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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

by Billy Wilder 
1955 USA

Featuring one of the most iconic images in cinema history, this classic Billy Wilder comedy will seduce you on Blu-Ray. Marilyn Monroe lights up the screen as a voluptuous actress known only as "The Girl," who moves into the apartment above a married man named Richard (Tom Ewell.) While Richard's wife and son are away for the summer, his marriage vows are put to the ultimate test by The Girl's sexy charm and unwitting flirtations. Will the smitten Richard stay faithful or will he succumb to "the seven year itch"?'

***

Fondly remembered as the film in which Marilyn has problems with her skirt on a New York subway grating, this isn't quite the smasheroo that Some Like It Hot is: Monroe flaunts her attributes too blatantly, and seems less human because of it, while George Axelrod's play, fresh and risquι in the '50s, now appears a little obvious and over-plotted. Writer Tom Ewell's wife goes on a summer vacation, and the timid hubby becomes a flaming ball of sex, but - as with most Axelrod heroes (Roddy McDowall in Lord Love a Duck, Jack Lemmon in How to Murder Your Wife) - it's all in the mind.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters 

Theatrical Release date: June 3rd, 1955

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Comparison

TBMC Region 0 - HK vs. CBS/Fox Region 1 vs. 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP MIDDLE

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers

Distribution TBMC
Region 0 
CBS/Fox
Region 1
- NTSC

20th Century Fox

Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

Also available in the Forever Marilyn Blu-ray Collections in the US, Canada and the UK. The North American package has The Misfits - Some Like It Hot - There's No Business Like Show Business - River Of No Return - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - How To Marry A Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch. The UK Blu-ray version has Some Like it Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch.

         

Runtime 1:43:52 1:44:16 1:44:24.258
Video 1.33:1 Pan and Scan 
Average Bitrate: 4.61 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
2.55:1 Letterboxed WideScreen Anamorphic
Average Bitrate: 6.44 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 38,725,628,350 bytes

Feature: 28,943,984,640 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.95 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Bitrate:

TBMC

Bitrate:

CBS/Fox

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

Audio English ( MPEG 2 )

English (Dolby Digital 3.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3025 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3025 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 2124 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2124 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 3.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
DTS Express English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles English, Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, None English, Spanish English (SDH), Chinese, French, Indonesian, Korean , Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, None
Features

Discographic Information:
No DVD Encoding: Region 0
Layers: Single

Edition Details:
• 9 Chapters
• Color

 

DVD Release Date: 1998
Keep Case
Chapters: 9

Discographic Information:
DVD Encoding: Region 1
Layers: Dual

Edition Details:
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Movietone News: New York Premiere
• Backstory: The Seven Year Itch
• 2 deleted scenes: Bathtub & Subway
• Widescreen anamorphic format

DVD Release Date: May 14th, 2002
Keep Case
Chapters: 32

Studio:
20th Century Fox

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 38,725,628,350 bytes

Feature: 28,943,984,640 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.95 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Wilder biograpgher Arthur Kevin Lally
• Isolated Score Track

• Hays Code PiP Sexual Innuendo Meter

• Marilyn Monroe Interactive Timeline

• Monroe and Wilder - an intersection of Genius (25:28)

• Fox Movie Channel Presents - Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman (17:22)

• 2 Deleted Scenes - Bathtub & Subway (3:33)
• Hollywood Backstory: The Seven Year Itch (24:25)
• Publicity
Movietone News: New York Premiere and Trailers (5:20)

Stills Galleries

Blu-ray Release Date: July 31st, 2012
Standard
Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 22

Comments:

NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

 

ADDITION: 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray (July 2012): This may have been our first DVD comparison - we had not yet established the method that we use today. The TBMC DVD was a pan-and-scan Chinese bootleg but it did come out before the 2002 Fox DVD.

 

My impressions of the new Blu-ray are that it is softer than I was anticipating - but consistent with nice colors. It is in the original 2.55:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. It has a nice film-like thickness to it with grain and textures showing. There is no depth but the overall presentation is quite pleasing and a general notch above the last SD. It is on a dual-layered disc with a strong bitrate. I love the film and enjoyed my viewing very much.

 

 

Audio come in the form of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at 3025 kbps and Alfred Newman's score sounds beautiful. The extras offer an Isolated Score Track that is similarly supportive of The Seven Year Itch's music. There isn't a ton of crisp separation in the lossless but depth is there creating a pleasant ambience. There are DUBs and subtitles that indicate the disc is region FREE.

 

There are a lot of extras including a professional commentary by Wilder biographer Arthur Kevin Lally (Wilder Times: The Life of Billy Wilder) who divulges plenty of back story details on the production and the marvelous director Wilder. Maybe a bit gimicky but it might be fun for some - a Hays Code picture-in-picture Sexual Innuendo Meter and a Marilyn Monroe Interactive Timeline. There is a 25-minute piece entitled Monroe and Wilder - an intersection of Genius, plus we get 17-minutes with Tom Rothman hosting a Fox Movie Channel Presents - Fox Legacy video segment. There are the rest of the extras from the 2002 DVD including the 2 Deleted Scenes - Bathtub & Subway, the Hollywood Backstory: The Seven Year Itch (24:25) and under 'Publicity' - Movietone News: New York Premiere and s Trailers (US and Spanish). There are also stills galleries.

 

Since I have The Misfits and Some Like It Hot already on Blu-ray and am only keen on River of No Return left in the North American package I would probably opt to buy this individually hoping that Bus Stop, Niagara and Don't Bother to Knock reach 1080P sooner rather than later. The Seven Year Itch is essential Marilyn and most fans won't hesitate to pick this up.

 -Gary Tooze


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1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC -  LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT

 

20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920 X 1080 RESOLUTION

 

Titles

 

1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM



1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) TBMC - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP LEFT

2) CBS/Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP RIGHT

3) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

More Blu-ray Captures

 

Box Covers

Distribution TBMC
Region 0 
CBS/Fox
Region 1
- NTSC

20th Century Fox

Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

Also available in the Forever Marilyn Blu-ray Collections in the US, Canada and the UK. The North American package has The Misfits - Some Like It Hot - There's No Business Like Show Business - River Of No Return - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - How To Marry A Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch. The UK Blu-ray version has Some Like it Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch.

        

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Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Blu-ray