The Damned - Dirk Bogarde

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "La Caduta Degli Dei" or "Die Verdammten")

directed by Luchino Visconti
Italy 1969

The Blu-ray of The Damned is compared to the DVDs HERE

"1969's The Damned (La caduta degli dei) was director Luchino Visconti's most explosively controversial film to date. Set in the 1930s, the film zeroes in on a Krupp-like family of German munition manufacturers. Ever in pursuit of more millions to add to their already bulging coffers, the family plays along with the Nazis, descending into corruption, betrayal and murder all along the way. The stylized decadence depicted by Visconti was of such graphic intensity that the film was released in the U.S. with an X rating."

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 14th, 1969

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Recommended Books on Italian Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present by Peter E. Bondanella	Fellini on Fellini by Federico Fellini, Isabel Quigley	Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism by Millicent Marcus	Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives (Toronto Italian Studies) by Howard Curle, Stephen Snyder	Italian Film (National Film Traditions) by Marcia Landy, David Desser	Italian Movie Goddesses: Over 80 of the Greatest Women in Italian Cinema by Stefano Masi, Enrico Lancia	Italian Cinema by Maggie Gunsberg	I, Fellini by Charlotte Chandler, Billy Wilder	Vittorio De Sica: Director, Actor, Screenwriter by Bert Cardullo

Check out more in "The Library"

DVD Comparison:

Warner - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Luce - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Luce Screen Captures.

(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Luce - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Warner Home Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC	Luce Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	2:36:50	2:30:00 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1.00 Open Matte Average Bitrate: 6.66 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: Warner .
Bitrate: Luce
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1) , Italian (Dolby Digital Mono)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French and none	English, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer • "Visconti" profiles the director on set (9:17) • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004 Snap Case Chapters 35	Release Information: Studio: LUCE Aspect Ratio: Open Matte- 1.33:1 Edition Details: Interview with Armando Nannuzzi (no English subs) Biography of Luchino Visconti DVD Release Date: 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 16

Comments:

The Blu-ray of The Damned is compared to the DVDs HERE

The Luce Region 2 PAL DVD shows the film in Open Matte containing a substantial amount of additional information. I always questioned that if this were not meant to be shown in anything but the intended widescreen ratio, for what reason do they even make an Open Matte print ?... or better yet, keep it in existence ? Is it for TV viewing ? I understand it is a format of shooting, but as it is not as the director intended, why is this form of print kept around ?

Regardless, the anamorphic widescreen version is the way to go - the Warner image is sharper and really exemplifies the digital manipulation of the Luce DVD. The contrast boosting on the Luce gets very bad, distorting skin tones and color balance as well as creating inordinate brightness. For audio, the LUCE has 5.1 Italian as a choice (English subs), but the Warner only offers English 2.0 mono. No matter. go with the Warner which has a nice extra feature on Visconti.

- Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Luce - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)