ADDITION: Kino (2026) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray Region FREE 4K UHD (March 2026): Kino have re-released Marcel Carné's Le Quai des Brumes (Port of Shadows) to Blu-ray and 4K UHD. This 2026 edition features the same 4K restoration as last year's Studiocanal release;  presented in 1080P / 2160P at the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio, reconstructed from the film's incomplete original negative combined with a 1938 standard nitrate fine grain, with color grading referencing a vintage 35mm nitrate print. Like the Studiocanal, this results in sharper close-ups, a more even and healthier grain structure, and enhanced grayscale, making the fog-shrouded visuals more immersive with improved detail and cleanliness, though some native fluctuations - like softer or grainier footage and uneven transitions - persist due to source limitations, explaining minor quality variances between scenes as noted in the disc's introductory text (on the Kin o there is additional descriptions via subtitles beyond opening text screens.)

While we are in possession of the 4K UHD disc, we cannot resolve the encode yet, and therefore, cannot obtain screen captures. We hope to add to this review at some point in the future. So, the below captures are from Kino's 2026 1080P Blu-ray transfer and they are, pretty much, the exact same as their UK counterpart (see comments.)

The new HDR/Dolby Vision Master - sourced from the pristine 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative - transforms the film’s moody, fog-drenched streets and shadowy harbors into something truly cinematic. In native 4K UHD on a capable display, the image delivers exceptional sharpness and fine detail, especially in close-ups of Gabin and Morgan. The triple-layered UHD100 disc delivers a robust bitrate that preserves the film’s natural grain structure. Contrast is a standout: deep, inky blacks create an even more foreboding atmosphere, while the enhanced grayscale and subtle HDR highlights bring out every nuance in Eugen Schüfftan’s (The Hustler, People on Sunday, Eyes Without a Face) legendary cinematography and Alexandre Trauner’s (The Apartment, Witness for the Prosecution, Rififi) atmospheric sets. The fog never looks flat or murky - instead, it feels immersive and three-dimensional, with improved texture consistency that honors the source material’s age while eliminating most print damage. Minor native fluctuations in softer scenes remain (as they must), but overall this is a revelatory step up in clarity, depth, and tonal range. Exceptional, on my system.

While the included second disc Blu-ray carries the exact same 2025 restoration as the recent Studiocanal BD,  Kino’s higher bitrate (max'ed out) gives it a noticeable edge in-motion and stability on discerning systems - marginally superior depending on your setup.

The 2025 Kino Blu-ray and 4K UHD (same as the SC) offer original French language DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (but no German DUB on the Kino discs), with the mono presentation delivering very good clarity, stability, and dynamic range, ensuring Maurice Jaubert's (Hotel Du Nord, Le Jour Se Leve, L'Atalante, Drole de Drame, Truffaut's The Green Room,) haunting score and Jacques Prévert's poetic dialogue come through with healthy highs and minimal thinning in select spots. Transitions are seamless, and the audio avoids revealing the reconstruction's patchwork nature, maintaining immersion in the port's ambient sounds and melancholic atmosphere. Optional English subtitles are precise. The Kino Blu-ray is Region 'A'-locked.

Kino's 4K UHD is, like all from this format, Region FREE.

This release also offers a solid, focused selection of supplements that provide excellent historical and critical context for the film. The new audio commentary by film critic and author Simon Abrams (Guillermo del Toro's The Devil's Backbone) is conveniently included on both the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray disc, allowing viewers to access his passionate, insightful deep dive - covering the film's production, its place in French poetic realism, the performances (especially Gabin and Morgan), thematic elements like fatalism and destiny, and its influence on later noir and existential cinema - regardless of which disc they're playing. The remaining extras are exclusive to the second disc Blu-ray: an archival introduction by Professor/Film Critic Ginette Vincendeau (Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris,) originally recorded as part of earlier home video editions (2012 and 2025 Studiocanal BDs) and presented here in English, where she eloquently praises the film as a pinnacle of pre-war French cinema and highlights the extraordinary talent behind it in concise fashion ideal for first-time viewers or revisits; the comprehensive documentary On the Port of the Shadows (3/4 hour - cited as On the Dock on previous releases), an archival piece (with English subtitles non-removable) that explores the production history, filming challenges, cultural impact, various restorations and reconstructions over the years, and the legacies of stars like Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan through interviews, archival material, and expert insights - highly valuable for understanding the film's enduring status as a cornerstone of poetic realism; and the original theatrical trailer (non-removable English subtitles) as a nice period piece to round out the 4K UHD package.