directed by Mamoru Oshii
Japan / Poland 2001
The unknown gem in the Walter Reade's ambitious sci-fi
show, Avalon is a "live-action" feature by anime maestro Mamoru Oshii—acquired
by Miramax at the 2001 Cannes but never released in the U.S. The movie,
which was shot in Poland, begins with World War II-era tanks rolling across
a sepia battlefield. The CGI effects are sensationally evocative—explosions
freeze and then separate into two-dimensional layers. The action shifts to
Warsaw where casualties similarly stop dead, shatter, and atomize. It's only
a virtual-reality war game: A soldier's helmet goes up to reveal a comely
young woman. "You're not ready for Class A," she remarks to the player she's
just incinerated.
Oshii's 1995 Ghost in the Shell—an anime elaborately set in a noirish
total-computer world where cyborg agents interface online or download
simulated memories into hapless humans—anticipated both The Matrix and
eXistenZ; Avalon further elaborates on their computer game aesthetic. The
protagonist, Ash (Malgorzata Foremniak), is a grave, elegant creature who
plays the illegal game solo after the implosion of her old championship
team—it fell apart after someone called for a "reset." She is, however,
spooked when she discovers that an old teammate has gone "unreturned" from
the game (and catatonic in a mental hospital) after chasing a mysterious
phantom child who is the portal to Avalon's ultimate level, Special A.
Excerpt from J. Hoberman's review at The Village Voice
located HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: 20 January 2001 - Japan
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL
Big thanks to Jim Skovrider of Jim's DVD Site for the Enter One, Pavel Borodin for the Kinowelt, Ole Kofoed for the Miramax & Panorama and Vincent BOUCHE for the Universal Screen Caps!
(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
DVD Box Covers |
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Distribution |
Miramax Region 1 - NTSC |
Universal Region 2 - PAL |
Panorama Region 0 - NTSC |
Enter One Region 3 - NTSC |
Kinowelt Region 2 - PAL |
Runtime | 1:46:22 | 1:42:27 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:46:12 | 1:46:32 | 1:42:03 (4% PAL speedup) |
Video |
1.79:1
16X9 enhanced |
1.82:1
16X9 enhanced |
1.80:1 |
1.80:1
16X9 enhanced |
1.85:1
16X9 enhanced |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Miramax
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Bitrate:
Universal (Edition Collector)
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Bitrate:
Panorama
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Bitrate:
Enter One (Special Edition)
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Bitrate:
Kinowelt
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Audio | Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, English DD 5.1 DUB, French DD 5.1 DUB. |
Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1 |
Polish Dolby Digital 5.1 and DD 2.0. |
Polish DTS-ES 6.1 (1536 Kb/sec), Dolby Digital-EX 5.1 (448 Kb/sec), Japanese DUB DD 2.0 |
Polish Dolby Digital 5.1, German DUB Dolby Digital 5.1 |
Subtitles | English, English for the Hearing Impared, French, English Closed Captions or none. | French (FORCED on polish soundtrack) | English, Chinese or none. | English, Korean, Japanese or none. (Extras only in Korean). | German or none. |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Miramax Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: November 14, 2002 Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Panorama Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: March, 2002 Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: Enter One Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Kinowelt Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: November 19, 2002 Chapters 17 |
Comments | The
Panorama screenshots is in the original size, the others are scaled down.
Notice that the French and German releases don't have English
subtitles. I have never seen the movie theatrical, so I can't judge which has the correct colors - is the American to yellow?, is the European to greenish? Well I think the Asian might be the correct. On the other hand the Asian seems a bit more soft than the others. For the region 1 release Miramax has added 6-7 voiceovers by Ash to the English dub which is not in the original Polish soundtrack, so when viewing the movie with the original sound with subtitles this is shown - quite annoying. It would have been great if Miramax also had included non-dubtitles. According to Jim the full bitrate DTS-ES on the Korean release is magnificent. Only Miramax have extras with English subtitles. NOTE: Regarding the DUB-titles, Chris Musset tells us THIS. |
DVD Menus
(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT
vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs.
Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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(Enter One (Special Edition) - Region 3 - NTSC -
LEFT vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Screen Captures
(Miramax
- Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2
- PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One
- Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
Subtitle sample
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
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(Miramax - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (Edition Collector) - Region 2 - PAL - 2nd vs. Panorama - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Enter One - Region 3 - NTSC - 4th vs. Kinowelt - Region 2 - PAL - Bottom)
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