ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (April 2024): Criterion are releasing Mikhail Kalatozov's "I Am Cuba" ('Soy Cuba') to 4K UHD. The package has one 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features. In 2007 we compared two DVDs (Image Entertainment and Milestone Cinematheque) HERE and with the Criterion Blu-ray and some 2160P captures below.

This 4K UHD of "I am Cuba" does not have HDR applied (no HDR10, HDR10+, nor Dolby Vision.) We have seen other 4K UHD transfers without HDR; Mondo Macabro's Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf, Cult Films Django 4K UHD, Umbrella's 4K UHD transfer of Peter Weir's The Last Wave and Criterion's 4K UHD transfers of The Others, Rules of the Game, Branded to Kill, In the Mood For Love, Night of the Living Dead and, further examples, Masters of Cinema's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, ClassicFlix's I, the Jury, and Kino's 4K UHDs of Nostalghia, The Apartment, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars, In the Heat of the Night, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as well as Koch Media's Neon Demon + one of the 4K UHD transfers of Dario Argento's Suspiria.

The new Criterion transfer is said to be a "4K digital restoration". The presentation has marvelously thick film textures, has more layered contrast (sometimes brighter - other scenes darker) than the old SD renderings, showing more detail and some movement in the frame with often a sliver more on the top of the 1.33:1 aspect ratio frame. It is a very heavy looking piece of cinema but the resolution improvement is easy to appreciate. While the film was shot in black and white, occasionally infrared film was used (obtained from the Soviet military) which accentuated contrasts. 

NOTE: 56 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: The Demoniacs , The Nude Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nostalghia (no HDR), Werckmeister Harmonies (software uniformly simulated HDR), Goin' South (software uniformly simulated HDR), La Haine (software uniformly simulated HDR,) All Ladies Do It (software uniformly simulated HDR), Old Henry  (software uniformly simulated HDR), To Die For (software uniformly simulated HDR), Snapshot (software uniformly simulated HDR), Phase IV (software uniformly simulated HDR), Burial Ground (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dark Water (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (software uniformly simulated HDR,) The Wages of Fear  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Roaring Twenties (software uniformly simulated HDR), Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection (software uniformly simulated HDR), Scarlet Street (software uniformly simulated HDR), eXistenZ (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (no HDR), Lone Star  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD, Criterion offer linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original Spanish or a Russian language DUB. "I Am Cuba" doesn't have extensive effects with mostly diegetic sound. Everything is authentically flat. The score was by Carlos Fariñas (Stories of the Revolution) and adds some drama to the artistic cinematography. Criterion include optional English subtitles (for all non-English dialogue only) - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide. The included Blu-ray is region 'A'-locked.

The, now OOP (out of print), Milestone Cinematheque, 3-DVD Ultimate Edition in its own cigar box, described the film as a  "...hybrid offspring of Soviet orthodoxy and Cuban tropicalismo is a film of dazzling contrasts. In four intertwining stories of the revolution, Urusevsky's acrobatic camera takes the viewer on a dizzying ride through smoky nightclubs and rooftop pool parties, rickety shantytowns and rustling sugarcane fields, student protest rallies and remote guerilla outposts. "I am Cuba" culminates in the most gorgeously filmed funeral procession of all time, as the camera floats through a cigar factory and hovers high above the narrow streets of Havana. A whirling dance through the sensuous decadence of Batista's Cuba..." I Am Cuba was totally out of the cinema conversation until the USSR collapsed in the early 1990 where it has since seen a revival championed by Scorsese and Coppola. It is an epic of commie propaganda. The mise-en-scène is so unique although does somewhat evoke Mikhail Kalatozov's ‘The Cranes are Flying. I Am Cuba circles four distinct short stories of suffering Cubans - victims of the corporatization of the country from gambling resorts to sugar cane fields - passive acceptance to angered protesting. Criterion's 4K UHD release takes the viewing experience to another level of appreciation of this distinctly odd historical artifact. It always lingers - hard to find a comparison. Absolutely recommended! 

Gary Tooze