NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Kino 4K UHD (September 2024): Kino are releasing Alexander Mackendrick's "The Ladykillers" to 4K UHD and Blu-ray. It was released in 2021 by Studiocanal in the UK on 4K UHD for the film's 65th anniversary. This Kino 2160P has a split-screen restoration example (not listed on the menu) that describes the following: "The feature had general dirt and sparkle throughout but also some very dirty opticals. It also suffered in places from some very severe blue staining. We completed an automated pass via the HD DVNR to eliminate as much dirt and sparkle as possible. The remaining larger dirt and blue stains, along with any other film faults (chemical stains, tears and cue dots), were manually cleaned using the DRS & Paint tools in MTI."

Way back in 2010, we compared the Anchor Bay DVD top the Studiocanal Blu-ray HERE. This 2160P is a resounding improvement in video quality. We get richer, deeper, colors, fine grain texture, better contrast balance and layering, frequent depth etc. It can look occasionally dark and have a pink or blue leaning but the HD presentation should be strongly pleasing to fans of the film. Wow.

"The Ladykillers" was shot in three-strip Technicolor which, if misaligned (mis-registration), can export some funky color shifts, bleeding and instability. But this seems free of that flaw found on the 14-year old Blu-ray. This is cited as a "2020 HDR Dolby Vision Restoration by StudioCanal" and I think the resulting, 1.37:1, 4K image looks exceptional. The second disc Blu-ray is cited as a "2020 HD Restorations of the Original 1.37:1 and Matted 1.66:1 Versions of the Film" and we have made a few matched screen captures below. 

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

On the 4K UHD and second disc Blu-ray - are two commentaries. The first has film historian David Del Valle (author of Lost Horizons Beneath the Hollywood Sign) and film historian / producer Dan Marino (son of NFL legend!). They talk about William Rose and his screenplay and the adscription of the film as "a gorgeous box of chocolates filled with poison" - they compare it to another Ealing Studio 'Black Comedy" Kind Hearts and Coronets. They talk about director Alexander Mackendrick, Otto Heller's cinematography, performers Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner, and, especially, Katie Johnson. I always enjoy David's comment and Dan's input. Very enjoyable. The second commentary was by Philip Kemp (Cinema: The Whole Story) - repeated from the 2010 Studiocanal Blu-ray. He provides a great overview of Ealing, describing The Ladykillers as the last great 'Black Comedy' from the studio. Kemp has stories and details of the production, including a continuity error and more.

All of the rest of the extras are relegated to the Blu-ray. They appear to be all duplicated from the older Studiocanal release. Forever Ealing is a 3/4 hour 2002 documentary on the history of the studio from 1902 to its resurrection in the year of the video. It is narrated by Daniel Day-Lewis and has video clips with Richard Attenborough, Derek Bond, Colin Firth, Terry Gilliam and many others. Also included are separate, extended, interviews with Allan Scott, Ronald Harwood and Terence Davies (Distant Voices Still Lives.) While a "Terry Gilliam introduction" (3-minutes) is advertised - it is not present nor is on either of the disc's menus, although a 6-minute "Cleaning Up The Ladykillers" split-screen restoration demonstration is on the disc but not on the menus. Lastly is a restoration trailer - presumably for the theatrical re-release in 2021. There are also trailers for other Guinness / Ealing comedies; Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Man in the White Suit and The Captain's Paradise.