"Naked Lunch" Optimum - Region 2- PAL vs. Criterion (2 disc) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. GCTHV (2 disc) - Region 2

directed by David Cronenberg
Canada 1991

“Exterminate all rational thought.” Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs’ hallucinatory, “unfilmable” novel is finally realized on-screen by director David Cronenberg. Part-time exterminator and full-time drug addict Bill Lee (Peter Weller) plunges into the nightmarish netherworld of the Interzone, pursuing a mysterious project that leads him to confront sinister cabals and giant talking bugs. The fruit of an unholy union between two masters of the hilarious and the macabre, Naked Lunch mingles aspects of Burroughs’ novel with incidents from his own life, resulting in a compendium of paranoid fantasies and a searching investigation into the mysteries of the writing process.

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Theatrical Release: December 27th, 1991 - USA (limited)

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DVD Comparison:

Optimum - Region 2- PAL vs. Criterion (2 disc) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. GCTHV (2 disc) - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Vincent BOUCHÉ for the GCTHV Screen caps and Henrik Sylow for the Optimum Releasing Captures!!

(Optimum Releasing - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. GCTHV - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Optimum Releasing Region 2- PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine # 220 Region 0 - NTSC	Gaumont - Columbia Tri-Star Home Video Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:50:24 (4% PAL speedup)	1:55:24	1:50:28 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.13 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.56 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.87 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.
Bitrate: Optimum
Bitrate: Criterion
Bitrate: GCTHV
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)	English DD2.0 Surround and DUB: French DD2.0 Surround
Subtitles	English, and none	English, and none	French, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Optimum Releasing Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: ° Audio commentary by David Cronenberg (port from Criterion, commentary by Peter Weller no present) ° Naked Making Lunch, a London Weekend Television documentary about the making of the film, directed by Chris Rodley (48:51) Interview with producer Jeremy Thomas (21:25) ° Original theatrical trailer (1:28) Photo gallery ° Other releases: Trailers for 'American Splendor', 'Elephant' and 'Roger Dodger' DVD Release Date: July 26th, 2004 Keep case Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: Criterion / Home Vision Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: Audio commentary by Cronenberg and actor Peter Weller Naked Making Lunch, a London Weekend Television documentary about the making of the film, directed by Chris Rodley Illustrated essay about the special effects in Naked Lunch by the editor of Cinefex magazine, Jody Duncan, featuring artifacts from Cronenberg's archive Film stills gallery A collection of original marketing materials William S. Burroughs' audio recording of excerpts from Naked Lunch A collection of archival stills of William S. Burroughs from the Allen Ginsberg Trust 32-page booklet featuring essays by film critic Janet Maslin, Chris Rodley, Gary Indiana, and a piece by William S. Burroughs DVD Release Date: November 11th, 2003 Double Keep Case Chapters: 23	Release Information: Studio: GCTHV Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Audio commentary from director David Cronenberg • Interview with Serge Grünberg (French only) • The Directors : David Cronenberg documentary • David Cronenberg filmography • Interview with David Cronenberg and Howard Shore • This is a 2-disc set DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003 Double amaray Chapters 12

Comments:

Okay, apologies for the earlier GCTHV caps being out of ratio - our contributor had his Capture setting software setup incorrect. Big thanks to Henrik for also sending us the Optimum Releasing captures. Now we can see there is not a lot of differences between all three, but lets take a closer look.

Colors are different on the GCTHV and the other 2 editions. The Optimum is hazy and has the same reddish skin tones as the Criterion (I suspect a direct port). The Criterion is cropped slightly in comparison to the other 2. I am going with the Gaumont as the best image as it appears slightly sharper and the colors appear more true to me. I like the softer palette. I realize that the Criterion had the director approval, but I don't know to what extent that went in the making of the DVD. This set reminds me of the "In the Mood For Love" DVD comparison. The French R2 was superior to the Criterion in almost the same ways that this Gaumont is over the Region 1 ex. - sharper - truer skin tones and softer palette. Extras and menus go the way of Criterion, but die-hard fans will want both the GCTHV and the Criterion for the different supplements. My scrutiny shows order of sharpness 1) GCTHV 2) Criterion - Optimum tie. The Optimum appears to be a direct port of the Criterion even the commentary (without comments by Peter Weller - rights issue?) Of course you may see differently than I, but that is where DVDBeaver stands.

- Gary W. Tooze

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(Optimum Releasing - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. GCTHV - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)