ADDITION: Kinowelt - Region 'B' Blu-ray - April 2010: Firstly, the HD transferred image has been differently framed showing much more on the left hand side, more also on the bottom and less on the top and right of the frame. I wasn't expecting it to be correctly pillar-boxed (see comments below) and I also knew it wouldn't have crystal clear clarity that some have come to expect from 1080P. This film was made 80-years ago - 80!.

The higher resolution does tend to look superior - more noticeable in some sections rather than others and, for the most part, I lean to this 'framing' version as the best composition for most (but not all) scenes. More information (backgrounds) is available and detail does improve. Contrast-wise this new Blu-ray is more faint than the Warner but slightly richer than the Image Entertainment. This strikes me as being more accurate to the source - I always felt the Warner's were black boosted to some degree. Occasionally though, I see the Kinowelt image as having some green infiltration. Not surprisingly the higher definition image looks the best on my system but it was hard, even for this reviewer, not to have grander expectations for grain and sharpness. It is soft. Because of the production age there is still contrast flickering and damage (less apparent and mostly frame specific). One interesting note is that this is the first viewing (I've seen this at least 20 times) where Chaplin's heavy pancake make-up was the most highly notable I can ever recall. I even believe I pointed-out a band-aid under his hat brim - not present in other shot of the very same scene. Those 'picky' might even consider this a continuity error but only visible through 1080P Blu-ray resolution. This established some confidence that I was probably seeing City Lights in the best presentation I am likely to ever find in my home.

I suspect this will be the same transfer offered in France, the UK and eventually the US but I can't be certain. Stay tuned.

The DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1615 kbps is still quite tinny but does exhibit some infrequent strength in depth, but this improvement, like the image, would be considered more subtle. However, it certainly does exist. Nice to see in this German edition the original English intertitles. There are optional German subtitles offered. My Momitsu has identified it is being Region 'B'-locked.