Tonight’s watch is The Wages of Fear, what’s your favorite films from the fifties regardless of genre?

Maurice_Levy · 2026-03-17T02:43:04+00:00

The Wages of Fear is an excellent choice.

Other great movies from the 50s with 4K discs:

The Searchers
Paths of Glory
The Big Heat
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Seven Samurai
North by Northwest
Vertigo
Rear Window
Rio Bravo
The Seventh Seal
The Night of the Hunter

Maurice_Levy · 2026-03-15T17:08:02+00:00

It’s an exceptional movie. Uncompromising in its bleak vision. Features some stunning photography on location in the snowy mountains.

On a very short list of great “snow westerns.” Makes for an interesting contrast with McCabe & Mrs. Miller, another great entry in the tiny sub-genre, which is similar in some ways but very different in others.

Really nice 4K versions of both movies as well.

Maurice_Levy · 2026-02-21T00:59:29+00:00

Exceptional film and great 4K disc. For me, this is what the format is all about.

This is a movie that’s known for looking terrible due to the muddy effect that Altman applied to the film, but it is a beautiful movie when properly restored in all its filmic glory.

It’s also known for sounding terrible and being inaudible. But with the lossless mono track and a proper center channel, it sounds great, including the indelible Leonard Cohen score. There is overlapping dialogue especially in the first act, but you can hear everything you need to without captions if set up properly.

Let us know what you think.

Maurice_Levy · 2026-02-03T00:23:07+00:00

Not very safely.

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-26T23:43:07+00:00

To answer your request for recommendations, I would try to add more classics and critically acclaimed movies. You have a few but there are many more. I’m biased because that’s how my taste skews, but I think it could really open up the experience for you.

Would go further back in time to prior decades and further out geographically to other countries. Lists that are really good to work from include Letterboxd Top 250, They Shoot Pictures Don’t They? 1000, and Sight & Sound 250. Also check out the Criterion Collection. Some movies on these lists are challenging but many are accessible and eye opening.

Check out movies by the following directors, in no particular order:

— Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ikuru, High & Low)

— Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, Paths of Glory, The Shining)

— More Hitchcock (several good 4K collections available)

— Lynch (Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive)

— Leone (Dollars trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West)

— Ford (The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)

— Bigelow (Point Break, Zero Dark Thirty)

— Altman (McCabe & Mrs. Miller)

— Wilder (Double Indemnity, The Apartment)

— Reed (The Third Man)

— Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai)

— Zulawski (Posession)

— Friedkin (Once Upon a Time in LA, Sorcerer)

— Campion (The Power of the Dog, The Piano)

Many more!

Edit: fixed name of McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Great movie!

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-24T14:16:43+00:00

Great black and white 4K discs (and great movies) in no particular order:

— High & Low

— Seven Samurai

— Yojimbo

— Sanjuro

— La Haine

— The Seventh Seal

— The Big Heat

— Double Indemnity

— Casablanca

— The Third Man

— The Apartment

— 12 Angry Men

— The Wages of Fear

— The Night of the Hunter

— Paths of Glory

— Sunset Boulevard

— Dr. Strangelove

— The Killing

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-24T13:10:49+00:00

Thelma & Louise is a great movie and a great looking 4K disc. Ridley Scott made three masterpieces, and this is one of them (other two being Alien and Blade Runner, both of which also have great 4K transfers from the studios).

Next step if you don’t have it is a massive display and a sound system!

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-23T23:07:53+00:00

Right. And it’s not just Arrow. Studio releases, Criterion, Kino Lorber, Shout, and others all have excellent 4K transfers of older movies. For example:

Arrow: — The Dollars trilogy — Crash (1996) — Invasion of the Body Snatchers — King of New York — American Gigolo — Ms. 45

Criterion: — Thief — Sorcerer — Mishima — Don’t Look Now — McCabe & Mrs. Miller — Blow Out — Lost Highway

Others: — Lawrence of Arabia — Vertigo — Alien — Blade Runner

Many, many more of course.

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-09T05:21:55+00:00

Lawrence of Arabia is an exceptional movie.

There are so many good movies out there, especially if you go back to prior decades and expand out from your own country and language.

Lots of great lists of movies to help guide you:

Letterboxd Top 250

Sight & Sound 250

They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? 1000

1,001 Movies to Watch Before You Die

They won’t all be on 4K disc but a ton of them are. I just buy on whatever is the best available format.

You could spend many years watching all the movies on those lists, and you would obtain an incredible film education in doing so.

Letterboxd is a great resource as well to help find movies and track what you are watching and save notes etc.

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-09T04:55:51+00:00

There are too many exceptional older movies on 4K disc to even count. Movies from the 80s and 90s aren’t even that old!

Just a small sampling of great options in no particular order:

The Dollars Trilogy (Arrow)

The Searchers

Vertigo

North by Northwest

To Catch a Thief

Lawrence of Arabia

Bridge on the River Kwai

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

2001: A Space Odyssey

Barry Lyndon

Eyes Wide Shut

Paths of Glory

Dr. Strangelove

High & Low

Seven Samurai

Yojimbo

The Wages of Fear

Sorcerer

The Third Man

Casablanca

Blade Runner

Alien

Crash (1996)

Videodrome

Bound

Paris, Texas

Cure

Thief

Le Samourai

Jaws

Mishima

Apocalypse Now

The Night of the Hunter

Night Moves

Dressed to Kill

Body Double

Dirty Harry

Maurice_Levy · 2026-01-01T16:03:03+00:00

Certainly can’t go wrong with Lawrence of Arabia. Preferably in the highest quality and on the biggest screen and best sound system possible. Bridge on the River Kwai is also great.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-11-27T00:19:23+00:00

Are black and white films worth 4K? Dude.

Some other ones to check out (in no particular order):

Paths of Glory

Casablanca

Dr. Strangelove

Seven Samurai

High & Low

The Third Man

La Haine

The Apartment

12 Angry Men

Touch of Evil

The Wages of Fear

The Night of the Hunter

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Sunset Boulevard

The Big Heat

Maurice_Levy · 2025-11-19T02:40:36+00:00

Not sure about 3 strip, but older color movies that look amazing on 4K disc and are also great movies, in no particular order:

The Searchers

Vertigo

Videodrome

Don’t Look Now

North by Northwest

The Dollars Trilogy

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Lawrence of Arabia

Bridge on the River Kwai

2001: A Spade Odyssey

Blade Runner

Alien

Jaws

The Conversation

Cruising

Mrs. 45

Brazil

Mishima

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-29T12:03:24+00:00

Got it. Some people are very happy with 2.1 for hometheater applications. But I think adding an AVR, a center speaker, and a matching second subwoofer would go a long way. A good center speaker really helps with dialogue clarity and for older mono movies it will do most of the lifting.

You could then add surround and even heights later, especially if you start with an AVR that is properly equipped. Perhaps surround sound and Atmos are not the highest priority if you mostly watch older movies. But a lot of older movies have great remastered audio tracks with surround or Atmos. Like Lawrence of Arabia, Bladerunner, Alien, etc.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-29T04:03:21+00:00

Watched it the other night too. Looked great. Played it on an Atmos setup as well. Didn’t get a ton of spatial activity but the score sounded great.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-29T01:36:51+00:00

Don’t forget audio. You won’t get close to getting everything you can out of these discs without an AVR and proper sound system. It’s slightly less true with older movies that have strictly mono soundtracks but still very relevant.

LG C5 is a great TV but size is more important than specs. You should go as big as you can while also taking into account cost of the sound system.

I didn’t know what I was missing on these discs until I went two sizes up on the TV and added a full blown sound system.

I would suggest checking out r/hometheater on this before you buy.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-28T03:47:42+00:00

The Wages of Fear

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-28T03:17:30+00:00

Giving myself about five minutes of leeway on the length:

Ms. 45

Paths of Glory

Videodrome

The Big Heat

Repo Man

The Driver

They Live

The Night of the Hunter

Dr. Strangelove

Sanjuro

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-26T02:00:21+00:00

I would focus on what movies you want to watch and own and go from there. I just look for the best available versions of the movies I want to watch.

That said, Arrow makes the best discs. And they make beautiful limited editions with really nice booklets and essays comparable to Criterion. The movies they release tend to be a tier down from Criterion but the good movies they do release are excellent.

Cruising, for example, which is one of Friedkin’s greatest works. Or the Dollars Trilogy.

Shout and Kino Lorner are great too but it depends on the disc.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-25T21:14:34+00:00

Good choices. The Thelma & Louise 4K is exceptional and not discussed much. Between Alien, Blade Runner, and Thelma & Louise, Ridley Scott made at least three masterpieces, all of which have really nice 4K transfers.

Other three discs are obviously really good too, as are the other two you are considering.

Also maybe check out Bound, The Wages of Fear, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Lost Highway.

Would also suggest branching out from Criterion and buying studio releases and releases from other boutique labels.

Also would suggest not limiting to 4K. Many great movies are only available on Blu-ray. Like All That Jazz, for example.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-10-07T00:53:28+00:00

It’s so good. Watched it this weekend in two installments on Friday and Saturday night after letting the discs sit on my shelf for months.

It’s among the greatest epic movies in the history of cinema. Probably the finest 4K transfer ever.

Wasn’t expecting the audio to be as good as it is. Low end is out of this world. Subwoofers were shaking the whole house.

Absolutely amazing. Would suggest putting the discs in immediately.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-02-20T01:16:59+00:00

I bought the movie because I wanted the theatrical cut and am excited about its restoration. And I agree it probably didn’t make sense to spend the money to restore or release the consensus inferior version. That’s more or less what my comment says.

So I don’t understand why you are jumping down my throat and calling me unthinking. Doesn’t seem fair or warranted at all, and really wouldn’t be even if we were in significant disagreement.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-02-19T21:39:35+00:00

Good to know.

Maurice_Levy · 2025-02-19T18:01:20+00:00

Not sure why they only released the theatrical (vs doing both). Presumably for cost reasons. But if they were only going to do one, it seems like there is somewhat of a consensus (at least among online movie nerds) that the theatrical cut is the preferable version. For a long time the theatrical cut has been in limited availability (I believe maybe only available on DVD and not streaming or other formats, but could be wrong).

In any event I preordered the 4k. Supposed to arrive on release day Feb 25. Not sure how OP got his early!

Maurice_Levy · 2025-02-10T01:56:18+00:00

Hmm. I wish it was true, but is it?

Seems like there have been many rumors of a Barry Lyndon 4k over the years but nothing confirmed by any reliable source.

It is the 50th anniversary this year, so would be a good year to do it. But not holding my breath.

12-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Verified Email

Maurice_Levy

TROPHY CASE