Carlotta Films

Region 2 - PAL

2.37:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.14 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

2.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.53 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Carlotta Films

MGM (PAL)

2.0 Dolby Digital English, German (dub), French (dub), Italian (dub), Spanish (dub)

Chapters 20

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen - 2.37:1

Edition Details:
• Featurette - Anthony Mann, Un Homme de L'ouest (13 min)
• Featurette - Super Mann de Jean-Luc Godard (13 min)
• Featurette - Tavernier / Rissient, Propos sur Mann (21 min)
• (NOTE: All Extras are in French with NO English subtitles)

DVD Release Date: June 3, 2004
Keep Case inside handsome cardboard box

Chapters 12

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.37:1

Edition Details:
• None
 

Chapters 16

It is, single-layered, anamorphic, progressive, and coded for region 1 in the NTSC standard. There are optional subtitles and mono DUBs - and there are, unfortunately no extras. It's a fabulous price for an essential film - now without the vocal adjustment of PAL speedup. One of the best buys of the year in my opinion.  

****

ON THE CARLOTTA - MGM (PAL): At last year's BOLOGNA DVD AWARDS (the one where 'Best Collection' went to the Chaplin Boxset (R2) where some films are wrongly formatted in 1.33:1 instead of OAR 1.19:1 pillarbox - SEE HERE) - anyway they gave this the award for 'Technical Quality' to this "Man of the West" DVD- yet it is not anamorphic, shows damage marks and has a peculiar frame shifting problem (one that I also noticed in the French version of Eric Rohmer's "Le Rayon Vert" in the Gaumont Boxset - see below). So I don't know what these Bologna DVD Awards use for criteria, but I think their name more accurately reflects the Western expression of the luncheon meat rather than any true discerning quality.

This Carlotta DVD has some issues - but colors are very strong and it has relative sharpness on a television tube. Its failings are when you use either widescreen TV or projection. The frame shifting bouncing (example below) is VERY distracting. It goes back and forth continuously. On normal TV's it is covered by overscan - so even if you are able to zoom 'out' (avoiding overscan) - you still are maddened occasionally by this obvious flaw.

It has removable French subtitles and a French DUB option (as well as original English). Extras are interesting but totally in French with no subtitle option. Audio is fairly weak and inconsistent. I don't mean to sound overly critical as it is the only version of this great film available on DVD at present, but it really doesn't hold a candle to say the Region 1 release of "Rio Bravo" (for example).

Gary Tooze

The MGM is only marginally an improvement. The image has not been restored, but seemingly merely cleaned up. The colour scheme is about the same, but MGM has more details and is sharper. However, the MGM has problems with, for instance, colour banding.

This is one of the most important Westerns ever made, but to release it in such a form, without any extras at all, is almost as if MGM is completely indifferent about their films.

Henrik Sylow