UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - The Manchurian Candidate (1962)-- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

The Manchurian Candidate is one of the great(est) Cold War-era thrillers, although the meat of the story occurs afterwards.

Beautifully shot in black & white by Lionel Lindon. It's directed by John Frankenheimer from a screenplay by George Axelrod (based upon Richard Condon's novel).

I'll remain mute regarding the storyline, as this is one of those films that can be destroyed by too much advance knowledge. I never presume that readers have seen a film.

I must admit that I held my breath for a few moments as the film was beginning, not knowing if this was going to be one of the normal grain-fests that we've seen.

It's not!

Grain structure works nicely with the layer of HDR/DV. Densities are beautifully rendered, and this release appears to actually take advantage of the 4k bucket. This is a terrific looking 4k release from Kino, courtesy of MGM.

And not only that, but with the increased quality of the image, and enough redundant special features, the Criterion release can be given to a friend unless you happen to be a Criterion spine collector.

Image – 5 (Dolby Vision/HDR)

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors - Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k - 7.5

Worth your attention - 10

Slipcover rating - 1 (just a copy of the material beneath)

Very Highly Recommended

RAH


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See on Amazon

 

[dpippel]

And, it's a paltry twenty bucks at Amazon right now.

 

[compson]

Is it really a thriller? I view it as a comedy.

 

[RobertMG]

Is it really a thriller? I view it as a comedy.

Frank Sinatra on Larry King speaking about the film

 

[titch]

Is the excellent John Frankenheimer commentary on the Criterion ported over to this release? Again, it'll be a case of "keep the Criterion for the supplements, watch the film on the Kino", for me.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is the excellent John Frankenheimer commentary on the Criterion ported over to this release? Again, it'll be a case of "keep the Criterion for the supplements, watch the film on the Kino", for me.

It’s ported over.

 

[Robert Harris]

It’s ported over.

Along with some other extras.

 

[Konstantinos]

And again, the original audio is a downmix.

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Kino saves me a lot of money by keep doing this, but please, I would rather pay for films I like.
But I guess, it's not their fault?
It's what they get from the studios?

 

[Robert Crawford]

And again, the original audio is a downmix.

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Kino saves me a lot of money by keep doing this, but please, I would rather pay for films I like.
But I guess, it's not their fault?
It's what they get from the studios?

Can most people distinguish the differences between the two?

 

[Chewbabka]

Can most people distinguish the differences between the two?

Depends on the mix… can someone fill us in whether the 5.1 is a revisionist mix, with different effects, etc., or just a reprocessing or remixing of the original design? If the latter, this might be a case of simple upmixing that is then redownmixed. That would be stupid, but probably not catastrophic.

For example, take a look at the Mad Max 2 UHD, where they included a downmix of the Atmos instead of the original Dolby Surround for the 2.0 track. The 2.0 track on the corrected disc is obviously different (and better) from the first disc.

 

[Luke Pacholski]

So I'm seeing some conflicting information on the bonus material:

"All of the extras that Criterion included on its own release have been ported over to Kino’s edition. An archival commentary track by John Frankenheimer covers nearly every aspect of the production, and most notably the director’s many difficulties in pulling off the film’s subtle technical flourishes. Additionally, the disc comes with a batch of video interviews, one with Angela Lansbury recorded for Criterion’s release and one from 1987 with Frankenheimer, Frank Sinatra, and writer George Axelrod."

'The Manchurian Candidate' 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

Kino offers a sharpened ultra-high-def upgrade to Criterion’s already-stellar presentation of The Manchurian Candidate.'

www.slantmagazine.com

"This KLSC release includes all the extras from the 2004 MGM DVD. Some of the supplements also appear on the 2016 Criterion Blu-ray, but the material produced by Criterion exclusively for their release has not been ported over. So if a more recent interview with Angela Lansbury and two interviews with film scholars are important to you, you'll likely want to hang onto that disc."

4k Movie, Streaming, Blu-Ray Disc, and Home Theater Product Reviews & News | High Def Digest

ultrahd.highdefdigest.com

Which is it?

I'm also seeing conflicting thoughts on the audio. Like these comments on the High Def Digest review:

"The picture is beautiful, but the sound is so bad I’m going to try to return my copy and keep the Criterion. If you’re not familiar with the film, maybe you won’t notice the huge mistake made on the soundtracks…all the voices are down a pitch and it’s especially noticeable with Angela Lansbury."

"I will have to watch the UHD again with different equipment. On the first viewing tonight, I listened on headphones to test the master stereo track and can say with certainty that there were abrupt shifts that were not natural at all. The same oddities could be experienced with the 5.1 track. Listen for instance at the shift around 34m19s. I hear these sporadically thoughout the film. I also have the Criterion blu-ray and do not hear these shifts in the mono track."

There's also mention of "rear bleed" on the 2.0 track, which doesn't seem to make any sense. That's literally impossible, is it not, short of some sort of fake surround processing on the reviewer's receiver?

 

[Stephen PI]

So I'm seeing some conflicting information on the bonus material:

"All of the extras that Criterion included on its own release have been ported over to Kino’s edition. An archival commentary track by John Frankenheimer covers nearly every aspect of the production, and most notably the director’s many difficulties in pulling off the film’s subtle technical flourishes. Additionally, the disc comes with a batch of video interviews, one with Angela Lansbury recorded for Criterion’s release and one from 1987 with Frankenheimer, Frank Sinatra, and writer George Axelrod."

'The Manchurian Candidate' 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

Kino offers a sharpened ultra-high-def upgrade to Criterion’s already-stellar presentation of The Manchurian Candidate.'

www.slantmagazine.com

"This KLSC release includes all the extras from the 2004 MGM DVD. Some of the supplements also appear on the 2016 Criterion Blu-ray, but the material produced by Criterion exclusively for their release has not been ported over. So if a more recent interview with Angela Lansbury and two interviews with film scholars are important to you, you'll likely want to hang onto that disc."

4k Movie, Streaming, Blu-Ray Disc, and Home Theater Product Reviews & News | High Def Digest

ultrahd.highdefdigest.com

Which is it?

I'm also seeing conflicting thoughts on the audio. Like these comments on the High Def Digest review:

"The picture is beautiful, but the sound is so bad I’m going to try to return my copy and keep the Criterion. If you’re not familiar with the film, maybe you won’t notice the huge mistake made on the soundtracks…all the voices are down a pitch and it’s especially noticeable with Angela Lansbury."

"I will have to watch the UHD again with different equipment. On the first viewing tonight, I listened on headphones to test the master stereo track and can say with certainty that there were abrupt shifts that were not natural at all. The same oddities could be experienced with the 5.1 track. Listen for instance at the shift around 34m19s. I hear these sporadically thoughout the film. I also have the Criterion blu-ray and do not hear these shifts in the mono track."

There's also mention of "rear bleed" on the 2.0 track, which doesn't seem to make any sense. That's literally impossible, is it not, short of some sort of fake surround processing on the reviewer's receiver?

"Rear bleed", as you call it, is most likely caused by improper azimuth alignment of the 2 channel print master.

 

[Luke Pacholski]

"Rear bleed", as you call it, is most likely caused by improper azimuth alignment of the 2 channel print master.

The original soundtrack element was mono, was it not?

Regardless of that, if a soundtrack on a disc is 2.0, there are only 2 tracks, period. Left and right. There aren't other tracks to bleed into.

 

[Koro]

The original soundtrack element was mono, was it not?

Regardless of that, if a soundtrack on a disc is 2.0, there are only 2 tracks, period. Left and right. There aren't other tracks to bleed into.

From what I can find it was monaural, but could be wrong (the Criterion Blu-ray is monaural).
Considering 2.0 audio tracks, if we're talking about dual-mono or stereo music, then by all means listen through the front left and right speakers.
However, when talking about 2.0 Dolby/Ultra Stereo movie tracks, then people with a surround setup should not listen through only their front speakers, but use their receiver's Dolby Pro Logic function.
The guy from Highdefdigest does this and therefore we now know the 2.0-track is a stereo mix (unfortunately).

 

[James Luckard]

So I'm seeing some conflicting information on the bonus material:

"All of the extras that Criterion included on its own release have been ported over to Kino’s edition. An archival commentary track by John Frankenheimer covers nearly every aspect of the production, and most notably the director’s many difficulties in pulling off the film’s subtle technical flourishes. Additionally, the disc comes with a batch of video interviews, one with Angela Lansbury recorded for Criterion’s release and one from 1987 with Frankenheimer, Frank Sinatra, and writer George Axelrod."

'The Manchurian Candidate' 4K UHD Blu-ray Review

Kino offers a sharpened ultra-high-def upgrade to Criterion’s already-stellar presentation of The Manchurian Candidate.'

www.slantmagazine.com

"This KLSC release includes all the extras from the 2004 MGM DVD. Some of the supplements also appear on the 2016 Criterion Blu-ray, but the material produced by Criterion exclusively for their release has not been ported over. So if a more recent interview with Angela Lansbury and two interviews with film scholars are important to you, you'll likely want to hang onto that disc."

4k Movie, Streaming, Blu-Ray Disc, and Home Theater Product Reviews & News | High Def Digest

ultrahd.highdefdigest.com

Which is it?

The Kino Lorber UHD duplicates the bonus features from the 2011 MGM BD exactly.
- Frankenheimer audio commentary from 1997
- 8 min Frankenheimer/Sinatra/Axelrod interview video from 1987
- Queen of Diamonds - 14 min interview with Angela Lansbury
- A Little Solitaire - 13 min interview with William Friedkin about the film
- How to Get Shot - 1 min outtake from the interview with Lansbury
- Phone Call - 30 second outtake from the interview with Friedkin
- Trailer

The Criterion BD had the commentary, the 8 min Frankenheimer/Sinatra/Axelrod interview, and the trailer. It also had three exclusive featurettes that Criterion created, which are not on the KL UHD:
- 2015 interview with Lansbury - 11 mins
- 21 min interview with Susan Carruthers about brainwashing
- 17 min interview with Errol Morris about the film

 

[Kyle_D]

Watching this now. The video is immaculate, but unfortunately, I agree with the complaints about the audio. The 2.0 track not properly encoded and has a ton of rear echo when ProLogic is applied. The 5.1 track is better, but it has a lot jarring dialog panning. I wish the original mono track had been included.

I don’t own the Criterion, but the audio on the UHD is distracting enough to me that I would choose the Criterion over the Kino if I had to buy again.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Watching this now. The video is immaculate, but unfortunately, I agree with the complaints about the audio. The 2.0 track not properly encoded and has a ton of rear echo when ProLogic is applied. The 5.1 track is better, but it has a lot jarring dialog panning. I wish the original mono track had been included.

I don’t own the Criterion, but the audio on the UHD is distracting enough to me that I would choose the Criterion over the Kino if I had to buy again.

I was about to order this, but now, maybe not.

Wouldn't it make sense to just watch this w/ the 2.0 track w/out any surround processing though? Shouldn't that be the way to go anyway? OR are there still issues anyway w/out any surround processing active?

_Man_

 

[Matt Hough]

Is it really a thriller? I view it as a comedy.

Hitchcock considered Psycho a comedy. I don't get it with him, and I don't understand this, but to each his own.

 

[compson]

Hitchcock considered Psycho a comedy. I don't get it with him, and I don't understand this, but to each his own.

Interesting. Your comment prompted me to dig around a bit. While most people apparently view The Manchurian Candidate as a straight up thriller, Peter Rainer of The Los Angeles Herald Examiner called it “a black comedy that mixed melodrama and slapstick.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/24/movies/manchurian-candidate-old-failure-is-now-a-hit.html). That’s how I took it, too.

David Thomson, in his invaluable “Have You Seen . . . ?”, does refer to the movie as a thriller but writes that it’s memorable for its other elements, with its “wild injection of screwball menace into an electoral comedy.”

So it works differently for different people, but it works.

 

[Kyle_D]

I was about to order this, but now, maybe not.

Wouldn't it make sense to just watch this w/ the 2.0 track w/out any surround processing though? Shouldn't that be the way to go anyway? OR are there still issues anyway w/out any surround processing active?

_Man_

IIRC, the 2.0 track still had some hard LR directional panning in the dialog that was distracting even without surround processing enabled.

If I had the time and the Criterion, I would attempt to remux the Criterion mono track with the Kino's video track, but getting the sync correct would be a bear.