Carnal Knowledge 4K UHD (1971) (Criterion Collection)

[MifuneFan]

Criterion will be releasing Carnal Knowledge on 4K in July! The film is also getting a release from Indicator in the UK in June.

Note: According to DVDBeaver there is a "Fade to White" that has been restored by Indicator for the UK release, but is still missing frm Criterion's release. There are also slight grading differences between the two, with Indicator being more natural, and having a reduced yellow tinge.

NOTE: The white fades in Carnal Knowledge are pivotal moments that underscore the film’s emotional and thematic resonance. The recent restoration, which has been presented theatrically across the globe in recent years, initially lacked the 1:24:40, critical white fade (prior to the slideshow.) By cross-referencing with older prints and DVDs sourced from those prints, Indicator identified and restored this missing element. This commitment to accuracy and fidelity is presumably why they describe their release as "Definitive" on the packagin

Carnal Knowledge 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/28109-carnal-knowledge

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New audio commentary featuring filmmaker and playwright Neil LaBute
• New program with Mike Nichols biographer Mark Harris and film critic Dana Stevens
• New interview with film-editing historian Bobbie O’Steen
• Conversation from 2011 between Nichols and filmmaker Jason Reitman
• Q&A with screenwriter Jules Feiffer
• Radio spot and trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by scholar Moira Weigel and a 1971 piece from American Cinematographer about the look of the film

New cover by Catarina Sampaio

[movielib]

Yeah, I just got an email about the July Criterion releases.

I had the Indicator edition in my cart at Amazon UK. Now I'll just get it from Criterion.

When is the next B&N Criterion sale?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by movielib

Yeah, I just got an email about the July Criterion releases.

I had the Indicator edition in my cart at Amazon UK. Now I'll just get it from Criterion.

When is the nest B&N Criterion sale?

July, same month this is coming out.

For quick comparison, here are the details for Indicator's release. I've bolded the stuff that they both have in common.

https://www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/co...edge-4k-uhd-le

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION 4K UHD SPECIAL FEATURES

• Definitive 4K HDR restoration
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writer and film scholar Justin Bozung (2025)
  
• Mike Nichols and Jason Reitman in Conversation (2011): archival video recording of the two filmmakers on stage at Walter Reade Theater in New York, following a screening of Carnal Knowledge
• Cruel Masters (2025): actor, comedian and filmmaker Richard Ayoade provides an in-depth appreciation of the film and its director
  
• Original theatrical trailer
  
• Radio spot
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Brad Stevens, an archival interview with director Mike Nichols, writer Jules Feiffer and actor Jack Nicholson, a contemporary location report originally published in American Cinematographer, an account of the controversies surround the film’s original release, a reprint of a 1972 Sight and Sound article on the film and its place within Nichols’ oeuvre, and full film credits

[Gacivory]

I like the cover art! One of my favorite Mike Nichols, already preordered the Indicator/Powerhouse one, and will get this!

[4katlanticfan]

Wow! Day one. The criterion line up for July is stacked.

[bergman864]

I haven't preorder the Indicator release. It's a good thing I guess.

[Mr. Odessa]

I already pre-ordered the Indicator version. This one has better artwork. However, Indicator's packaging is always on point with rigid slipcases, thick booklets and movie posters.

[dcruz13]

Yeah I prefer this artwork to the Indicator one too, even if I don't necessarily love it either - still glad to see it though! love Ann-Margret in this

[dallywhitty]

That cover is shite.

[MifuneFan]

I like the Indicator cover, but from an aesthetics point of view, I find it to have too much empty/negative space once the card/paper slip has been removed.



This isn't really a problem with the actual original poster where everything has been thoughtfully coomposed, as opposed to just snipping a part here and there from it.

As for the Criterion cover. It's just fine. It's somewhat boring and safe.

[OnlyJapantown]

Prefer the Indicator cover, gives off a bit of a literary feel... which suits the movie well.

The LaBute commentary works in the Criterion's favour though, I'd be interested to hear that.

[Rizor]

I pre-ordered the Indicator a few days ago, but probably would've skipped it had I known about this. Still, I'll probably get this one anyway during the B&N sale.

[Mister VistaVision]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I like the Indicator cover, but from an aesthetics point of view, I find it to have too much empty/negative space once the card/paper slip has been removed.



This isn't really a problem with the actual original poster where everything has been thoughtfully coomposed, as opposed to just snipping a part here and there from it.




As for the Criterion cover. It's just fine. It's somewhat boring and safe.

That's not the original US 1971 poster, it's from the US 1978 re-release. The originals only had words and no artwork. They used that artwork in some of the original newspaper ads that were featured in the US pressbook that I sent Indicator.

[bergman864]

I'm going to post this information in both the Criterion and Indicator threads. This is from the DVDBeaver review. Worth noting for those deciding.

NOTE: The white fades in Carnal Knowledge are pivotal moments that underscore the film’s emotional and thematic resonance. The recent restoration, which has been presented theatrically across the globe in recent years, initially lacked the 1:24:40, critical white fade (prior to the slideshow.) By cross-referencing with older prints and DVDs sourced from those prints, Indicator identified and restored this missing element. This commitment to accuracy and fidelity is presumably why they describe their release as "Definitive" on the packaging.


NOTE: The Criterion does not have a 'fade to white' at around 1:24:40 (right before the slideshow) that the Indicator does have.

[MifuneFan]

DVDBeaver just has BD screenshots up, but I'm surprised there's such a noticeable difference in grading. I assume Indicator did additional work there to adjust the colors and remove some of the yellow tinge that's seen more on the Criterion release.

I'll add a note about the fade to white being absent to the first post as well.

[PowellPressburger]

Loving the indicator color timing.

Curious how the 4K caps will look in comparison.

[jt839]

They both look nice, I'm curious to know which one is more correct though.

[Mose Harper]

I have the Indicator pre-ordered but I have to admit I'm 50/50 on which release's grading I prefer.
It feels like the Indicator is probably more accurate, but there's something about a brighter, warmer image that usually draws me in.

Had the Criterion been announced first I likely would have passed on the Indicator.

[PowellPressburger]

The Indicator disc was christened by FiM, so the Criterion was destined to hell at birth.

[MifuneFan]

Interestingly, Criterion actually includes a "1971 piece from American Cinematographer about the look of the film" as part of their booklet. This is available online as well. I've just read most of it, and there's a few notable parts, which I've highlighted below. The whole article is a great read.

https://theasc.com/articles/carnal-knowledge

I remark about the absence of color in the decor. All of the sets I see on the stages are done in the cream and tan and brown tones which Sylbert has mentioned. "It's true that there is little color," he explains, "but it's not because of a conscious avoidance of color. It's a visual way of growing from college — which I always assumed was the color of a paper bag — to the 1970s. You see people differently in 1970 from the way they looked in 1946. There is a change in contrast. Back in college, under the tans and browns and brick colors, the edge was very soft. With time, life takes on a very hard edge. The mature man wearing a black velvet suit in a white room is, in every way, drastically different from the boy he was in college, with his khaki pants and khaki room and khaki bedspreads and khaki book covers. As the emotional pressures of the film's story increase, the contrast — which was soft and delicate in the beginning — will harden up. This is the effect that Peppino will be striving for, also, as shooting progresses."

...

On the sound stage they are preparing to shoot a sequence in the tavern set. All of the practical fixtures are faced with amber glass, so Rotunno quite logically suggests that the set (and the actors) be illuminated exclusively with amber light. This is, from the technical standpoint, a very bold gesture and one that requires the utmost care in execution, lest the actors all end up looking as if they've got jaundice. However, Nichols likes the idea and soon the entire set takes on a golden glow.
..


I ask him what he considers to be the special challenges of photographing Carnal Knowledge and he replies: "The story takes place in three different time periods. It begins in 1946. Then there is another part that happens in 1961, and the final part develops in 1970. We are trying to make the three sections of the film look different, in order to show the passage of time. But we are also trying to keep everything very simple, which means that the differences must come from the way that we use the light."