Mona Lisa Blu-ray Bob Hoskins

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Neil Jordan
U.K. 1986

Writer-director Neil Jordan’s breakthrough film is a brilliant, noir-infused love story. Bob Hoskins (who snagged an Oscar nomination for his performance) plays George, a small-time loser employed as a chauffeur to an enigmatic, high-class call girl. His fascination with her leads him on a dangerous quest through the sordid underbelly of London, where love is a weakness to be exploited and betrayed.

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Comparison:

Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Anchor Bay - Region FREE - PAL vs. Image Entertainment - Region A - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Ole of DVDBasen for the R2 - PAL Screen Caps!

1) Criterion Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) Anchor Bay Region FREE - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Image Ent. - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Warner Studios Region 1 - NTSC	Warner Studios Region 2/4 - PAL	Image Entertainment Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:43:48	1:39:30 (4% PAL speedup)	1:44:12.246
Video	1.73:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate:5.58 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1:75:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 Average Bitrate: 7.26 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 16,697,677,944 bytes Feature: 16,317,794,304 bytes Video Bitrate: 17.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: Criterion R1
Bitrate: Anchor Bay - PAL
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English 2.0 and remastered 5.1	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1682 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1682 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles	English, None	English (white), none	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: June 13, 1986 Production Company: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.73:1 Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1 - NTSC Edition Details: • Commentary by director Neil Jordan and actor Bob Hoskins • Theatrical trailer • Widescreen letterbox format DVD Release Date: March 12, 2001 Keep Case Chapters 25	Mona Lisa Anchor Bay (UK) - Region 1/2/3/4/5/6 Ratio: 1.75:1 (Anamorphic) Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1-6 - PAL Sound: Subtitles: English (white). Extras: Commentary with Neil Jordan and Bob Hoskins (Same as Criterion?). Location Report - Film86/BBC (5:25). Neil Jordan in Cannes (14:11) Nat King Cole at the BBC 1965 (2:11). Filmographies/Biographies of cast and Crew. Picture Gallery. Trailer. DVD Release Date: February 2002 Keep case Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 16,697,677,944 bytes Feature: 16,317,794,304 bytes Video Bitrate: 17.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Trailer Blu-ray Release Date: August 24th, 2010 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments:

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

ADDITION: (August 2010) Image Entertainment Region 'A' - Blu-ray: This isn't much of a Blu-ray at all. It's barely 16 Gig of space on the single-layered disc and while the image is probably the best of the three - it is not demonstratively so. Colors and black levels do improve. The bitrate is between double and triple that of the DVDs. Unlike Time Bandits, Image Entertainment have given this Blu-ray rendering a progressive transfer.

The audio may be a larger improvement than the video with the musical track, in HD lossless, being notable for the superiority. This Blu-ray does have optional English subtitles but the only extra is a trailer - both DVDs have the fine commentary. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

I'd forgotten what a good film this is and fine performance by Hoskins. The positive side of this new release is the price but I probably wouldn't bother upgrading if you already owned the Criterion. That's my opinion.

***

ON THE DVDs: The Anchor Bay looks to have been vertically compressed a bit making Mr. Hoskins look even fatter and shorter. The Criterion may not be anamorphic but the picture is clearer. The commentary appears to be the same with the Anchor Bay adding a few more features including bumping the sound to 5.1. The Criterion is film sourced and shows some good film grain.