There are so many 70mm movies that scream for a 4k restoration. Cleopatra, Ben Hur, Khartoum, Sound of Music, Oklahoma, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Patton, The Bible and Technirama movies like Auntie Mame, Zulu, Pink Panther and Gypsy would be some good candidates for restoration. Technirama movies were shot two frame horizontally and could easily be reprinted to a perfect 70 mm print called Super Technirama 70. The old Vistavision movies shot the same way without the slight anamorphic squeeze can be printed almost the same way. That is how they got a perfectly acceptable 70mm version of C.B. Demille's Ten Commandments called Super Vistavision. Vertigo is in Vistavision. I almost can't wait to see its 4k restoration. The clarity on the old big format films is often stunning, even on bluray.

Sounds like an incredible improvement for Spartacus. I'm looking forward to (fingers crossed!) a 4k of Ben Hur 🙂.

Well oh well, I just pre-ordered this on Best Buy. I bought Jaws on your recommendation. And Blues Brothers. You're costing me $! JK. You have a great channel, and you're knowledgeable as hell. I agree with your contention that 4K UHD is really coming on. I don't care how great the films look on Movies Anywhere, Vudu, Google Play or KZfaq; nothing beats that physical disk! And it's yours forever, no matter who buys the rights.

Classic film. I bet it will be a great film to see in 4K! This is one of the films that really benefit from the restoration. And I dig seeing these older films cleaned up and watching like this creates a whole new experience. Like re watching the films for the first time! By the way, sound is crisp. But you have some background noise. Sounds almost like rain on my end. Video is also crisp. But your skin looks washed out. Or you look like you may have been sick. Skin is very white. Not meant rude. I think maybe a little post production (if you do post) to sound and color should make those problems disappear. Otherwise a more natural white diffuser on your new lighting will break up that bright white a little more.

I would love to start seeing some of the classic MGM musicals upgraded to 4k, like Singing in the rain or even My fair Lady

Definite improvement in terms of video and audio quality jeff! Great review!

I pre ordered the steelbook Spartacus... I'm glad I did ordered.

Way to go, Jeff! Another great review about a true classic. I bought the 1991 Spartacus laserdisc that year, since I was a big fan of Kubrick and Kirk Douglas. That version did have the restored footage of the bath scene with Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis. One story about that scene was that the sound had been trashed. Of course, they brought Curtis in to re-dub his dialogue. However, Mr. Olivier had passed back in 1989. So, who do you think they got to re-dub Olivier's lines? None other than Anthony Hopkins! I'm sure your fans will also enjoy the great acting of the entire cast, especially Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov, who seem to be in competition with each other as they both steal every scene they are in! The 1991 laserdisc was in the "letterbox" format so Universal was doing the right thing way back then. This laserdisc still looks fine. Yes, I still do have a working laserdisc player. I've never seen a DVD, nor a Blu-ray of Spartacus, so based on your review, I'm sure I'm in for a fantastic treat when I get the 4k version.

Just watched this in 4k on LG OLED and must say very impressed. Didn't notice any film grain either which was hard to believe. 5 star restoration!

Man, oh man... I still love my Stanley Kubrick Bluray boxset collection which includes Spartacus. Not ready to triple dip... but do love this film.

These classic 4K films are superb we’re being spoilt, Ben Hur next please and West Side Story

That steelbook design is so smooth. I'm Spartacus!

Hey thanks for the review and I appreciate your passion for these older movies. Bring these movies back to life again with these beautiful restorations is a must. It's like history and we need to preserve it so we can always remember and not forget.

Awesome video Jeff! Any info on Ben hur in 4k?

Audio sounded great in this video, levels spot on, gain very good, much better than you first video "test" a few days ago. Watching on my projector in daylight so can't comment on the lighting

Gladiator 4K review please?

Great review mate- audio/video all ok. I cannot wait to pick up this 4K release!!! Greetings from Ireland.

Lighting looks good. As I commented before, the new mike sounds great. Makes it comfortable to listen.

Criterion needs to go 4k!

you have just sold me the movie lol great review matey. love these old classics getting the 4K treatment.

Great review (and the improved audio & lighting helps). Is the restoration used to the 4K UHD release the same one prepared & used for the restored 2015 blu-ray release?

Hi. Great review. I've just picked this up with Leon directors cut. Can't wait to watch them both. Home cinema is really becoming good again.

Lighting is a huge improvement! I preordered my Steelbook just now ... thanks so much for letting us know how good it is so we know we aren’t wasting our money. 🙂👍

Scarface would be a great addition to a Universal classics set. I watched that on 4K last night and it's soooo good.

Thanks a lot for the good info. Glad I subscribed. I’ve never seen Spartacus, but now I will.

Definitely picking this one up!

Samson and Delilah restored would also be great.

Excellent review. Also, nice shirt-I live in Ipswich (U.K.)

The lighting looks much better now.

Just ordered

How I would love a 4k version of Cleopatra but that won't happen now disney have bought Fox ☹️

Jeff, Long ago and far away Sony introduced a new DVD format known as Superbit which crammed a higher bitrate onto a standard DVD. The first title that I saw (not the first Superbit title) was "The Mask of Zorro" which had already seen on DVD. The improvement was truly breath-taking! Now "The Mask of Zorro" has now been released on 4K. I'm expecting that it will not disappoint. Please review!

Really glad to hear Universal is doing a great job with their catalog titles. Can't wait for Back to the Future, praying it's one of the best transfers. The sound and lighting are coming across great, Jeff.

Jeff, would love if you touched on the content of the film itself at least a little bit in these reviews. I know it’s not the main focus, but you have a ton of experience with films, so I (and many others I presume) would greatly value your opinion/perspective on the films themselves. Great stuff man, keep it up!

This is on my list for sure!!!! But brother, your microphone is on point! The vocal is so clean in your video!!!!!! The light is good but the vocal is the stand out! Fantastic job on that! If you don’t mind me asking, what microphone are you using? I’m in need of one for my channel!

Dude I scored this today for $10 steelbook bought it blind without knowing the review 😑. Awesome video

Did you pick up the best buy red steel book of Spartacus

I hope we get a Bond 4k boxset soon

for me 2001 restoration on 4k still beats all the others you mentioned and a couple more you should do a video of top 10

Thank you for the 9.99 link this morning never seen can not wait !

glad that i picked it up in august last year and one of my favorite movies by Stanley kubrick and worth seeing projected in 4k

I can’t wait for this! Jeff’s reviews are the most reliable on the interwebs.

Jeff it seems that this steelbook is not a best buy exclusive, HMV UK and Amazon.co.uk have both been selling this steelbook, but a great review

Finally you have one of those lights where I can see the light circle in your eyes

I was going to buy the 2018 restored release on BluRay. So glad I waited. The 4K standard release is down to $19.95 at Amazon and includes the Blu ray as well. I don't yet have a 4K player yet, but I can enjoy the BluRay and digital copy now and save the 4K disc for later. Thanks for the helpful review!

Waiting for back to the future

Just used your link for Spartacus as it is 19.99 right now on Amazon! Can’t wait to watch! Thanks!

Great insight to a marvellous release of a classic. Thank you. Lighting and sound all good, my friend. 🙂

bill and teds first film on zavvi 4k to pre order on studio canal label

Can't wait to pick this one up. Great Lighting and Beard.

good classic in native 4k cannot be missed!

A very moving and compelling story of epic proportions. The plot is relentless, propelled by a dazzling screenplay. Kubrick draws some of the greatest performances of the cast, and fills the screen with images that fascinate throughout. Well paced for a movie of this magnitude. 4kmovies co To those who complain of anachronisms and poetic license with historical events, I say to them, 'Remember, it is a movie.' To be truly accurate, the cast would be delivering their lines in Latin and ancient Greek, with English subtitles. Whatever Kubrick might lose with historical inaccuracies, he gains far more in his ability to convey the story to the viewer. Even though it is over forty years old, the film tells us more of the present day than it does of the past.

Universal always does a good job on their 4K releases

I saw this movie a couple of weeks ago in 4k and I was blown away by how good it looks and the movie is just great, really nice experience.

Hey there, liking the new lighting, & the new Mic is very clean. Good choices

I was just watching the 2015 Blu Ray tonight as part of my annual July Kubrick-fest and always am amazed by the quality. It reminds me of the look of 70mm based on the clarity and grain structure, but seeing as it basically used eight perfs of 35mm per frame that would make sense. Even in 1080p it’s a great restoration and couldn’t imagine how great the true 4K release must be.

Great video!

Hopefully after scanning te film and creating a 6k backup they also struck a 35mm or 70mm print, as film actually lasts much longer than digital files

I just saw that the ‘complete’ Game of Thrones on 4k is available to order

Wish Universal would do a 4K restoration of Tremors

Just put in my pre-order on your recommendation!

Just my 2 cents worth here. Jeff you are right, 4K is coming into it's own. The visual clarity and the use of Atmos sound, together will make even the most mundane film look great. By I contend it's not just the 4K process alone that is having it's day. It's the old movies, that are all classics unto themselves, and restore them to modern day quality, such as 4K and Blu-Ray. Many of the movies of the last few decades are simply not as grand and entertaining as these movies made in the 50's, 60"s and the 70". The focus and attention to detail is just now being brought out for a lot of these movies. I only have to point to the last few years of releases in 4K to make my point. "2001 A Space Odyssey" is a perfect example of what the platform can do for a movie. But the movies itself is a stand out movie. "Spartacus", Jaws", "Alien" "Lawrence Of Arabia" all of these by themselves are unbelievable movies. The 4K process only makes what is a great movie already, greater. IMHO.

The lighting and sound are great!

Glad I ordered the steelbook, it looks even more awesome on video.

Picture, lighting and sound look so much better Jeff. Looking forward to having 4K uploads one day ;)

We see you and hear you loud and clear!!! 💪🏻👍🏻

ordered it in steelbook.

Great review. I've got this pre-ordered on Amazon and excited to see this again. I haven't seen this since I was kid good ol 2 vhs set lol.

Also on the audio, to the best of my understanding 70mm Six track mixes prior to the late 70s (Star Wars and Apocalypse Now being the big titles) were not the same 5.1 configuration we think of now. They were literally just a front sound stage of five speakers behind the screen (L-CL-C-CR-R) and a single “mono” surround. They were probably able to take Stems (music, dialogue, foley, SFX) from the elements in the archive if any were saved and the rest had to be extracted from the 70mm magnetic tracks. For the 1991 restoration they did a Dolby Stereo mix (4.0 surround with the center and single surround encoded into the “stereo” mix) and may have used pieces of that or referenced it for placement in the modern 7.1 and DTS:X remixes. I personally like when studios try to include the original audio mixes, be they primitive surround like West Side Story or the true mono track like Jaws. But looks like that wasn’t the case with Spartacus.

Hey Jeff, new gear is a step up. Looking & sounding great! @filmsathome #filmsathome

Don't forget Paramount what they did with Gladiator & Braveheart was top notch

Good lightning and voice quality. But you could use a lot more b-roll footage. Like when you talk about extras on disk, you could show us the menus for extras and so on.

where are you been i didn't ser you on the screen.welcome back.

New lighting looks great. Will you start shooting in 4K soon. 1080 looks great but I have a 4k tv and your videos would look great on it in 4K! Great work on the videos my friend!

Will the regular Blu-ray that comes with this also have the new scan?

I just hope Universal gives the 4K Hitchcock box set the same TLC

Yep have it pre ordered great review thanks. Call me old but my favorite movie ever

Wow nice steelbook, i will probably be ordering one of them if i still have time left, Spartacus is an interesting piece of art, even though not the finest work of Kubrick since he half rejected that movie. Interesting composition in terms of visual art, original perspective and a good sense of use with lenses make that movie a real classic even if this is not the most personal work of art coming from that director. Greetings from France !

I have the remastered blu ray. Is this a huge upgrade over that?

Just picked it up on Amazon for $9.99!!! Incredible deal for a great movie and awesome release!

Not sure why the steelbook isn't available on the Canadian BestBuy website 😒

This movie had a interesting production history. Kubrick essentially disowned the film. But it's still great. I saw the restored 1991 version in the cinema. It was restored again in 2015. I have the 2002 Criterion DVD and the recent 2019 Blu-ray edition. I look forward to this release...

I am very glad to hear UNIVERSAL did the good transfer. I hope they will do the same on BTTF to come soon.

Do Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Digging the audio upgrade! Also I’m definitely picking this 4K up soon

Definite improvement Jeff, but a little louder would be nice, but thanks as always for your work

Digital codes via Universal do the same thing for me. Bought the 4K physical copies of Phantom Thread, Field of Dreams, Jaws and Blues Brothers. Initially, when I redeemed PT and FOD, it only redeemed in HD. Months later, I check my digital library and they are now in UHD. Jaws and Blues Bros are still in HD only, but knowing Universal, they’ll eventually “fix the glitch”, and I know I’ll probably be able to enjoy it in UHD soon enough.

**Geoff** many thanks to you. I have a blind buy with Amazon already, good to know I haven't been let down

Sucks that it doesn't include commentary from criterion disc

We think & see alike so will get, thanks

I picked up this and wizard of oz over the weekend. I wasn’t that impressed with the wizard, but this movie blew me away in 4K. It’s light years ahead of the version I watched on tv a few years ago.

audio quality is great brother!

already got the steelbook on pre order with arts cards sold out now

I didn't mind the audio before you got the mic, I'm minimal I guess. Lighting is nice 👍🏻 your in 4k now.

Can't wait to get the Universal Monsters collection in 4K.

Anyone know which is better, Criterion Spartacus or 4K Spartacus ?

Thanks for your great reviews! They are always very informative and a pleasure to watch. Already preordered @ amazon.de in may.

"I'M NOT AFTER GLORY!! I'M AFTER SPARTACUS!!"

Yep I saw that steelbook and I cancelled my reg version Pre-order. It can sit with my Gladiator and Braveheart steelbook

Look into Vikings ,starring Tony Curtis