DVD (R4 vs R1)

Recently bought the R4 'official' MGM version of BAREFOOT... and was disappointed in the image quality. I thought the images looked worn and fuzzy, and the soundtrack was somewhat tinny, even allowing for the limitations of mono. I was just wondering if the R1 release was any better, or indeed whether this was a stylistic device employed for the movie or a result of poor film stock? It's irritating because the image quality is not that much better than my taped from TV VHS version I've been trundling around for years...