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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka " The Trial" )

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/welles.htm
France/ Italy / Germany 1962

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

Theatrical Release : December 21st, 1962 - France

Reviews                                           More Reviews                                    DVD Reviews

Associated Reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

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

 

  

  

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
Average Bitrate: 5.19
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1:58:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate 4.32 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.58:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.86
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,184,121,213 bytes

Feature: 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.

Bitrate:

Warner

 

Bitrate:

Image

Bitrate:

Focus Films

Bitrate:

Focus Films

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:
Studio: Studio Canal "Classique" series (French)

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterbox - 1.66:1


Edition Details:
• Featurette - "Welles, Kafka et le procès" withc André S. Labarthe, Edmond Richard, Jean-Pierre Morel et Sophie Becker (38 min) - NO ENGLISH SUBS on extras

• 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
Keep Case

Chapters ?

Release Information:
Studio: Warner (UK) Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterbox - 1.66:1


Edition Details:
• None

 

DVD Release Date: May 3rd 2004
Keep Case

Chapters 20

 

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
Keep Case

Chapters 16

Release Information:
Studio: Focus Films Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterbox - 1.58:1
 

Edition Details:
• Features fully restored and Dolby Digital 5.1 remixed versions of two Orson Welles classics, The Stranger and The Trial
• 18-minute documentary, narrated by noted Welles historian Richard France and featuring a rare behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process of these two classic films
• Orson Welles's first film, 1934's Hearts of Age and The Stranger
• Theatrical trailers
• Still photo gallery
• Number of discs: 2


DVD Release Date: April 2, 2002
Keep Case

Chapters 12

Release Information:
Studio: Studio Canal

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,184,121,213 bytes

Feature: 31,745,414,784 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 27.37 Mbps
 

Edition Details:
• Welles, Kafka and The Trial (30:26)
• Welles Architect of Light (23:21)
• Tempo profile: Orson Welles (30:26)
• Interview with Steven Berkoff (12:51)
• Deleted Scene (6:40)
• Trailer (3:55)

Digi-Book style case with 20-page liner notes by Jonathan Rosenbaum

Blu-ray Release Date: September 10th, 2012
Book-style Blu-ray Case

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!  

- Gary W. Tooze

***

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.

Also, the dialogue for the silent extra scene, which Welles cut just before the premiere, has long been available in the published version of the script, available in both French and English editions, so I can't imagine why the producers of this DVD didn't bother to add subtitles with this dialogue. Simple laziness or ignorance, I guess, but that's no excuse.

Best,
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.

- Gary W. Tooze

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.

 Doug Cummings

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.

Disc two has something called the "Montage" version, which carries a new copyright notice of 1984. This version omits the pin screen prologue (app. 4 1/2 minutes), doesn't have the little pre-credits scroll in French (app. 30 seconds), presents the film with its titles in English and has the original spoken credits ending over the freeze frame of smoke. Here the subtitles aren't forced and aren't even an option. This version runs app. one hour and forty-eight minutes. I haven't actually sat down and done a side by side, but I believe those are the only differences between the two versions. I don't think anything is missing from the film proper, and, in fact, the chapter stops are the same on both versions. They are both taken from the same source, and I will reiterate that The Trial has never looked as good as it does on the French DVD - it's a superb spectacular presentation of the film, and it really shows you the brilliance of the cinematography by Edmond Richard. The film, for me, remains one of Welles' greatest achievements.

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. 

- Gary W. Tooze

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. 

- Gary W. Tooze

NOTE : Focus Film "The Stranger" comparison HERE


Menus


(
Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Warner - Region 2- PAL  RIGHT)


 

(Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 


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 SECOND

3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM



1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP

2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND

3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


 

1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP

2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND

3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP

2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND

3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Studio Canal "Classique" series - Region 2- PAL TOP

2) Warner - Region 2- PAL SECOND

3) Image Entertainment (Milestone) - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD

4) Focus Film - Region 0 - NTSC - FOURTH

5) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray Captures




Box Covers

 

  

  

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


Hit Counter


Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Blu-ray

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Gary Tooze