Kino's new transfer is described as a "Brand New 4K Restoration" a significant leap beyond the old DVDs but still suffers from some minor damage (scratches just under the surface) and it still looks thin but colors are bolder and without a film-level restoration this is likely to be the best it can look on digital for a long while. I wasn't displeased but the image, even in SD, remains imperfect. There is generally more information in the frame - mostly on the right edge. The color shift and brighter visuals are very positive in the 4K restoration and the film flowed far more evenly than watching the older DVDs. It's the best I have seen this Hitchcock film look.

Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel (16-bit) and this period film doesn't have much in the way of aggressive effects but sports a score by Richard Addinsell, who is notable for the Blithe Spirit and the 1951 A Christmas Carol, Dark Journey, Love on the Dole, and Fire Over England. It sounds quite solid in the lossless with optional English (SDH) subtitles (see sample below) on the Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

We are treated to another exceptional audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger offering great analysis and minutia of the production. Wonderful. There is also an audio-only excerpt of Hitchcock/Truffaut: Icon interviews Icon running 12-minutes. Cinema of Signs: Claude Chabrol on Alfred Hitchcock a 27-minute piece (with English subtitles) from Robert Fischer's Fiction Factory describe as "Legendary French film director and Nouvelle Vague co-founder Claude Chabrol takes us back to the mid-fifties, when he and then-fellow film critic François Truffaut met and interviewed Alfred Hitchcock under hilarious circumstances. Chabrol then describes how he went on to write, with Eric Rohmer, the first book on Hitchcock, and even served as a consultant when Hitch came to Paris to direct his film TOPAZ. Several key scenes from Hitchcock movies, with a special emphasis on UNDER CAPRICORN, are discussed and dissected." There is a theatrical trailer and trailers for other films. The package has a revisable cover (see below).

Accepted as not The Master's most intriguing efforts but the value of the 4K Restored Blu-ray - aside from the obvious a/v boost - are the extras - the Ellinger commentary and Fiction Factory piece make this a must-own. I honestly enjoyed the film far more indulging in this Blu-ray edition.

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ON THE DVDs: NOTE: The Image Entertainment and Somewax image quality appear to be exact - same detail and same damage marks. I have no idea whether Somewax obtained the transfer legally or not. I suppose it is possible.

What were Kinowelt thinking with this release? It's a disaster! We had high hopes for this based on Kinowelt's fine track record but this is heavily contrast boosted and severely cropped. Bergman's head is cropped in large capture #3 and body is partially cropped out of the frame in capture #4. Damage is a little less but colors are all over the place. A German DUB and German subtitles options are offered and the significant extra (Chabrol) is only in French with German subtitles. I couldn't access the text screen bios. I am very disappointed in Kinowelt and this is a true black mark on their record. We suggest the Image Entertainment DVD until we are convinced the Somewax is not a bootleg.

***

NOTE: I just wanted add to your review that the Kinowelt edition is not only visually inferior but also shortened by 4 minutes, the missing scene even ran subtitled on German TV, but Kinowelt messed up on this disc wherever it is possible. I hope they do a better job on Hitchcock's MURDER which will include the first release ever of the German version of the film which Hitchcock shot simultaneously. (thanks Armin!) 

- Gary Tooze