7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
An emotionally remote recovering alcoholic and his dowdy, unambitious wife face a personal crisis when they take in an attractive lodger.
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Terry Moore (I), Richard Jaeckel, Philip OberDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Daniel Mann's "Come Back, Little Sheba" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary recorded by critic Scott Harrison and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Come Back, Little Sheba arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
A couple of years ago, we reviewed this Australian release of Come Back, Little Sheba from local label Imprint Films. The release introduced a 4K restoration of the film. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from the same 4K master. However, these release do not offer identical presentations of the film.
While very similar, this release produces marginally brighter visuals. The discrepancy is meaningless because it is so small that it does not impact the overall quality of the visuals. The same can be said about the other presentation of the film -- all darker and brighter visuals look practically identical. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent, possibly even outstanding. Minor fluctuations can be observed, but they are not introduced by digital corrections. Grain exposure is good. However, I previously speculated that a future, different 4K restoration can produce some minor improvements, and I have not changed my mind. Also, this future 4K restoration can eliminate various minor imperfections that are retained on the current master. Fluidity is fine, though this is another area where minor improvements can be made. All in all, this release offers a strong organic presentation of Come Back, Little Sheba, but there is room for some minor yet meaningful improvements. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Bu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Franz Waxman's score has an important role in Come Back, Little Sheba. However, it would be a stretch to claim that the music is part of memorable scenes where dynamic intensity is excellent. Come Back, Little Sheba has a sound design with obvious limitations of the kind that many films that were produced during the 1950s have. The dialog is very clear, sharp, clean, and easy to follow. While revising the film, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.
Everything that works very well in Come Back, Little Sheba is because of Burt Lancaster's tremendous transformation, including Shirley Booth's Oscar-winning performance. Interestingly, Lancaster was more than a decade younger than the alcoholic he was cast to play, but in the film, he often looks a decade older than the alcoholic. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a recent solid organic 4K master supplied by Paramount Pictures. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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