This article contains several comparisons which contrast the older Kino Lorber Studio Classics Blu-ray transfer (2015) with their new 4K-sourced restoration. The frames aren’t necessarily exact matches, but should give a solid indication of the visual differences.
Steve De Jarnatt’s beloved apocalyptic romance Miracle Mile is returning to Blu-ray in a stunning new 4K-restored Blu-ray. Like De Jarnatt’s other cult classic Cherry 2000, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has previously released the film on Blu-ray before, but is reintroducing it to the format with a new master, extras, and packaging.
Comparing the Transfers
Even more than with Cherry 2000, this edition represents an across-the-board improvement. The 2015 disc was advertised as “newly remastered in HD”, while the new HD master is sourced “from a 4K scan of the original camera negative” (the difference in language seemingly suggesting that the older transfer was from a later generation print).
The “slider” images below allow for a quick comparison of the stills from both discs by color, cleanliness, framing, but are downscaled and not representative of the full 1080p resolution. These are only illustrative of differences, and not definitive, especially in terms of resolution and clarity.
For a truer direct comparison, it’s recommended to download the image files and view them at full size on a large monitor with 1080p or higher resolution. You can download all images at full resolution in a single file zipfile below:
Definition/Film Grain
The prior release was extremely “chunky” and noisy in its presentation of grain, but the new disc has a much finer detail that’s much clearer, even on the same Blu-ray format. As much of the film takes place at night, this is especially evident in much of the nocturnal, low-lit shots.
Print Damage/Restoration
In reviewing specific frames I found many instances where various bits ans blobs in the 2015 print are no longer visible – either cleaned up or, more likely, not present in this new scan.
Contrast/Blowout
The refined contrast pulls in some additional detail that was previously lost to blowout, such as the highlights on this phone booth, and the billowing, cloudlike texture of this explosion.
But on the other side of the spectrum, darker colors and blacks look more defined as well. That seems notable since there’s usually a push-and-pull between balancing both extremes effectively.
Other Characteristics
The framing has been slightly adjusted, pulled back a smidge wider but also introducing a slight letterbox (note the slim black bars on the top and bottom of the screen).
Color differences aren’t especially pronounced, but occasionally the newer print surprises.
To bring it all home, here’s a particular shot that I felt packed in a lot of comparison points in a single image: more vibrant color, sharper grain texture, blowout mitigation (the blue sky, Fat Boy’ head) and of course the adjusted framing. Even the rows of lights that pepper the background seem more focused.
Conclusions
This is an across-the-board improvement. If you’re a fan, the only thing that might dissuade me from buying this new edition is the possibility that a true 4K UHD disc might follow (it doesn’t seem unlikely).
Besides the new new master, this updated edition 2-disc release comes packed with a slipcover and reversible art, and numerous additional extras including new restrospectives and interviews, as well as two of de Jarnatt’s early short films (which also appear on the re-release of Cherry 2000), and subtitles (which were omitted on the original release), making it overall a much more complete and definitive edition.
