The Lady from Shanghai 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
4K Ultra HD
Score: 88
from 3 reviewers
Review Date:
Sony’s 4K UltraHD release of 'The Lady from Shanghai' boasts a striking video transfer and robust audio, offering a fresh lens on Welles' ambitious film.
Disc Release Date
True 4K
HDR10
Dolby Vision
DTS-HD MA
Video: 93
Sony's 4K UHD release of *The Lady from Shanghai* delivers a dynamic and consistent range of blacks and superb shadow detail, thanks to a fresh 2160p HEVC encode that includes Dolby Vision and HDR10. While some minor issues persist from the original 4K master, the overall image quality far surpasses prior Blu-ray editions with refined textural details and natural filmic grain.
Audio: 92
The audio presentation of the 4K UHD Blu-ray of 'The Lady from Shanghai' delivers a clean DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track, with clear dialogue and no distortion, hissing, or noise, faithfully rejuvenating the film's original sound for an experience possibly better than the original theatrical release.
Extra: 73
The 4K UHD Blu-ray of 'The Lady from Shanghai' features a comprehensive and engaging audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich and an insightful 21-minute conversation with him, both carried over from Sony’s previous DVD releases. The package also includes an HD theatrical trailer and a digital redemption code for 4K access.
Movie: 87
The 4K UHD Blu Ray of *The Lady from Shanghai* preserves its intricate plot, deep focus cinematography, and innovative editing, despite its convoluted production history and substantial cuts from Welles' original vision, delivering a visually and technically compelling experience that honors the film's legacy.
Video: 93
The 4K UHD Blu-ray presentation of "The Lady from Shanghai" offers a substantial enhancement over previous releases, leveraging a meticulous scan from the original camera negative in 4K. The visual fidelity is significantly improved with gradations of gray appearing velvety and beautiful, and black levels rendered deep and sumptuous. However, some scenes do exhibit slight inconsistencies in grain, with a limited number of sequences appearing overly processed. Nevertheless, the overall grain structure remains satisfyingly filmic, preserving the cinematic texture essential to the film's atmosphere. The Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range implementations further elevate the visual experience, adding depth to shadows and nuance to bright highlights.
Dynamic range and contrast handling are remarkably stable throughout the film, supporting various lighting schemes and transitions effectively. The black and white cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr. benefits greatly from this 2160p HEVC encode, showing exceptional fine detail – such as the creases in black fabrics – and eliminating nearly all dirt specks and scratches. Shadow delineation is notably improved, enhancing visibility in low-light sequences. Despite minor issues with occasional overly dark scenes, the 4K edition's image depth has seen an upgrade, minimizing crush while maintaining clarity in shadow details. Clean edges, refined textures, and the absence of blocking or banding anomalies speak volumes of the high-quality presentation aimed at respecting the film's eighty-year-old elements.
In summary, Sony's efforts have culminated in what is undeniably the best visual presentation of "The Lady from Shanghai" to date. The natural consistency of grain, absence of nearly all visual imperfections, and enhanced detail courtesy of HDR make this 4K UHD Blu-ray a must-have for cinephiles and collectors alike. Any lingering disappointments from previous HD releases are largely addressed, showcasing the film as it was meant to be seen.
Audio: 92
The audio presentation of the 4K UHD Blu-ray edition of The Lady from Shanghai is executed with meticulous attention to preserving the integrity of the original recording. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track showcases excellent dialogue intelligibility, ensuring that spoken words are never lost amidst other sound elements. Users will be pleased to experience generally clean and crisp audio that potentially surpasses original theater presentations, aided by faithful representation of the film's original mono mix.
Sony has rectified the shortcomings of previous releases, particularly the 2014 Blu-ray's lack of lossless or uncompressed audio. The careful rejuvenation allows dialogue to remain clear and prioritized correctly without overshadowing or being overpowered by sound effects and the musical score. Each element is well-balanced within the soundscape, and listeners will appreciate the lack of anachronistic distortions, hissing, or additional noise distortions, contributing to an audio experience that is both immersive and respectful to the film's historical audio authenticity.
Extra: 73
The 4K UHD Blu-ray of "The Lady from Shanghai" preserves key supplementary features from previous editions, with an emphasis on detailed and insightful contributions from filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich's audio commentary is both comprehensive and personal, offering a deep dive into Orson Welles' life, production anecdotal tidbits, and career arc, making it invaluable for cinephiles. The conversation segment, presented in HD, adds further context with minimal repetition from the commentary, enriching the viewer's understanding of the film's troubled production history. Additionally, the crisp theatrical trailer is available in HD, providing a nostalgic touch. A complimentary Movies Anywhere digital copy is included, although it lacks special features across various platforms.
Extras included in this disc:
- Commentary with Peter Bogdanovich: Detailed insights and personal anecdotes about Orson Welles and the film.
- A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich: An engaging interview covering additional background information.
- Theatrical Trailer: The original promotional trailer for the film.
- Digital Code: A digital copy redeemable for 4K viewing.
Movie: 87
Orson Welles’ The Lady from Shanghai is a film noir from 1947, steeped in atmospheric suspense and labyrinthine plot twists. This cinematic classic opens with Irish merchant sailor Michael O’Hara (Welles in his prime) rescuing the enigmatic Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) in Central Park, setting in motion a series of events that entangle him in intrigue and murder. Elsa, married to the influential lawyer Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane), offers Michael a job on their yacht. Reluctantly, he agrees and finds himself sailing from New York to San Francisco, a journey marred by deception, obsession, and dark revelations.
The screenplay, adapted by Welles from the pulp novel If I Die Before I Wake, underwent significant changes and reshoots, culminating in a shorter, 87-minute version after Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn’s dissatisfaction with the initial 155-minute rough cut. Despite the turbulent production, Welles’ visionary direction shines through, marked by odd framings, deep focus, and innovative editing—elements that give the film its enduring stylistic significance.
Though initially a box office disappointment, The Lady from Shanghai has garnered critical acclaim over the years, securing a place in the BFI’s 2012 Sight & Sound poll. The film’s restored 4K UHD Blu-ray release highlights its rich visual aesthetics with enhanced clarity and contrast, allowing contemporary audiences to appreciate Welles’ minimalist yet expressive cinematography fully. This release is a must-see for aficionados of classic cinema and film noir.
Total: 88
Sony’s 4K UHD Blu-ray release of "The Lady from Shanghai" offers an unparalleled enhancement in both visual and audio quality, presenting the film in its finest form yet. This upgrade accentuates Orson Welles' ambitious, albeit complex, cinematography and storytelling. The new transfer showcases a striking video presentation, bringing clarity and depth to the film's intricate visual style. The lossless audio track complements the visuals with a robust and immersive sound experience, elevating the film's atmospheric elements that are crucial to its noir essence.
Despite the inherent issues within the film – an overly complicated narrative and potential studio interferences – this 4K release provides an opportunity for a renewed appreciation of Welles' innovative approach. The video clarity highlights the meticulous details and craftsmanship, while the strong audio track enhances the film's original score and dialogues, making it more engaging for contemporary audiences. Accompanying the technical improvements are valuable extras, including insightful commentary from Peter Bogdanovich, which enriches the viewing experience by offering deeper context and analysis.
In conclusion, Sony’s latest 4K release of "The Lady from Shanghai" is a must-have for both dedicated Welles aficionados and new viewers. While retaining the essential complexities and historicity of the film, this release beautifully renders it with modern cinematic standards, making it a significant addition to any film collection. Though previous editions, such as the Kino Blu-ray, hold unique commentary tracks, this 4K edition undeniably holds the definitive visual and auditory presentation of this classic film.
Blu-ray.com review by Kenneth BrownRead review here
Video: 90
All that said, Sony's 4K edition is far and away the best the film has looked, and any disappointments are brief and infrequent....
Audio: 90
Likewise, sound effects (though clearly a product of the era) and the music score and strong and nicely presented in the soundscape, never overpowering or underwhelming....
Extras: 50
Audio Commentary - Peter Bogdanovich offers a comprehensive commentary about Welles, with plenty of engaging stories, production and career details, and tidbits only someone who knew Welles personally...
Movie: 70
During the trip, though, Michael inevitably falls in love with Elsa and discovers she only agreed to marry Arthur after he threatened to expose her past in Shanghai....
Total: 80
What remains after all these years is a fascinating albeit overly complicated maze of a film that reaches for the stars and only comes up short in its fundamentals....
Home Theater Forum review by Todd ErwinRead review here
Video: 100
As good as those previous HD releases were (based on current HD streaming versions since no Blu-ray disc is included in this release), this new 4K scan is a vast improvement....
Audio: 100
The DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono soundtrack has exceptional clarity, free of distortion, crackling, popping, and hissing as well as surface noise....
Extras: 60
Apple TV: 4K Dolby Vision, no special features Fandango at Home: 1080p HDX, no special features (currently unavailable in 4K) Prime Video: 1080p HD, no special features (4K is available as a separate purchase)...
Movie: 90
The final film, clocking in at a mere 87 minutes, was a box office disappointment, gathering respect over the years with six critics on BFI’s 2012 Sight & Sound poll listing it as one of the top ten movies...
Total: 90
If you own the Kino Blu-ray release from last year, you may want to hold on to that for the additional audio commentary tracks and bonus features....
AVSForum review by Ralph PottsRead review here
Video: 90
The cinematography uses a variety of lighting schemes, transitions and purposeful shadows that translate extremely well in this Ultra HD presentation....
Audio: 80
I suspect that this track will allow those seeing it for the first time to experience it as close to if not better than those that saw it in the theater years ago....
Extras: 50
Commentary with Peter Bogdanovich A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich Theatrical Trailer Digital Code...
Movie: 80
Hired to work on a yacht belonging to the disabled husband of femme fatale Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth), seaman Michael O’Hara (Welles) is an innocent man drawn into a dangerous web of intrigue, and,...
Total: 75
Ralph Potts AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews Reference Review System: JVC DLA-NZ7 4K Ultra High-Definition Laser Front Projector (Calibrated with Calman color calibration software and Portrait Displays C6 HDR2000...
Director: Orson Welles
Actors: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane
PlotMichael O'Hara, an Irish sailor, encounters a mysterious and beautiful woman named Elsa Bannister in Central Park and saves her from a potential mugging. Grateful, Elsa offers Michael a job on her wealthy and disabled husband's yacht. Reluctant but intrigued by Elsa, Michael agrees. The yacht sets sail along the Mexican coast, where Michael becomes further entangled in the Bannisters' complicated and strained relationship. Elsa's husband, Arthur Bannister, is a brilliant but sinister criminal defense attorney, and their mutual friend George Grisby suggests a peculiar murder plot to Michael with a promise of substantial financial gain.
As the voyage progresses, tensions rise and loyalties are tested. Michael finds himself caught in a dangerous web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. The twisting narrative pulls him deeper into the Bannisters' manipulative game, leading to shocking revelations and perilous consequences. The story reaches a climactic point as it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems, and everyone has something to hide. From this moment onward, the plot hurtles toward an unpredictable and dramatic resolution.
Writers: Sherwood King, Orson Welles, William Castle
Release Date: 14 Apr 1948
Runtime: 87 min
Rating: Approved
Country: United States
Language: English, Cantonese