"8 Women" Seville Region 1 NTSC vs Paramount Region 2 PAL

(aka "8 Women" or "8 donne e un mistero" or "Huit femmes")

directed by François Ozon
France 2002

A desperately welcome polar opposite to the atrocious Moulin Rouge, François Ozon's 8 Women is about as much fun as you should be allowed to have in the dark while still maintaining possession of your clothes. It's pretty easy to cram a bunch of good-looking, super-popular stars into the same film and hope their charisma will overshadow a lack of originality, but Women is the rare example of an ensemble picture that doesn't disappoint when it comes to style and substance.

Set at an isolated French country estate during a Christmas Day in the late '50s, Women quickly establishes itself as a murder-mystery, as family patriarch Marcel (Dominique Lamure) is found in his bedroom with a knife jutting out of his back. The phone lines have been cut and the gate is completely blocked by snow, leaving the house's eight occupants (both family and servants) as suspects for Marcel's murder.

Excerpt from Planet Sick-Boy's review located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: January 8th, 2002 - France

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DVD Comparison:

Seville - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Paramount ( 3 disc) - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Kevin Tran for the all of the Screen Caps!

(Seville - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Seville Pictures Region 1 - NTSC	Paramount Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:45:52	1:46:04
Video	1.78 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.68 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.49 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Seville
Bitrate: Paramount
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0)	French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS)
Subtitles	English (removable)	French and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Seville Pictures Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: Bilingual menus • Musical Highlights • Audio commentary by Fanny Ardant, Ludivine Sagnier and director Francois Ozon (all in French) • Making-of Featurette (like the one on R2 - about 60 min) • Theatrical Trailer • Music Videos (2 clips: Catherine Deneuve "Toi, Jamais", and Ludivine Sagnier "Papa t'es pas dans l'coup") • Behind the Scenes (Interview with 8 actresses and costume designer - like on R2 - about 50 min) • Also by Francois Ozon (Filmography) • Collectible Booklet DVD Release Date: 2/25/2003 Keep Case Chapters 35	Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: 14 page booklet insert DVD 1: The film (1h46) High Definition Transfer Audio DTS and DD 5.1 (French) Subtitles; French only Audio Commentary by Francois Ozon, Dominique Besnehard, Fanny Ardant, Ludivine Savignier, Agathe Grau (scripte) Karaoke: "Papa t'es plus dans l'coup" (translated = Daddy, you're no longer in the loop) Trailers Format 1.85 - enhanced 16/9 DVD 2: Parfums de "8 Femmes" (translated = Scent of "8 Women") Making-of (62 min) Interview with 8 actresses and costume designer (about 50 min) Screen tests of the actresses (no sound) (37 min) Parisian preview Outtakes and deleted scenes (14 min) Press conference - Berlin World Film Festival Real Promo Teaser Clips: Catherine Deneuve "Toi, Jamais" (You, Never) - directed by Dominique Isserman Ludivine Sagnier "Papa t'es plus dans l'coup" - directed by Francois Ozon Theatrical Posters Format 1.33 - Stereo DVD 3: Secrets of "8 Femmes" Huit Femmes: a play by Robert Thomas (2h10) - recorded at Marigny theatre on Feb 7, 1972 by Pierre Sabbagh. Directed by Jean Le Poulain. Nostalgie Melodies: Taken from TV performances during the 70s and 80s: Francoise Hardy "Message Personnel" 1974 (sung in the movie by Isabelle Huppert) Nicoletta "A Quoi Sert de Vivre Libre" 1975 - What's the point of living free (sung by Fanny Ardant in the movie) Dalida "Pour ne pas vivre seul" 1972 - To not live alone (sung by Firmine Richard in the movie) Corinne Charby "Pile ou Face" 1987 - Head or Tail (sung by Emmanuelle Beart in the movie) Jane Manson "Toi, Jamais" 1979 - You, Never (sung by Deneuve in the movie) Georges Brassens "Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux" 1975 - There's no happy love (sung by Danielle Darrieux in the movie) Interview with Catherine Deneuve and Fanny Ardant by David Pujadas Format 1.33 - Mono CD Audio - Original Soundtrack of the film: All the songs done by the actresses and original score by Krishna Levy (about 36 min) DVD Release Date: November 7th, 2002 Digi-pak in slipcase box Chapters 23

Comments:

NOTE: The Paramount has no English subtitles.

Although the Seville edition is taken from the PAL source ( see time are same) there was no visible "ghosting" or other artifacts associated in these screen captures from Kevin. However, it must be there to some degree. Otherwise the picture quality of the two releases is quite similar. I give a slight edge to the Paramount as it appears a shade sharper. The big issue are the Extras which are extremely extensive for the Paramount. Any fans of Ozon or this film will want the "Velvet Box" edition, as it is known. Both DVDs are anamorphic and the Seville appears to be out of print at present. Neither edition appears cropped and the colors are similar in both.

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Seville - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures