CLICK to order from:     Available in a Dual Format Blu-ray package December 5th, 2011:

 

Studio:

Theatrical: Produzioni Europee Association

Blu-ray: BFI

 

Disc:

Region: 'B'-locked (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)

Runtime: 2:10:08.133

Disc Size: 42,080,952,152 bytes

Feature Size: 35,513,199,168 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps

Chapters: 16

Case: Standard Blu-ray case

Release date: April 27th, 2009

 

Video:

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

 

Audio:

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
LPCM Audio Italian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

 

Subtitles:

English (SDH), English, none

 

Extras:

• Alternative English-language version (2:10:15)

• Original trailer

• Deleted Sequences (21:11)

• Fully illustrated booklet including essays, reviews and biography

 

 

The Film:

The final part of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life was two years in the making. The locations - Yemen, Ethiopia, Iran and Nepal - form a rich, exotic backdrop to these tales of slaves and kings, potions, betrayals, demons and, most of all love and lovemaking in all its myriad forms. Engrossing, mysterious, profound and liberating, Arabian Nights is an exquisitely dreamlike, sensuous and adult interpretation of the original folk tales, presented here in a beautiful new High-Definition restoration.

Excerpt of review from BFI located HERE

Posters

 

Image:  NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

While the image here isn't quite as detailed as the other two discs covering the trilogy, it is still far better than the film has looked since its initial release, and probably better than it'll ever look in the future. While some of the shots in here look positively flawless, a few here and soft, and even a couple of instances of show undesirable damage marks. These complaints are, however, very minor and it does seem to have substantially more grain than the others in the trilogy on BFI Blu-ray. By and large the restoration done on all three films is impressive. The skin tones here are generally good, and other colors (reds in particular) are a bit duller than the other two films but I appreciated the textures.

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio & Music:

Like The Canterbury Tales - the PCM 2.0 channel mono audio at 2304 kbps is quite crisp and clear. There is no hiss or untoward distortion. Instead the audio is continuously crisp with both the dialogue and music sounding clear. Similarly, the subtitles (sample above) are easily read and unobtrusive. Finally, like most Italian cinema of the day, the film suffers from a loose synchronization process. This is inherent in the original print of the film and has been preserved by the BFI. Gary tells me his Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked disc.  

 

 

Operations:

Simple and effective. The disc uses the traditional pop-up menus found on most Blu-rays. The information is easy to find and access.

 

Extras:

One may access, seamlessly branched, the alternate English version. It is simply the optional English DUB and English language credits (playing in the opening for 2:22 of the presentation that display the 'United Artists' logo... and the 'The End' at the completion). There are no text-related scenes in the film requiring translation to English. I couldn't put English subtitles on the English DUB version.

 

 

There is another original trailer and a compilation of about 21 minutes worth of excised footage. Unfortunately, this material either was never dubbed or has had its original soundtrack lost, so the footage is set to the film's soundtrack. While I could be mistaken, some of this appears to be virtually identical to the material in the film itself. Finally, there's also a booklet containing new and reprinted essays on the film, including an negative review from its initial release.

 

Menus

 

 

Bottom line:

Like the other films in his trilogy, "Arabian Nights" is impacting and continues Pasolini's recurring themes. The image quality is imperfect but the best I have ever seen the film. I give this my highest recommendation and hope that you'll check it out. Admittedly, I am biased but these three releases are a strong contender for my pick for Blu-Ray of the year!

December 15th, 2009