ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' Blu-ray - January 2020': WOW! We love when there are differences. The Criterion is described as a "New, restored 4K digital transfer". I'm going to plead total ignorance as to how Pasolini's Teorema looked theatrically. I am going to do some research, but can't, at present, be sure which image is closest to the way the film was shown originally. The Criterion Blu-ray image is significantly brighter, has a teal/green leaning and shows a shade less information in the frame on the right and bottom edge (sometimes a bit more on the left edge). I happen to like the, very grain-heavy, HD presentation - it shows much more detail - I just have to get used to the color shift having seen the BFI for years.  

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM 1.0 channel mono track (24-bit) in the original Italian language. Criterion include a lossy English DUB (with Terence Stamp and others). The score is by the great Ennio Morricone (Who Saw Her Die The Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Fifth Cord, Luna, A Bullet for the General, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, U Turn, Stay As You Are etc. etc.) and it is authentically flat but carries a modicum of depth is spots. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray includes the same audio commentary from 2007 featuring Robert S. C. Gordon, author of Pasolini: Forms of Subjectivity - that is on the 2007 BFI DVD and 2001 BFI Blu-ray. His comments remain revealing and he provides some keen insight into the film and Pasolini. There is a brief introduction by director Pier Paolo Pasolini that was first broadcast on February 8,1969, where the director responds to questions from journalist Cecile Philippe about his film Teorema. There is the same 1/2 hour interview from 2007 with Stamp (also on other editions) plus a new 16-minute interview with John David Rhodes, author of Stupendous Miserable City: Pasolini’s Rome. In this interview, shot by the Criterion Collection in 2019, the film scholar discusses Teorema with revealing depth. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by film scholar James Quandt.

As I, always, state - we love 'differences' and this gave me a whole new viewing experience. One I, truly, embraced. The film gets better with age. I urge all Pasolini fans to see Criterion's new restored 4K-transfer 1080P presentation and re-gauge the impact of the film. WOW - again! 

Gary Tooze  

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ADDITION: BFI - Region 2 - PAL Sept 07': Finally - this is the strongest image by a wide margin - the screen captures tell the story below. It is rich, dark at times but colors have a vibrancy and detail is vastly improved.  There is some movement in the frame with all three editions. The progressive, anamorphic and dual-layered BFI DVD has Italian audio and optional English subtitles.

Extras include a half hour interview with Terence Stamp and an excellent commentary by Italian Film expert Robert Gordon who is precise and professional in his manner - a great listen as his knowledge is extensive (as good as any commentarist I've heard this year). Included is a fully illustrated 14-page booklet including an essay by Italian film expert Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, review by Philip Strick from 1969 and biographies of Pasolini and Stamp.

No contest - the BFI is the best! 

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