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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka " The Trial" )
Criterion's
4K UHD / Blu-ray package of Welles' The Trial is reviewed/compared HERE
I couldn’t imagine anyone doing a better job of what must surely be the most “nightmarish” of tasks, bringing to the screen the work of Franz Kafka, than does Orson Welles, in this tremendous adaptation of “The Trial”. Welles brilliantly suggests the feel of the prose with his use of sometimes foreshortened, sometimes elongated camera angles.
If the great Welles could be said to have been influenced in any of his work, here, I would say it was by “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, especially in the scenes of Josef K entering/fleeing the artists loft . In turn, if there is any film that this film might have influenced it would be “Brazil”, particularly the scenes of Josef K. at his work, where we witness a ponderous bureaucratic machine in motion. Welles’ “filling in the blanks” of Kafka’s not completely finished novel, may be some subject for debate, but, without a doubt this is a close to the spirit of “Kafkaesque” as is likely to ever be brought to light (and shadow). Brent Wilson |
Posters
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Theatrical Release : December 21st, 1962 - France
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Associated Reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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This is Orson Welles by Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum |
Orson Welles on Shakespeare: The W.P.A. and Mercury
Theatre Playscripts by Orson Welles, Simon Callow, Richard France |
Orson Welles: Interviews (Conversations with
Filmmakers (Paperbacks)) by Orson Welles, Mark W. Estrin |
The Trial by Franz Kafka |
Orson Welles : The Stories of His Life by Peter Conrad |
Rosebud : The Story of Orson Welles by David Thomson |
Encyclopedia of Orson Welles (Great Filmmakers) by Chuck Berg, Tom Erskine, John C. Tibbetts, James M. Welsh, Thomas L. Erskine |
Chimes at Midnight: Orson Welles, Director (Rutgers
Films in Print) by Bridget Gellert Lyons |
Comparison:
Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL vs. Warner - Region 2- PAL vs. Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - Focus Films - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Doug Cummings and Pavel Borodin for the DVD screen shots!
NOTE: The Focus Films version can be found on the 'Citizen Welles' DVD with The Stranger, and Hearts of Age.
Box Covers |
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Distribution |
Studio Canal "Classique" series (France) Region 2 - PAL |
Warner Home Video (UK) Region 2 - PAL |
Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC |
Focus Films Region 0 - NTSC |
Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:50:20 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:50:24 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:59:28 | 2:00:08 | 1:58:59.757 |
Video |
1.66:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: ? PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.66:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced |
1:58:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.58:1
Original Aspect Ratio |
1080P
Dual-layered
Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,184,121,213 bytesFeature: 31,745,414,784 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 27.37 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Warner
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Bitrate:
Image |
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Bitrate:
Focus Films |
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Bitrate:
Focus Films |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1848 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1848
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio French 1837 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1837 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio German 2121 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2121 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
Subtitles | French, none | None | None | None | English, French, German, None |
Features |
Release Information: • Trailers • Still Gallery
NOTE: 2 versions of the film - very slight difference - the version with the pinscreen prologue has forced French subtitles when English language is chosen. See Whitesheik's comments below.
DVD
Release Date:
May 27th, 2003 Chapters ? |
Release Information: Studio: Warner (UK) Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.66:1 ![]() Edition Details: • None
DVD
Release Date:
May 3rd 2004 Chapters 20
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Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.58:1 Edition Details: • Transferred From A Pristine Original 35mm Negative • American Preview Trailer • Alternate U.S. Opening Done For U.S. Television • Widescreen letterbox format
DVD
Release Date:
March 7, 2000
Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Focus Films Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.58:1
Edition Details: Chapters 12 |
Release Information: 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,184,121,213 bytesFeature: 31,745,414,784 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 27.37 Mbps
Edition Details:
Digi-Book style case with 20-page liner notes by Jonathan Rosenbaum Chapters 12 |
Comments: |
Criterion's 4K UHD / Blu-ray package of Welles' The Trial is reviewed/compared HERE NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - September 12': A couple of scenes in the beginning have some edge-enhancement but the rest of the film seems devoid of that impediment - or at least it is not that prominent. This does have the pin-screen prologue and seems faithful to the original running time (NOT re-edited- see below). It looks quite impressive in 1080P although some segments remain imperfect. There is a touch of gloss, the contrast takes huge strides forward and there is even some depth. I suspect that most Welles fans will be immensely pleased with the 1.66:1 HD video presentation when comparing to the previous SD DVDs.Audio gets a lossless DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel with, similar, optional DUBs. Not without a few issues due to the source but overall superior to the previous editions and there are optional subtitles (dependant on the initial screen language you choose via the first menu!). There are a lot of supplements - we get over 1.5 hour's worth of featurettes/documentaries including the 1/2 hour Welles, Kafka and The Trial, plus 25-minutes of Welles Architect of Light, and another 1/2 hour with Tempo Profile: Orson Welles. There is a 12-minute interview with Steven Berkoff, the deleted scenes is included and there is a trailer. Extras are either in English and/or have optional subtitles. The package is a sleek Digi-book case with 20-page liner notes by Jonathan Rosenbaum. Unless I've missed something key (the Welles fans will soon let me know!) - this is easily the definitive release - correct version, correct aspect ratio, 1080P resolution, lossless sound and some solid extras. Recommended! *** ADDITION (January 2005): Studio Canal "Classique" series (France) - Region 2- PAL:
Hi, Gary! All I can tell you about the French DVD version (the
only one I have) is that the only version that Welles had anything to do
with, to the best of my knowledge, is the original release. I never
heard that Welles re-edited it at any time; this sounds extremely
unlikely, especially because there's nothing about this in THIS IS ORSON
WELLES (the book by Welles and Peter Bogdanovich that I edited), which
is Welles's own account of what he did, reliable in most other respects.
I certainly wouldn't ever think of using IMDB as a source in this; I
revert to them only when I don't have any other sources. As I wrote in
my Cinema Scope column, the alternate version has no legitimacy that I'm
aware of; it's just a casualty, I assume, of some stupid distributor
plus the film's public-domain status. Jonathan Rosenbaum The French edition looks by far to be the superior edition for image quality. It exhibits none of the brightness boosting of the Warner (UK) editions and is sharper than all other releases. It also shows excellent contrast. There are two versions on the French edition. The original version and then a Welles re-edited (according to imdb.com) 1984 version which drops the pinscreen prologue. There's also a deleted scene (without sound) and a nice looking documentary, which isn't subtitled in English. Hi, Gary. The French The Trial is superior to my eyes in just about every way. I have both now (the UK Warners and the French), and for image-quality the French can't be beat. It's been a while since I checked, but I think one of the versions on the French has forced French subtitles - I'll doublecheck to be sure. If my memory is right, then the other version (some later version without the pinscreen prologue) doesn't have forced subs. Disc one (which is actually mis-labeled
with the wrong running time - it has disc two's running time and vice
versa) has the film as released, complete with the pin-screen prologue
(and a little pre-credits scroll in French, which was never part of the
US release). It runs approximately one hour and fifty three minutes. The
titles of the film are in French, and in addition to Welles speaking the
credits at the end, the credits he's speaking are also presented in
French - which is not the case in the US release, wherein Welles speaks
the credits over a freeze frame of the smoke from the blast that occurs
at the end of the film. If one chooses English as the language, the
French subtitles cannot be removed. The trailer and extras are all in
French, no subs. WhiteSheik ***
ADDITION (May 2004) - Warner - Region 2- PAL : Hi, Gary. While I don't have the Warner DVD of The Trial yet, from your screenshots I can tell you that that is exactly what the film looks like. I've owned 35mm and 16mm prints, and have seen it many times in the theater. It looks to be from a similar or same source as the French DVD (which has two cuts of the film on it). WhiteSheik The new Warner DVD is brighter and shows cropping of the other 2 discs on the left edge, but it is definitely cropped itself on the top. The contrast seems uneven and I suspect a little zooming as certain screen captures show irregular cropping in comparison to the Focus Films and Image DVDs. Bottom line is the Warner DVD initially looks better, but it has its flaws. The 2 older discs look hazier in comparison, but the Warner image is artificially boosted. It's superiority will be most felt by widescreen television or front projections system owners. The screen captures below don't really do it justice for clarity. It is just s shame that Warner felt the need for digital manipulation to enhance the picture - which, by all accounts is dark - matching the mood of the film. There definitely is some edge enhancement on the Warner, but I had to really zoom in quite a bit to catch it. It's a pretty tough call - If you have the system to support 16X9 enhancement then the Warner is the way to go for image - If you own the Image Entertainment DVD, I don't think I'd bother upgrading. And to confuse things further - the Focus Films has the better Extras and superior audio and the Warner Region 2 has PAL speedup. Well so much for the "amazing" restoration process of Focus Films... perhaps they just should have used a better print? The Image Entertainment DVD version of this film is much sharper than its counterpart. The Focus Films restoration demo looks like they have purposely degraded the "before" print. How silly. Sound in the Focus Films version has been bumped to 5.1 but then again, that is not the original soundtrack that Welles had intended. Stick with the Image Entertainment, they have done a decent job, but some more bonus features would have been nice. NOTE : Focus Film "The Stranger" comparison HERE |
Menus
(Studio
Canal "Classique" series - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Warner
- Region 2- PAL RIGHT)
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(Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP 2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH 5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP 2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH 5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP 2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH 5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP 2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH 5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP 2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH 5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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More Blu-ray Captures
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Box Covers |
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Distribution |
Studio Canal "Classique" series (France) Region 2 - PAL |
Warner Home Video (UK) Region 2 - PAL |
Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC |
Focus Films Region 0 - NTSC |
Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-ray |
Extras: | Blu-ray |
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