M (Fritz Lang) - Which version to get?

[Kynch]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy M on BD after seeing Metropolis and being interested in Fritz Lang's other works.

I see M has come out in the UK (courtesy of Eureka Entertainment) and the US (as a part of the Criterion Collection).
But I also see that it's getting a double-BD release in Germany in May thanks to Universum Film.

I'd like to get the UK version as it's the cheapest and in my region, plus I love the Masters of Cinema booklets.
I have a region-free BD player so I can import the US version (gotta love them Criterion releases).
But the German Digibook does spike my interest, especially with the second BD included...

I should be able to make my own decisions but this one's tough.

Any help would be thoroughly appreciated.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Kynch

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy M on BD after seeing Metropolis and being interested in Fritz Lang's other works.

I see M has come out in the UK (courtesy of Eureka Entertainment) and the US (as a part of the Criterion Collection).
But I also see that it's getting a double-BD release in Germany in May thanks to Universum Film.

I'd like to get the UK version as it's the cheapest and in my region, plus I love the Masters of Cinema booklets.
I have a region-free BD player so I can import the US version (gotta love them Criterion releases).
But the German Digibook does spike my interest, especially with the second BD included...

I should be able to make my own decisions but this one's tough.

Any help would be thoroughly appreciated.

The German edition (should be a BD + DVD, though) will only be English-friendly for the film and one of the extras, as I understand it, the rest will all be only German-friendly, so if you don't understand German, this is possibly not the edition to get. On the other hand, it will apparently be from a new, 2010/2011 80th Anniversary restoration of the film, while the Criterion / MoC use Criterion's 2004 master.

Because of various digital tweaking to the master on the Criterion edition, the Criterion looks slightly different to the MoC. Personally, I prefer the look of the MoC disc, but really, the differences are minor. Each release obviously has unique extras, even though Criterion did add the 1932 British version to their Blu-ray edition.

My advice would be to wait and see just how much improvement there is in the new German restoration edition, and, if it shows significant improvement, then you could add that edition to the excellent Region B edition from MoC. However, if you are a "die-hard" fan of the film (as I am) then I would have to suggest getting both the US and UK editions for the extras. Do note, however, that if you have the Criterion double-DVD set, and the MoC Blu-ray, then you would have all of the extras (albeit with the Criterion extras in 480 resolution as opposed to 1080i).

[charlieray1]

I have the Criterion edition and I was knocked out by it! the picture quality was really good -- I've certainly never seen the film look that sharp and clean. It has the original German version (with subtitles, or course) plus the long lost English version as a bonus, as well as other bonus features. The English version though is more of a curiosity -- it's not restored like the German version, and most of it is just the same footage with poor dubbing, though a few scenes are re-shot in English.

I don't know the other version, but you sure can't go wrong with the Criterion edition.

[Kynch]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

The German edition (should be a BD + DVD, though) will only be English-friendly for the film and one of the extras, as I understand it, the rest will all be only German-friendly, so if you don't understand German, this is possibly not the edition to get. On the other hand, it will apparently be from a new, 2010/2011 80th Anniversary restoration of the film, while the Criterion / MoC use Criterion's 2004 master.

Because of various digital tweaking to the master on the Criterion edition, the Criterion looks slightly different to the MoC. Personally, I prefer the look of the MoC disc, but really, the differences are minor. Each release obviously has unique extras, even though Criterion did add the 1932 British version to their Blu-ray edition.

My advice would be to wait and see just how much improvement there is in the new German restoration edition, and, if it shows significant improvement, then you could add that edition to the excellent Region B edition from MoC. However, if you are a "die-hard" fan of the film (as I am) then I would have to suggest getting both the US and UK editions for the extras. Do note, however, that if you have the Criterion double-DVD set, and the MoC Blu-ray, then you would have all of the extras (albeit with the Criterion extras in 480 resolution as opposed to 1080i).

Originally Posted by charlieray1

I have the Criterion edition and I was knocked out by it! the picture quality was really good -- I've certainly never seen the film look that sharp and clean. It has the original German version (with subtitles, or course) plus the long lost English version as a bonus, as well as other bonus features. The English version though is more of a curiosity -- it's not restored like the German version, and most of it is just the same footage with poor dubbing, though a few scenes are re-shot in English.

I don't know the other version, but you sure can't go wrong with the Criterion edition.

Thank you two so much for the insight. I'll wait and see what the Germans have to say about their newly restored version hitting shelves in May.

If it's not that much better, I'll just go with the MoC version as I love their releases.

[Crimson King]

everything Criterion is superior!

[nathanp]

Very true, always go with Criterion when you have that option.

[KubrickFan]

I don't think you can go truly wrong with either one. I have the MoC and it's one of the best Blu-rays in my collection. Criterion isn't always the best.