The Producers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Producers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 30, 2021

Mel Brooks' "The Producers" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by film historian Michael Schlesinger; archival documentary; promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In the United States, The Producers was initially released on Blu-ray by Shout Factory in 2013. For an in-depth analysis, please see Jeff Kauffman's review of the first release here.

The Producers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Producers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

When this release was officially announced, the folks at Kino Lorber revealed that it is going to be sourced from a previously restored 4K master supplied by StudioCanal, but will feature extensive shot-by-shot color regrading. I have mixed feelings about the end result. There are some areas of the presentation that I like a lot, but I encountered some obvious issues as well. Below I am going to highlight what I like and dislike while referencing the previous release that Shout Factory produced back in 2013.

The Good: The entire film looks healthy and stable. The overall density levels of the visuals are very pleasing as well. There are a few areas with notable fluctuations that could have been addressed, but this isn't a serious issue (see screencaptures #31 and 36). Furthermore, this release very clearly utilizes a superior encode, and if you have a larger screen, or project, the difference in quality becomes undeniable. Ironically, the difference is actually significantly exacerbated by the notably inferior encode on the Shout Factory release, where grain exposure is often very unconvincing.

The Not So Good: Color saturation may appear superior, but there are many inconsistencies that make the overall balance quite problematic. For example, there are quite a few areas where skin colors are clearly not handled properly and as a result facial complexions can appear unnatural. You can see examples in screencaptures #23, 24, 25, and 26 where all of the characters look like they have tanned for weeks. (This particular segment reminded me of Fox's problematic color grading job on Porky's). Indoor and darker footage, but also some outdoor footage, can reveal plenty of black crush as well, so finer details and nuances can be lost. Interestingly, the effect isn't limited to footage that features prominent blacks and black nuances (see screencapture #4). I was able to spot it quite easily with variations of darker blues and even greens (see screencapture #15). So, my feeling is that manual, frame-by-frame color adjustments could potentially fix some minor errors in terms of color saturation, but for various reasons it becomes awfully difficult to maintain a proper balance throughout the entire film. This is the main reason why different segments now reveal awkward shifts even in the dynamic range of the visuals (see screencapture #5).

Conclusion: The release utilizes a superior encode that produces tighter and overall better defined visuals. However, it comes with color inconsistencies that I find problematic. To be perfectly clear, on the previous release there are color saturation issues that can be addressed as well, but the consistency of the overall color balance and some primary values there are actually more pleasing. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

The Producers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire film with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. I thought that it was very solid. It was very clean, clear, stable, and nicely balanced. I did not encounter any age-related imperfections to report in our review.

The Producers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Producers. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Radio Spot - vintage radio spot for The Producers. In English, not subtitled. (0.30 sec).

• Peter Sellers' Statement Read by Paul Mazursky - in English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Sketch Gallery - presented with music. (3 min).

• Playhouse Outtake - in English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Making The Producers - this vintage documentary has appeared on many other home video releases of The Producers. It examines the production history and success of the film, and features various clips from archival interviews with Mel Brooks, first assistant director Michael Hertzberg, Lee Meredith, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars, Andreas Voutsinas, and composer John Morris, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (64 min).

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, film historian Michael Schlesinger shares a lot of interesting information about the careers of Mel Brooks and the rest of the people that made The Producers with him, the film's reception, different locations where key sequences were shot, the nature of the humor/parody that gives the film its identity, the costume designs and music score, etc.

The Producers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Producers has had two releases in the United States and I find them unconvincing for completely different reasons. I am not trying to imply that they are some massive misfires that should be avoided at all costs, but there are specific areas on these releases that could have been handled much better. Like the recent 4K Blu-ray release of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, this release of The Producers is another 'rescue project' that was initiated by the folks at Kino Lorber to fix a familiar party's awful restoration errors. Yet again they have to be given a lot of credit for their efforts, but there is only so much that can be done to ameliorate the damage that was caused when the film was 'restored' in 4K. I think that some areas of the film now look drastically better, especially when compared to what is present on StudioCanal's Region-B release of the same 4K restoration, but the end result is still very shaky. If you like the film perhaps you can pick up this release when it goes on sale, but as far as I am concerned the definitive presentation of it will have to emerge from a brand new and more importantly proper restoration.