"Russian Ark" Artificial Eye - Region 2- PAL vs. Pyramid Region 5 PAL vs Wellspring Region 1 NTSC

(aka "Russian Ark" or "Russian Ark - Eine einzigartige Zeitreise durch die Eremitage" or "Russkij kovcheg")

directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
Russian 2002

A visually hypnotizing cinematic feat, Russian Ark is Alexsandr Sokurov's spellbinding ode to St.Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum in Russia. Shot in one fluid 90 minute take using High Definition video cameras, the photography floats and careens through the lavish corridors of the museum, examining its architectural details while following a dreamlike plot. A cast of 867 actors, thousands of extras and three live orchestras supply the action of the film. Through the sheer determination of the director, or possibly a miracle, the first-ever single screen, single-take full-length feature was created.

From an interview with Alexander Sokurov
I’m no theoretician, I’m a practical director. I have never had any desire to uncover anything new. This idea of the long, unbroken shot has existed for years. I never do anything new...I am interested only in classical form and content. In the professional world, much of the art has been utterly forgotten and therefore my conduct is sometimes seen as radical, but it’s simply that I remember a lot... the very fact of art itself is unshakeable; art was perfected long ago. Here, shooting in a single take is an achievement in formal terms, but more than that it is a tool with the aid of which a specific artistic task can be resolved. It’s just a tool.

Posters

Theatrical Release: 22 May 2002 (Cannes Film Festival)

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DVD Comparison:

Artificial Eye Region 2- PAL vs. Pyramid Home Video - Region 5 - PAL vs. Wellspring - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Mikkel Svendstrup of DVDsnak for the AE captures and Andrey Dimont for the Region 5 - PAL captures!

(Artificial Eye - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. Pyramid Home Video - Region 5 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Wellspring - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Artificial Eye Film Co. Region 2 - PAL	Pyramid Home Video Region 5 - PAL	Wellspring Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:35:09 (4% PAL speedup)	1:35:09 (4% PAL speedup)	1:39:06
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.1 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.71 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.74 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Artificial Eye
Bitrate: Pyramid
Bitrate: Wellspring
Audio	Russian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)	Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1)	Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Russian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Subtitles	English and none	NONE	English, French and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Film Co. Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Making of documentary • Hubert Robert A Fortunate Life - Documentary film by Alexander Sokurov • Filmographies and biographies • Theatrical Trailer • Production Notes • Weblinks DVD Release Date: September 29th, 2003 Keep Case Chapters 14	Release Information: Studio: Pyramid Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Main title - 1.35.12 (as reported by powerdvd) Interview - 0.03.18 "One Take Movie" documentary - 0.27.15 Trailer (Russian) - 0.0.15 Trailer (US) - 0.02.12 Making of Russian Ark - 0.06.53 There is a 4-page booklet DVD Release Date: Unknown Super Jewel Case Chapters 25	Release Information: Studio: Wellspring Media, Inc. Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by producer Jens Meurer • Non-anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer (2:17) • In Russian with English subtitles • In One Breath - Making-of (43:24) • Mon Paradis interviews (47:31) • Interviews (6:07) • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: September 9, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 28

Comments:

ADDITION (January 2004 ) - Artificial Eye - Region 2-PAL

The Pyramid release still seems slightly superior in terms of image quality but it is almost negligible. The Artificial Eye only has the 2.0 audio track and looks slightly cropped in spots but possibly it is the inaccuracy of our frame captures (they were hard to be exact as it is such a dark transfer). Colors again look the same in all three releases. Their Extras are good, and include "A Fortunate Life" by Sokurov. I doubt I would change if I had the Artificial Eye - especially if I don't understand Russian. But people who own the Wellspring may want "A Fortunate Life" enough to own both. Unfortunately this is looking about as good as this film will get on DVD. Shame.

The colors of these two anamorphic issues are virtually identical, which is a positive sign. The Wellspring image is les sharp and very slightly cropped in comparison to the Pyramid Region 5 version. The Extras are in favor of the Wellspring which really went to town with some long shorts ('Making of' and 'interviews'). The big issue is that the Pyramid version does not have English subtitles, so it can easily be dismissed by most people ( as they don't speak Russian), but its nice to compare the two to see that the colors and aspect ratio have been maintained.

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Artificial Eye - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. Pyramid Home Video - Region 5 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Wellspring - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)