How Green Was My Valley Blu-ray

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

directed by John Ford

USA 1941

Winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), this “Hollywood milestone” (Halliwell’s Film Guide) from producer Darryl F. Zanuck and director John Ford is “one of the finest” pictures ever made (Variety).

Seen through the eyes of a boy (Roddy McDowall), How Green Was My Valley is the inspiring yet heart breaking story of young parents (Donald Crisp and Sara Allgood) struggling to keep their family together as they endure severe hardship in a small Welsh mining town. Co-starring Maureen O’Hara and Walter Pidgeon, this acclaimed classic captures the sentiments and issues of its time while reminding us of the dreams, struggles and triumphs that can touch every family.

Winner of 5 Academy Awards. 1941 Actor in a Supporting Role; Art Direction (Black and White); Cinematography (Black and White); Directing and Outstanding Motion Picture.

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 28th, 1941

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Comparison:

20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC vs. 20th Century Fox Studio Classics version - Region 1- NTSC vs. 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray

20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
20th Century Fox Studio Classics version - Region 1- NTSC MIDDLE
20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers

Distribution

20th Century Fox

Region 1 - NTSC

20th Century Fox (Studio Classics)

Region 1 - NTSC

20th Century Fox

Region FREE - Blu-ray

Distribution	Twentieth Century Fox Region 1 - NTSC	Twentieth Century Fox Region 1 - NTSC	20th Century Fox Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:58:52	1:58:56	1:58:36.484
Video	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.95 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.95 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 42,854,945,571 bytes Feature Size: 40,791,201,792 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.73 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: 20th Century Fox - old
Bitrate: 20th Century Fox - newer
Bitrate: 20th Century Fox Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2787 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2787 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio Spanish 1033 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1033 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) DTS Audio German 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 1037 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1037 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles	English, Spanish and none	English, Spanish and none	English, Spanish, French, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1 Layers: Dual Edition Details: • Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby • Theatrical trailer(s) DVD Release Date: March 7, 2000 Keep Case Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1 Layers: Dual Edition Details: • Black & White, Closed-captioned • Audio Commentary by Anna Lee Nathan and Film Historian Joseph McBride • AMC Backstory Episode • Still Gallery • Theatrical Trailer DVD Release Date: January 14, 2003 Keep Case Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Disc Size: 42,854,945,571 bytes Feature Size: 40,791,201,792 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.73 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Anna Lee Nathan and Film Historian Joseph McBride • AMC Backstory Episode (24:34) • Theatrical Trailer (1:45) Blu-ray Release Date: January 15th, 2013 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

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

ADDITION: 20th Century Fox Region FREE Blu-ray - (March 2013) - The Fox Blu-ray was released 10 years and one day after the 'Studio Classics' DVD. I think it is quite an improvement. It offers the brightness of the original SD release but has none of the artefacts. Curiously there is significant amount of additional information in the top of the frame and more on the left edge. the layered contrast produces more detail and there are many scenes with a sense of depth. It has been transferred to a dual-layered disc with a very high bitrate (5 X the last DVD) and the film in 1080P has never looked better for Home theatre appreciation.

Audio is offered in a 5.1 bump in lossless and an authentic mono track in standard Dolby. Alfred Newman's score always sounds fabulous. There are also foreign language DUBs and subtitle options. The Blu-ray disc is region FREE - available in many countries.

The old commentary is included from Anna Lee Nathan and Joseph McBride author of Searching For John Ford: A Life. We also get the 25-minute AMC Backstory piece but lose the stills gallery.

How Green Was My Valley is such a strong film and Ford fans should buy this Blu-ray at their earliest convenience. Absolutely recommended!

***

ON THE DVDs: Although the restored version is darker with better contrast, I, personally, don't see it as a huge difference. The problem with the original release of the 20th Century Fox Region 1 "How Green Was My Valley" was in pixelation, especially in highly detailed areas like stone walls, etc. This seems to have been evened out nicely in the new release which is superior in that respect. Both versions are derived from the same film elements. The restored has better extras (with a commentary), but if you can get the old version cheap, you might want to go for it if you are only moderately keen on this film. The new version does look great though.

- Gary W. Tooze

Menus
(20th Century Fox R1 - NTSC Left vs. 20th Century Fox R1- RESTORED - Right)

20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray

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

Subtitle Sample - 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray