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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Hexenkessel" )
directed
by Martin Scorsese
USA 1973
The breakthrough film for Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and of course, director Martin Scorsese. A common story of small time hoods, familial bonding, pervasive violence and the religious overtones while surviving in New York's Little Italy. We would see much more advanced, superior and mature works from all three in their future films and collaborations. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: 2 October 1973
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Warner Home Video (USA) (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. E.M.S. (Germany) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman and Pavel Borodin for the DVD Screen Caps!
Box Covers |
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Coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD by Criterion in November 2023: |
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Distribution |
Warner Home Video (USA) Region 0 - NTSC |
E.M.S.
(Germany) Region 2 - PAL |
Carlotta Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Warner Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:51:48 | 1:47:00 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:51:31.250 | 1:51:56.751 |
Video |
1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.82:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,189,305,810 bytesFeature: 29,234,485,248 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.86 Mbps |
1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,843,822,604 bytes Feature: 21,152,913,408 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 21.96 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate: Warner Home Video (USA) |
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Bitrate:
E.M.S. (Germany)
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Bitrate: Carlotta
Blu-ray
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Bitrate: Warner
Blu-ray
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono) |
English (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono), DUB: German (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono) |
LPCM Audio English 768 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps /
16-bit LPCM Audio French 768 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit |
DTS-HD Master Audio English
1055 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1055 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz /
768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB |
Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, None | German, none | French, none | English (SDH), French, Portuguese, Spanish, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video (USA) Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 33 |
Release Information: Studio: E.M.S. (Germany) Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: January 31, 2002 Chapters 22 |
Release Information: Studio: Carlotta
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,189,305,810 bytes Feature: 29,234,485,248 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.86 Mbps
Edition Details:
Blu-ray
Release Date:
April 6th, 2011 Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Home
1.78:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,843,822,604 bytes Feature: 21,152,913,408 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 21.96 Mbps
Edition Details: Chapters 33 |
Comments |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc. ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE- Blu-ray - June 12': I can't state with any certainty the original color scheme of Scorsese's Mean Streets but I do lean to the new Warner Blu-ray as looking more natural in terms of skin tones. Is that greenish/teal hue supposed to be there? I haven't a clue. Reds seems more prominent. The 1.78:1 US Blu-ray is single-layered with a smaller bitrate than the French disc. It offers English (and other subtitles) as well as the featurette and commentary that was on the original SD-DVD. Bottom line this is significantly more reasonably priced (almost 50%) than the European 1080P and is region FREE. Certainly recommended!*** ADDITION: Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray: The new 1080P transfer from Carlotta in France represents a solid upgrade from the previous DVDs. Colors support the NTSC transfer with some green and brown hues which tend to make the German E.M.S. SD edition possibly look boosted. It seems like the stock used for the production may have been a less-effectual one and it gives the film a very rough appearance - which, may be an intentional, or rather, authentic to original, look. The Blu-ray image tightens up from the DVD with better detail and grain with blocky noise. It is dual-layered with a strong bitrate. There is a shade of movement in the frame but the new transfer shows at least as much information as the US DVD - but often more on all 4 edges. Simply, with far less artifacts - this Carlotta is vastly superior to the previous digital editions. Audio goes lossless with a linear PCM track but it is fairly docile - yet sounding a less scattered. There are French subtitles which can be removed with the 'Subtitle' button of most remotes. The disc is region 'B'-locked. There are well over 2 hours of extras - we lose the Scorsese commentary from the 2004 DVD but most of what is available here is in English (with forced French subtitles) including pieces with De Niro, Keitel, Scorsese and Kent Jones. Fans of the director should probably seek this out as the best home theater representation of his early film plus the supplemental inclusion of Scorsese's 1974 Italianamerican documentary made right after Mean Streets. It is fascinating to discover that only 3 years later Scorsese would make Taxi Driver (now also available on Blu-ray). ***
ON THE DVDs:
There are two versions of EMS
disc: the normal one and the 2-disc limited edition with the full screen
version of the movie with only German soundtrack on the second disc. I can only guess there is something unusual with the available print for this early Scorsese film. It's hard to know what to think... they both look poor but may be a representation of the meager budget. The region 1 is cropped on top and the Region 2 is cropped on the bottom as well as the both sides. It seems uneven so I would think some zooming may have taken place. The German is hazier and has been brightness boosted. I *think* the region 1's colors may be more accurate, but skin tones are too red and it has a greenish tinge. Both are ineffectual, but perhaps as good as we will get, after all it is is the (SE). Hopeful fans for it to improve drastically on the initial release will be disappointed. True Scorsese devotees may want both for the Region 2 documentary and the Region 1 commentary. As it stands now, we say the Region 1 SE is the best available edition. - Gary W. Tooze |
DVD Menus
(Warner Home Video (USA) (Special Edition)
- Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. E.M.S. (Germany) - Region 2 - PAL -
RIGHT)
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Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample
1) Warner Home Video (USA) (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) E.M.S. (Germany) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - THIRD4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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Screen Captures
1) Warner Home Video (USA) (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) E.M.S. (Germany) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - THIRD4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Warner Home Video (USA) (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) E.M.S. (Germany) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - THIRD4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Warner Home Video (USA) (Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) E.M.S. (Germany) - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Carlotta - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - THIRD4) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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Report Card:
Image: |
Warner Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-rays |
Extras: |
Blu-rays |
Box Covers |
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Coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD by Criterion in November 2023: |
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Distribution |
Warner Home Video (USA) Region 0 - NTSC |
E.M.S.
(Germany) Region 2 - PAL |
Carlotta Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Warner Region FREE - Blu-ray |