ADDITION: Optimum 'Special Edition' Region 'B' Blu-ray - (November 2010) - Where's the grain? Bad news here - this has strong DNR and the image has lost almost all of its grain! I can't speak to the colors which look a bit boosted and funky at times but the visuals have been 'res'ed down' significantly and it has lost detail and the important texture that makes it look like actual 'film'!. Skin tones often move from fleshy-white/red (in both DVD releases) to ghastly orange. This is an over-manipulated transfer and it has not taken advantage of the new format's beneficial attributes. There is no depth at all. We are not saying it looks worse than the DVDs - but to those who can identify the waxiness of DNR - it will be hard to watch. Actually the Criterion SD-DVD shows more grain. This is a real shame for serious film fans who like to project. On a more positive note - it is in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio but contrast is also weak - which essentially controls detail (note the eye - the wrinkles under the eye in the Criterion are more prominent than on the Blu-ray). I'm disappointed. Thumbs down to the image.

Optimum redeem themselves somewhat with a lossless liner PCM 2.0 channel stereo track at a healthy 2304 kbps. It seems flawless with some depth and perceived buoyancy. While never robust it sounds the best I have ever heard the film. There are optional English subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked disc.

Extras appear to duplicate the existing Optimum DVD package with an optional 2-minute Introduction by director Martin Scorsese, an excellent commentary by critic Ian Christie (author of Arrows of Desire: The Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell: International Perspectives on an English Film-maker and A Matter of Life and Death (BFI Film Classics, among others). He is extremely professional and detailed examining and discussing extensively-researched information about the film and director - he was a pure pleasure to listen to. If I had known it was this good - I would have bought the Optimum DVD set HERE. We get a fascinating documentary entitled Eye of the Beholder - for almost 20-minutes with Christie again and Laura Mulvey (who did the Criterion commentary), Thelma Schoonmaker and others. In The Strange Gaze of Mark Lewis - we get 25-minutes of a overview of Peeping Tom (made in France I believe) with input from director Bertrand Tavernier, Charles Drazin, and others. There is a 10-minute interview with Thelma Schoonmaker and she discusses the effect the film had on Powell's reputation - especially in the UK. There is a 6-minute 'Restoration Comparison' showing correction of the color fading mostly (common for a film 50-years old), a trailer and a stills gallery.

If you are sensitive to DNR and/or love film grain then this release won't be very visually pleasing. The extras are magnificent and I have no complaints with the audio but being a Michael Powell devotee I must say I am highly disappointed with the over-processed image transfer.

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ADDITION: Studio Canal - February 2010: We have heard great things about Optimum's UK's 2-disc Special Edition of Peeping Tom HERE - which seems like a great deal right now - but we haven't had the opportunity to compare.

I think I'd give the Criterion a slight edge visually, over the French edition, with better detail, more depth and a greater amount of visible grain. Colors, however, at times, lean to the Studio Canal. Both are dual-layered and anamorphic but the Criterion shows a shade more information on the side edges and neither are in the 1.66 original aspect ratio.

Supplements, similarly, lean to the Criterion with the Mulvey commentary and 'A Very British Psycho' documentary.

Hopefully we will take a look at the Optimum's UK's 2-disc Special Edition to make a definitive statement about the best release of Peeping Tom on DVD.

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