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NOTE : The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - October 17'': The BFI is advertised as "A new 4K restoration of the original French theatrical release," It is about 4.5 minutes longer than the Criterion which IMDb does consider the 148 minute version as the 'director's cut' while the BFI might be consider the alternate 'uncensored' version. The 1080P image is superior to the Criterion as evidenced by toggling between the large screen capture. There are some framing issues and the BFI, shows more on the sides, slightly less on the top, and is very close to the correct 1.37:1 AR while the Criterion is 1.325:1 and is, occasionally, slightly angled in comparison. I like the grain of the darker BFI. The Criterion is more video-like and the 4K-restored, max'ed out bitrate, BFI - more film-like. That's about the story on the image - BFI wins. BFI also advance on the audio transfer - likewise using a linear PCM mono track but at 24-bit as opposed to, the 8-year old, Criterion's 16-bit. The mono track show superiority in the depth of the UK BD presentation. The score is by Georges Auric (It Always Rains on Sunday, Dead of Night, The Innocents, Lola Montes, Rififi, Heaven Knows Mr. Alliason) - it advance the tension and some will recognize Valentine as whistled by Yves Montand and Charles Vanel as well as Johann Strauss' The Blue Danube. All sounding crisp and authentically flat in BFI's uncompressed rendering. BFI also have optional English subtitles but their Blu-ray is Region 'B'-locked. In the supplements, BFI duplicate Criterion's 22-minute, 2005, interview with Assistant Director Michel Romanoff and the 10-minute interview with Clouzot biographer Marc Godin but add plenty of new extras, notably a 2017 audio commentary with Australian film critic and author Adrian Martin, an excellent commentator who has advanced over 45 digital presentations with relevant, insightful, educational commentaries - he's one of the very best. I appreciated the new 35-minute interview with Professor Lucy Mazdon discussing Wages of Fear. Impressive on many fronts. You can watch the film to a Guardian Lecture (audio only) which has Yves Montand in conservation with Don Allan, recorded in 1989, as the star discusses his distinguished career - running over 1.5 hours. There is an original theatrical trailer and the package has an illustrated booklet with a new essay by Andy Miller, original reviews by Karel Reisz and Penelope Houston, an appreciation of Clouzot by Paul Ryan, and full film credits. Well, Wages of Fear is a, draining, masterpiece - I can't put it in a category with anything else. The BFI Blu-ray is the ultimate - brilliant 4K-restored image, 24-bit mono audio, commentary and multiple extras. Easily the definitive edition - don't hesitate for a minute. One of the best releases of the year.... *** ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - April 09': I don't have too much to say here. The 1080P image is expectantly bigger and better - contrast is another full notch higher. The Blu-ray may be marginally brighter - it shows the grain structure more cohesively. Not surprisingly the 'restored' DVD looks a little green beside the Blu-ray that has over 4X the bitrate. Detail has some noticeable improvement but I'd say contrast is the single most advanced attribute. Once again, everything - in regards to visible superiority, stems from the ability of your system to identify it. Wages of Fear in high-definition looks magnificent to me in motion - despite the light scratches that are retained - the higher resolution captures more of the essence of the film - as does the linear PCM 1.0 channel track. Extras all appear to be included (loved seeing the censorship information again) - but they are now in HD! The liner notes booklet is shorter at 16-pages but still has Dennis Lehane's inspired essay. Somewhat amusingly this is almost a full $10 cheaper than the restored DVD from 2005, but offer a significantly better presentation. Criterion don't scrimp either - the digital package takes up over 48 Gig of the 50 Gig capacity. Another essential brilliant package from the best film-to-digital production company in the world. One note: I like the new case - it's like a smaller transparent keep case but with standard Blu-ray case height and length dimensions - but is a bit thicker. Gary W. Tooze *** ADDITION: Criterion - DVD Restored Edition - October 2005 - it is advertised that - "This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from the 35mm fine-grain master. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System. To maintain optimal image quality through the compression process, the picture on this dual-layer DVD-9 was encoded at the highest-­possible bit rate for the quantity of material included." As you can see the image is definitely improved. Although some may consider the upgrade unremarkable I believe that Criterion were somewhat limited by what they could do with the condition of the master. They have done their magic with removing debris, cleaning scratches and boosting some brightness levels, de-contrasting others to give a much smoother and more consistent appearance. Subtitles are improved and there is some minor cropping on both sides. We still have the 148 minute version and a host of extras that Clouzot fans will relish. They are not giving this away at $35+ but for fans of the film the upgrade is quite worthwhile. *** ON THE ORIGINAL DVD : Early days for Criterion - but it is progressiv e transfer despite some of its flaws. It has some dullness and I see some brightness boosting. The film itself is excellent and certainly one for the testosterone-infused crowd, but the DVD image is a far cry from excellence. The huge plus of this release is that Criterion have returned the films presentation to its proper running time of 148 minutes. I thought the mono audio was quite power-packed. There are no digital extras and a 4 page liner notes inclusion. Overall, nothing like one would expect from a more modern Criterion release, but its great to have this film, in its full-length running time, in the collection. out of Gary W. Tooze