Wings of Desire 4K Steelbook (UK)

[MifuneFan]

Wings of Desire 4K Steelbook UK

Release Date: Nov 28, 2022

Purchase Link(s):

Amazon UK

Zavvi UK

Artwork:

[Citizen K]

Good stuff, definitely upgrading this. Hope we can see more Wim Wenders in 4K and Curzon also has a lot of great titles in their catalog for potential upgrades.

[Darth Marcus]

Torn on whether to spring for this or wait for the probable, though unconfirmed, Criterion 4K release.

[Eschenpod]

Pre-ordered from Amazon UK.

[BillBR]

So from what I'm seeing the 4K disc is *not* in the big limited edition collection book? Who were the ad wizards that came up with that one???

[Blacknapkins]

I don't like steelbooks but I love this movie! Are Curzon releases any good?

[PNguyen]

The steelbook is kind of bland, I’ll wait for the Criterion rerelease to ensure a good transfer and encode.

[useless watcher]

Aren't Criterion UHD encodes sort of spotty so far? Is there any reason to assume theirs will be better than this? (Genuinely asking; I know nothing of Curzon's record in that department!)

(maybe spotty is the wrong word. I at least remember Citizen Kane and Mulholland Dr having better encodes from WHV and StudioCanal, respectively)

[Bates_Motel]

Caps (at least) look great. Looks like an amazing upgrade.

[Loaded Man]

I am very tempted to buy this. Is there a high probability that Criterion releases their own 4K edition in 2023?

[scarletlion]

I held one of these in my hands yesterday in HMV. It is a beautiful thing.

[Eschenpod]

It certainly is.

[hansolo]

Apparently the sole English subtitles included are of HoH type. For German language movie in UK? Seems that something went wrong on authoring stage when someone decided to include only HoH subtitles.

[vivafriend5]

Just watched this release and was enthralled by the quality of the presentation of this memorable film. Peter Falk's false eye is so obvious in close-ups. Subtitles caption German, French, Japanese, and English dialogue as well as certain sound effects and song titles, but not every single one.

Edit: BFI interview with Wenders has a mention of the subtitles in that he personally worked on the subtitles with the subtitle master and he felt betwixt with how much or how little to subtitle in regards to certain dialogue.

[urbo73]

Originally Posted by hansolo

Apparently the sole English subtitles included are of HoH type. For German language movie in UK? Seems that something went wrong on authoring stage when someone decided to include only HoH subtitles.

Do you have a screenshot of what they look like? Sounds like a potential dealbreaker.

[HippieDalek]

Does this release have HDR, and if so what flavour?

I automatically assume that every UHD Blu Ray has HDR but sometimes they don't, and I can't see anything on the Blu Ray com listing.

Are there any reviews?

[rolf2056]

No HDR.

[HippieDalek]

Originally Posted by rolf2056

No HDR.

Thanks, order cancelled. There seem to be too many issues with this one.

[kashif]

What are the chances of Curzon doing a disc replacement program? Anyone of you wrote them or something and got any replies? I really want to get it but I don't want to get it and then see an announcement by Criterion release which will be identical transfer most probably but probability of having correct subs are a high

[hansolo]

Originally Posted by urbo73

Do you have a screenshot of what they look like? Sounds like a potential dealbreaker.

Sorry for the late reply. I had a holiday break (from forums). Just the one I saw in Amazon UK customer review. Some point frustration over hearing impaired only type subtitles and one argues they are intentional. I do not know. Apparently it is a major upgrade over previous 1080p presentations, so I might pick it up especially because I can overlay (if needed) better subtitles over the ones in disc with my Oppo 203.

Screen cap from Amazon review:


https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BGSXKRWH

Amazon customer comments:

Got this today and although the 4K restoration looks amazing, this is totally spoilt by the only subtitle track available on the disc being a SDH stream
So it subtitles EVERYTHING - including spoken english, all noises and music etc
I think its great that this should be available ALONGSIDE a subtitle stream for just the foreign language audio, but as the only option is very distracting when Peter Falk is speaking and all his english dialogue has subtitles starting {Falk}

The new 4k presentation of this film is pristine.
But I have to echo another reviewer and gripe about the English subtitles. The only available subtitles are SDH for the hearing impaired, which is great for those who need it and incredibly distracting for those who don't. I don't need to be told "indistinct whispering continues" for the umpteenth time.

Completely disagree with the person giving it a three star review, because of the subtitles. Not only have the subtitles been considerably improved upon since the Criterion release, the parenthesis indicating who is thinking or speaking is very helpful, as there are numerous instances where it isn't immediately clear who is doing the thinking or speaking. The only person who is readily identifiable, is Peter Falk, but he has only a relatively minor role.