler

D-Tier Kino Lorber 4K. Kubrick's first feature and the source material is rough. Only Kubrick diehards will want this on disc.

Plaion Pictures · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. George Stevens

Kino Lorber's 4K scored a perfect 5.0, which almost never happens. Two commentary tracks and a loaded special features package. Excitement was genuine from western fans who consider this one of the greatest ever made. The transfer should be gorgeous given the Technicolor source material and Stevens' meticulous visual style.

Kino Lorber · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Kenji Mizoguchi

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Billy Wilder

Kino Lorber C-Tier 4K. Billy Wilder's POW comedy-drama is better than its tier suggests. The Kino release landed with a shrug from collectors who were hoping for Sunset Boulevard instead, and the C-Tier reflects limitations in the source material rather than a bad job by Kino.

Kino Lorber · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Stanley Kubrick

D-Tier Kino Lorber 4K. Kubrick's first feature, and the source material is rough enough that only serious Kubrick collectors will want it on disc.

Kino Lorber · 4K + Blu-ray

dir. Charles Lamont

As American policemen in London, Bud and Lou meet up with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

dir. Luis Buñuel

Gloria encounters Francisco, a man whose social veneer betrays a truer self burrowed underneath.

dir. Harry Essex

After his best friend and war buddy is mysteriously gunned down, Mike Hammer will stop at nothing to settle the score for the man who sacrificed a limb to save his own life during combat. Along the way, Hammer rides a fine line between gumshoe and a one-man jury, staying two-steps ahead of the law—and trying not to get bumped off in the process.

dir. Sacha Guitry

Witty narration follows the history of Versailles Palace; founded by Louis XIII, enlarged by autocratic Louis XIV, whose personal affairs and amours, and those of his two successors, are followed in more detail to the start of the Revolution, after which the story is brought rapidly up to date. A huge cast plays mainly historical persons who appear briefly.

dir. Charles Crichton

StudioCanal 4K announcement. There was a minor debate about whether Ealing comedies need 4K at all, which predictably turned into a defence of the format itself. Film Movement's US distribution deal with Vinegar Syndrome could mean a Region A release eventually.

StudioCanal · 4K Ultra HD

dir. Byron Haskin

The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.