Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Trial 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 7, 2022

Orson Welles' "The Trial" (1962) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include archival interview with director of photography Edmond Richard; archival interview with playwright Steven Berkoff; Julia and Clara Kuperberg's documentary "This is Orson Welles"; deleted scenes; restoration trailer; and more. In English, French, or German, with optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The Civilized Mob vs. The Guilty

The main protagonist in Orson Welles’ The Trial is a young man who looks normal. He is tall, handsome, and well-educated. He lives in a small but clean and well-organized apartment. He is single and has a steady office job. His name is Joseph K. (Anthony Perkins, Psycho).

Early into the film Joseph K. is awakened and arrested by two demanding respect detectives. They never specify why, which is why Joseph K. begins asking questions. But the more he insists on being told what is happening, the more hostile the detectives become. He asks his beautiful neighbor (Jeanne Moreau, Mademoiselle) for advice, but all he gets is an uninspired kiss. Seriously frustrated, Joseph K. embarks on a journey to discover what he is being charged with, and how he can prove that he is an innocent man.

Soon after, Joseph K. encounters the Advocate (Orson Welles, Touch of Evil), an overconfident man with an impeccable reputation who is served by an unusually elegant maid (Romy Schneider, The Swimming Pool). The Advocate further confuses Joseph K. after he reveals to him that his case is extremely serious. The poor man barely manages to remain calm as he has no clue what is happening -- or what might have happened before the detectives entered his apartment.

While looking for answers, Joseph K. enters a large courtroom, where he is told by a rude judge that he is late. He tries to defend himself -- despite the fact that he is still unsure what crime he has committed - but quickly loses his temper and angers the judge. When the court’s cleaning lady (Elsa Martinelli, The 10th Victim) and an aggressive man begin fighting, Joseph K. runs away -- and enters a huge industrial building with hundreds of typists working in giant halls and piles of documents and books scattered all over the place. Fearing that his mind might have started playing tricks on him, Joseph K. tries to leave the building but gets stuck in the dark and cold tunnels underneath it.

Orson Welles’ adaptation of Franz Kafka’s famous novel is a true masterpiece of cinema. It is a dark, bizarre, and hugely atmospheric visual feast that sums up what paranoia is better than any other film ever made.

Perkins plays the clueless Joseph K. to perfection. There are sequences throughout the film where he is calm and reasonable and then there are sequences where it looks like someone has unplugged his mental cord. He is the perfect visual replica of a human being that has fallen into the abyss of madness but does not know it.

But what if this man is perfectly sane and it is the social environment that he is a part of that has mutated into a giant grinding machine? The worst authoritarian societies were all grinding machines, breeding followers rather than free-thinkers and expunging those who were brave enough to question them. Perkins’ Joseph K. exists in precisely such a reality, a dark and surreal place where everything is twisted and the realization that he is not one of the normal ones slowly destroys him from the inside out.

The Trial blends the elegance of the classic film noirs and the spooky ambience of the great German expressionist horror films and produces an astonishing mind-bender with a sleek retro-industrial look whose visuals are even more impressive today. Particularly during the second half, several sequences look like something only the minds of David Cronenberg and David Lynch could have conceived. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was lensed by cinematographer Edmond Richard, who worked closely with Luis Bunuel (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Phantom Of Liberty, That Obscure Object of Desire).

*In 1964, The Trial won Best Film Award at the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Awards.

The Trial 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

StudioCanal's release of The Trial is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. The Blu-ray is Region-B "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-22 are from The Trial Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #31-37 are from The Trial 4K Blu-ray.

The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray are sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was prepared after The Trial was fully restored in 4K at L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2022. The original 35mm camera negative was used during the restoration process. The 4K restoration was made possible with funding by Chanel.

A decade ago, we covered this Region-B release of The Trial, which was part of the then-recently launched StudioCanal Collection. It was one of the weakest entries in the collection. The new 4K makeover of The Trial is excellent and makes it possible to experience the film in an entirely new way, both in native 4K and 1080p. However, the two presentations are not equally satisfying. I viewed the native 4K presentation in its entirety with HDR. Later, I tested large sections of the 1080p presentation. First, the entire film has a dramatically better organic appearance in native 4K and 1080p. Frankly, the upgrade in quality is so big that it is pointless to address specific areas from the new 4K/1080p presentations and the previous 1080p presentation. Simply put, on the old Blu-ray release, the film reveals massive limitations and has a pretty harsh look. It has some minor but easily noticeable stability issues that are eliminated on the new 4K makeover as well. So, the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray offer all-around superior technical presentations.

There is a noticeable difference between the new 1080p and 4K presentations as well. In 1080p, the visuals boast very good delineation, clarity, and depth, but in a few areas the gamma levels appear slightly uneven. To be honest, I have come to expect this from black-and-white 4K projects that are finalized at L'Immagine Ritrovata. The good news here is that these fluctuations are very small and in native 4K with HDR essentially disappear. There are some inherited density fluctuations as well, but they are easy to recognize because the most obvious ones appear before or after transitions. In native 4K, the surface of the visuals -- which is where the major flaws of the previous 1080p presentation were most prominent -- looks outstanding. Even on a very large screen all visuals hold up very well and boast a tremendous organic appearance. I was very, very impressed. This isn't always the case in 1080p. Why? Because there is room for some important encoding optimizations. For example, you can see that in screencapture #22 the blacks are struggling to stay proper and begin to exhibit macroblocking (see bottom right corner of the image). While I was not specifically looking, I did not encounter any similar issues in native 4K. Generally speaking, the visuals are slightly darker in native 4K as well, so this is something that adds extra 'protection'. Fluidity is excellent. Minor stuttering, skips, weaving, and other similar obvious anomalies are eliminated on the new 4K makeover. The entire film looks exceptionally clean as well. To sum it all up, the new 4K makeover is excellent and it looks good in 1080p and outstanding in native 4K. While you will not be underwhelmed if you choose to experience it in 1080p, my recommendation would be, if possible, to experience it in native 4K.

*The main menus on the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray discs can be set in English, French, or German. Therefore, the French and German 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases should offer identical presentations of The Trial.

The Trial 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH, French, and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and very easy to follow. I assume that it was fully restored because on the previous Blu-ray release occasionally it was easy to detect very light background hiss. Sharpness and dynamic balance can fluctuate a bit, but I have to assume that the unevenness is inherited. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

The Trial 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• 4K Restoration Trailer - presented here is a recent trailer that was used to promote the new 4K restoration of The Trial. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• This is Orson Welles - this recent documentary, presented by TCM Cinema, takes a closer look at Orson Welles' persona, cinematic legacy, and visual style and techniques. Included in it are clips from recent interviews with Welles, Marty Scorsese, director Henry Jaglom (The Last Movie), film historian Joseph McBride, and Peter Bogdanovich, amongst others. The documentary was produced by Julia Kuperberg and Clara Kuperberg in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (53 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• 4K Restoration Trailer - presented here is a recent trailer that was used to promote the new 4K restoration of The Trial. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Vintage Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Trial. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• This is Orson Welles - this recent documentary, presented by TCM Cinema, takes a closer look at Orson Welles' persona, cinematic legacy, and visual style and techniques. Included in it are clips from recent interviews with Welles, Marty Scorsese, director Henry Jaglom (The Last Movie), film historian Joseph McBride, and Peter Bogdanovich, amongst others. The documentary was produced by Julia Kuperberg and Clara Kuperberg in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (53 min).

• Deleted Scene - this scene with Katina Paxinou was cut by Orson Welles during the final editing of The Trial. It originally came after the scene where Joseph K. is talking with his cousin, right before he enters his office building. No audio exists. The English subtitles included with this scene were taken from Orson Welles' own script. (7 min).

• Interview with Steven Berkoff - actor and playwright Steven Berkoff discusses Franz Kafka's The Trial and Orson Welles' film. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Welles, Architect of Light - in this archival video interview, director of photography Edmond Richard recalls his interaction with Orson Welles during the shooting of The Trial. The information about Zagreb, where some of the film's most memorable sequences were shot, is particularly interesting. In French, with optional English and German subtitles. (24 min).

The Trial 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though the brilliance of Citizen Kane is undeniable, if I had to pick one of Orson Welles' films that perfectly visualizes his creative genius, The Trial would be it. This film tackles a grand masterpiece of literature with such remarkable imagination, style, and provocative wit that it will never age. I sat down to revisit it a few nights ago for the first time in probably a decade or so and was astonished at how well it describes a lot of what we are enduring at this moment. Franz Kafka's novel just as effectively frees the mind to see and understand what isn't always transparent, but Welles' film makes the entire illuminating experience truly special. StudioCanal's 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master that was prepared after The Trial was fully restored in 4K at L'Immagine Ritrovata. I think that the makeover is excellent and the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack delivers the best technical presentation of the film to date. Hopefully, a similar release will be made available for collectors in the United States as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.