8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.7 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.7 |
On its maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
Starring: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres (I), Honor Blackman, Anthony BushellDrama | 100% |
History | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film, Roy Ward Baker's "A Night to Remember" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; documentary film directed by Ray Johnson; video interview with Titanic survivor Eva Hart; documentary film produced for Swedish television; audio commentary with Don Lynch and Ken Marschall; and more. The disc also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Sragow. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The Unsinkable
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roy Ward Baker's A Night to Remember arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This new high-definition digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on an ARRI Laser Scanner from the original 35mm camera negative, which was restored by the Private Archive for ITV Studios Global Entertainment. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS and Pixel Farm's PFClean, while Image System's DVNR was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Restoration project supervisor: Steve Hilton/ITV Studios Global Entertainment, London.
Restoration project adviser: Fiona Maxwell/ITV Studios Global Entertainment, London.
Digital picture restoration: Deluxe 142, London.
Telecine supervisor: Richie Hornett/Deluxe Digital, London.
Colorist: Trevor Brown/Deluxe 142, London."
Anyone who has seen or still owns Criterion's now out of print DVD release of A Night to Remember will be enormously impressed with the massive upgrade in quality the Blu-ray release offers. There are huge improvements in every single area we typically address in our reviews - detail, clarity, contrast stability, color gradation, etc. Furthermore, where the old DVD release made the film look fuzzy, blocky, and jittery, now the Blu-ray release adds fluidity and depth that literally open up entire sequences and expose details that could have never been seen before. Especially during the final third of the film, where the majority of the longer nighttime sequences are, the improvements are very impressive. Additionally, there are no traces of overzealous sharpening or compromising denoising corrections. Unsurprisingly, a layer of consistent, well resolved light grain is present throughout the entire film (excluding, of course, the archival footage). Damage marks, debris, dirt, stains, and cuts have also been effectively removed. All in all, this a beautiful presentation of a truly excellent restoration, for which ITV Studios Global Entertainment undoubtedly deserve a lot of credit. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm optical soundtrack. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation."
I don't have any major reservations with the loseless audio track. Generally speaking, the dialog is crisper, clear, and better rounded than it appears on the lossy track from the DVD release. It is free of strong background hiss and there are no high-frequencies distortions. It is clear that various stabilizations have been performed as well because there are no balance fluctuations with William Alwyn's music score either. For the record, there are no sync issues or audio dropouts.
Criterion's Blu-ray release of director Roy Ward Baker's terrific A Night to Remember is a thing of beauty. Recently restored by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, the film looks simply wonderful in high-definition. I strongly urge you to consider upgrading your DVD releases, and if you do not yet have the film in your collections, you should move this Blu-ray release to the very top of your purchase lists. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
2018
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