"The English Patient" Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Miramax (2 disc CE) - Region 1

directed by Anthony Minghella
USA 1996

Like other drama films, The English Patient centers around the defining moments in one, or a few peoples, lives. War and the threat of war are most effective for these personal dramas which often coincide with the characters most impassioned love affairs. Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient had the premise already set with his winner of Britain's prestigious Booker prize. The English Patient as a literary work has become one of the most popular and widely read in the past decade. Minghella went about the impossible task of writing the screenplay, weaving through the labyrinthine of the novel.
Before even the first scene, The English Patient begins with a close-up of a painter's brush outlining a dancing figure on a rough surface. It is then superimposed onto the desert - a view from a plane - the figure now appears to be swimming. We have no idea who or where the painter is or what significance the swimming motion is. We will be enlightened before the end of this fascinating film as the pieces of the puzzle start to come together.
Questions like this are one of the things I enjoyed most about director and screen writer Anthony Minghella's magnificent cinematic contribution to the forgotten genre of expertly honed melodramas. His themes become so complex, deeply layered, and subtly defined that it sustains such longevity in re-watch-ability.
As Roger Ebert says:
“It’s the kind of movie you should see at least twice--first for the questions, the second time for the answers."

Excerpt from Gary Tooze's review found HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: Nov. 15, 1996

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DVD Comparison:

Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Miramax (2 disc CE) - Region 1 - NTSC

The Miramax CE version is on the TOP 100 List of DVDs.

Big thanks to Enrique B Chamorro for all the Screen Caps!

(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Miramax (2 disc CE) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
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Distribution	Miramax Region 1 - NTSC	Miramax Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	2:41:30	2:41:30
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.57 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.19 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Miramax
Bitrate: Miramax (2 disc CE)
Audio	English DD 5.1	English DD & DTS 5.1
Subtitles	English, Spanish	English, French, Spanish
Features	Release Information: Studio: Miramax Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • VOB file dates: 02/18/98 • Static Menus • Single page chapter list insert • No extras beyond 2 screens promoting 4 other films DVD Release Date: 03/28/98 Platic Keepcase Chapters 32	Release Information: Studio: Miramax Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • VOB file dates: 05/13/04 • Animated Menus • 4 page chapter list insert • New comm. with dir. Anthony Minghella • Criterion's laserdisc comm. with Minghella, novelist Ondaatje and prod. Zaentz • All other bonus material on disc 2; About Michael Ondaatje • From Novel to Screenplay • The Formidable Saul Zaentz - Producer • A Historical Look at the Real Count Almasy • Filmmaker Conversations (Minghella, Zaentz, Ondaatje, Murch) • The Work of Stuart Craig - Production Designer • The Eyes of Phil Bray - Still Photographer • Master Class with Minghella - Deleted Scenes (from Criterion's LD) 20 mins • Black and White to Colour: The Making of The English Patient CBC doc. 53 mins • Trailers for 6 other films and 3 text reviews of The English Patient DVD Release Date: 06/29/04 Plastic Slim Double Keepcase Chapters 31

Comments

The anamorphic DVD image is superior in every category. It shows more of the image on the top and right sides, the skin tones (which are decidedly red in the old version) are much more realistic in the new version, contrast and sharpness both go to the new 2 disc edition as well. Extras are obviously to the new version. 2 key Criterion Laser Disc extras have made it to the new DVD. Missing are 1 Trailer, 5 TV spots, The English Patient: A Passionate Journey 24 min. doc, Novel and Screenplay readings by Ondaatje and Minghella. The new version offers a DTS track as an option to the 5.1. The audio is exceptional. I don't think the image has reached its fullest potential yet as even the new CE has edge enhancement and halos that affect vertical lines of many scenes. A shame.

There is a Canadian version out by Alliance Atlantis where they have replaced the DTS with a French DUB (in both new and old version). Alliance Atlantis first version was a DVD 10 (2 sides single layer). The Alliance is compared to the Region 2 version HERE.

Hopefully a Region 2 (France) DVD will come along to put all of these to shame.

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Miramax (2 disc CE) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)