The Paper Blu-ray Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Wherever Mill Creek dug up this master, that place needs banned from ever mastering film again. Scanned sometimes in the late '90s maybe based on the look, this dismally low resolution imagery lacks any and all finesse. Grain appears thick, heavy, and unnaturally messy. Blame that on the thick edge enhancement evident everywhere.

Dust and dirt on the print might fit something 60 years old, not from 1994. Detail is lost somewhere between the processing and ancient scan. Fidelity makes zero gains over DVD editions of The Paper. Other than marginally better compression, reasons to upgrade are few.

Black crush zaps shadow detail whenever possible. Color appears decent, but then come overblown and bleeding reds, so that's broken too.

Audio

Other than the score, not much moves around the soundstage. The newsroom ambiance sticks to the fronts without any noticeable shift to the rears. Not even New York can push The Paper's 5.1 mix to do something with the available surrounds.

It's fine otherwise. Music can bump the low-end a touch as needed. Dialog balances well and doesn't reveal any age.