Tag Archives: Audrey Hepburn

The 1963 film Charade on 4K from Criterion in June

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Cover art for the film 'Charade' featuring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The design includes swirling red arrows and bold typography.
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The 1963 romantic comedy/mystery “Charade” will get a 4K UHD Blu-ray release on June 2nd via The Criterion Collection.

Stanley Donen directed the movie. It starred Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, and George Kennedy.

The movie has received a new 4K digital restoration. The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray include a 2160p video presentation in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with SDR (standard dynamic range) and uncompressed LPCM Mono sound. This release is a 2-disc “combo pack” with its Blu-ray Disc counterpart included.

NOTE: HDR (high dynamic range) will NOT be included with this release. This is not uncommon for some Criterion 4K releases.

The 4K UHD Blu-ray is not yet available for preorder at Amazon. Stay tuned for an update. You can preorder directly via the Criterion website. The bonus material for this release is listed below.

  • Audio commentary from 1999 featuring director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film historian Bruce Eder
  • Cover by Eric Skillman

The 1954 film Sabrina is coming to 4K in June

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The 1954 film “Sabrina” will be released on 4K UHD Blu-ray on June 17th via KL Studio Classics. Billy Wilder directed and co-wrote the screenplay. The movie starred Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, and Martha Hyer. It’s worth noting that this film won an Academy Award for best “costume design, black and white” by Edith Head. It’s also very noteworthy that this film (still to this day) is “Certified Fresh” by critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Paramount Pictures gave this a brand new master, from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. The tech specs for the 4K release include a 2160p video presentation, presumably in the original 1.75:1 aspect ratio, with Dolby Vision or HDR10. It will most likely include a lossless audio presentation from its original Mono source. Confirmation of aspect ratio, audio configuration, and format for this release has yet to be made. Stay tuned for an update. Lastly, it is known that it will be on a BD-100 disc.

This 2-disc release will come as a “combo pack” with its Blu-ray Disc counterpart included. The Blu-ray will feature this new 4K master as its source. The 4K UHD Blu-ray is now available for preorder at Amazon. Consumers can alternatively preorder directly via Kino Lorber’s website. The bonus material included is listed below, sorted by disc.

Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray):

  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, Author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff

Disc 2 (Blu-ray):

  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride, Author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
  • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Writer Julie Kirgo and Writer/Filmmaker Peter Hankoff
  • Audrey Hepburn – Fashion Icon: Featurette
  • Sabrina’s World: Featurette
  • Supporting Sabrina: Featurette
  • William Holden – The Paramount Years: Featurette
  • Behind the Gates – Camera: Featurette
  • Paramount in the ‘50s: Retrospective Featurette
  • Sabrina Documentary
  • Theatrical Trailer

1964 film My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn on 4K this May

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The 1964 film “My Fair Lady” starring Audrey Hepburn is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on May 25th, via Paramount. The film, directed by George Cukor, co-starred Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway. My Fair Lady actually received an 8K restoration, back in 2015, from the original camera negative that was overseen by film preservationist Robert A. Harris. My friends over at Home Theater Forum posted an interview with Harris discussing this restoration process [back in 2015]. The release has been available digitally for a while now on Amazon Prime Video and AppleTV (iTunes) in 4K with HDR. The tech specs for the release include a 2160p 4K presentation in the original 2.20:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound.

UPDATE: You now can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray is listed for preorder over at Amazon, as well as at retailers Best Buy, Walmart, and online retailer Deep Discount.

The release will include the following extras:

  • More Loverly Than Ever: The Making of My Fair Lady Then & Now
  • 1963 Production Kick-Off Dinner
  • Los Angeles Premiere 10/28/1964
  • British Premiere
  • George Cukor Directs Baroness Bina Rothschild
  • Rex Harrison Radio Interview
  • Production Tests
    • Lighting
    • Wilfred Hyde White make-up
    • Rain/set
    • Covent Garden lighting test
    • Alt. Higgins/Pickering screen test
  • Alternate Audrey Hepburn Vocals
    • Show Me
    • Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?
  • Galleries
  • Comments on a Lady
    • Andrew Lloyd Webber
    • Martin Scorsese
  • Theatrical Featurettes
  • Story of a Lady
  • Design for a Lady
  • The Fairest Fair Lady
  • Trailers
  • Theatrical Reissue: Poster Illustration
  • Theatrical Reissue: Poster Illustration Reserved Seats Trailer
  • Theatrical Reissue: Poster Illustration Awards
  • Theatrical Reissue
  • Awards
    • Rex Harrison BFI Honor
    • Rex Harrison Golden Globe Acceptance Speech
    • Academy Awards Ceremony Highlights 4/5/65

Further below, after the break, you can find the full details about the 4K physical release of this film.

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1953 film Roman Holiday on Blu-ray September

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The 1953 film “Roman Holiday“ will officially be making its debut to Blu-ray Disc on September 15th, via Paramount Presents – as spine #9. The film, directed by William Wyler and winner of 3 “Oscars” (Academy Awards), starred Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, and Eddie Albert. The tech specs for the release have not yet fully been detailed but it is known that the release has received a new 4K restoration, as detailed in the press release.

The original negative was processed at a local film lab in Rome and was unfortunately badly scratched and damaged.  The film had to be pieced back together, but the splices were so weak due to the damage that extensive amounts of tape had to be used to allow the negative to make it through a printing machine.  Because of the fragile state of the negative, a Dupe Negative was made and then blown up a few thousandths of an inch to cover all the splice tape that held the original negative together.

In anticipation of this new Blu-ray release, the film was digitally restored using the Dupe Negative and a Fine Grain element to capture the best possible image.  Every frame was reviewed, and the film received extensive clean up to remove thousands of scratches, bits of dirt, and other damage.  Because audio elements to properly up-mix to 5.1 do not exist, the original mono track was remastered, and minor anomalies were corrected.  The result is a film returned to its original vibrancy and beauty that remains true to director William Wyler’s vision.

You can now find the Blu-ray listed for preorder over at Amazon and retailer Best Buy. The release will include a digital copy of the film and the following bonus materials.

  • Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on Roman Holiday            
  • Behind the Gates: Costumes
  • Rome with a Princess
  • Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years 
  • Dalton Trumbo: From A-List to Blacklist 
  • Paramount in the ’50s: Remembering Audrey
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Four Photo Galleries:  Production, The Movie, Publicity, The Premiere  

Below, after the break, you can find the full details regarding this upcoming release.

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