Version Guides
Restorations, re-edits, runtimes, scores, subtitles, and intertitles can make a simple film choice feel complicated. These guides give a direct first-watch answer, then explain the differences that matter.
8 guides currently published
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The Gold Rush · 1925
Start with a reconstructed 1925 silent presentation—preferably the clearly labelled 2025 4K restoration—then compare Chaplin’s 1942 reissue.
Metropolis · 1927
Choose the 2010 restoration and identify it by its restoration credits, recovered footage, and Huppertz score—not minute count alone.
Nosferatu · 1922
Begin with the tinted 2005–06 Murnau Foundation restoration, identified by its German intertitles and reconstructed Erdmann score.
Citizen Kane · 1941
Choose the 119-minute Criterion 4K restoration. It restores the presentation without establishing a different narrative cut.
Pather Panchali · 1955
Choose a restored Bengali-language presentation; the 125-minute Criterion restoration is the clearest documented first choice here.
Tokyo Story · 1953
Choose a restored Japanese-language presentation of the original 1953 film, with readable subtitles and the correct near-square image.
Touch of Evil · 1958
Choose the 1998 memo-guided reconstruction first, then compare it with the theatrical and preview cuts.
Godzilla · 1954
Start with Ishiro Honda's 96-minute Japanese original. Save the shorter 1956 American re-edit for a later comparison.