Eros Michelangelo Antonioni

Directed by Steven Soderbergh and

and

2004

Eros is a three-part anthology film about eroticism by a trio of world cinema's outstanding directors: Wong Kar Wai, Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni. The three vignettes in Eros may seem totally unrelated on surface, but underneath the different stories lies a common theme about erotic desires. Each episode explores erotic desires at a different level, from physical to psychological to spiritual. It also serves as an homage by two younger directors, Wong and Soderbergh, to the Italian master Antonioni who has informed and inspired their work.

"The Hand" by Wong Kar Wai
Cheongsam once again embodies the mood for love. "The Hand", widely acclaimed during the film's theatrical release, tells an erotic tale about a young tailor (Chang Chen) and a beautiful Hong Kong courtesan (Gong Li). Hands seems the only way to bridge the gap between love and desire...

"Equilibrium" by Steven Soderbergh
A peculiar and even perverse comedy about an advertising executive's (Robert Downey, Jr.) weird and erotic dream of a woman. Losing his equilibrium, he turns to his psychiatrist (Alan Arkin) who engages himself in all sorts of strange acts in the course of therapy...

"The Dangerous Thread of Things" by Michelangelo Antonioni
A middle-aged American man and his Italian wife enter a stalemate in their relationship. In the magnificent ruins and landscapes of Italy, he encounters a passionate Italian woman, but erotic desires means more than just physical intimacy...

Poster

Theatrical Release: 16 September 2004

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL vs. Mei Ah - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Mei Ah (2 disc limited edition) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC

(Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Mei Ah (2 disc limited edition) - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)

Big thanks to Runar Ursin Reed for Mei Ah captures and to Per-Olof Strandberg for the Artificial Eye Screen Caps!

DVD Box Cover		Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...
Distribution	Artificial Eye Region 2 - PAL	Mei Ah Region 0 - NTSC	Warner Region 1- NTSC
Runtime	1:42:24 (4% PAL speedup)	1:48:32	1:46:24
Video	1:1.78 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 8.62 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.79 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Mei Ah
Bitrate: Warner
Audio	Mandarin; English; Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin; English; Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)	Mandarin/English/Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Mandarin/English/Italian DTS	Mandarin/English/Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, None	English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, none	English (non-removable on non-English audio), optional Spanish and French at the top of the screen (see sample below)
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.78 Edition Details: • Trailer (1:09) • Biographies DVD Release Date: Jan 22nd 2007 Keep Case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Mei Ah Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer • Cast and crew • Disc 2: • Inspiration Of Eros - Wong Kar-wai • To Perform The Whole Life Of A Woman In 40 mins - Gong Li • From A Stranger To An Excellent Tutor With Wong Kar-wai - Chang Chen • Trailer Of Eros - Japanese Version • Photo Gallery DVD Release Date: 2005 Chapters 6	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Featurette: Michelangelo Eye to Eye (19:10) • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: February 7th, 2006 Chapters: 6 X 3 = 18 in total

Comments:

ADDITION: Artificial Eye - March 08: Both the Artificial-Eye and Warner disc have the shorter Antonioni segment.

On the image side we can dump the Mei Ah disc being too bright - there are some evening sun scenes that look like bright daylight on the Mei Ah disc. It has also some combing visible. The AE and Warner editions have quite similar image, maybe in minor favor for the AE disc. It looks a minutely sharper, and is not so greenish (minor) as the Warner. Both are acceptable.

On the sound front the Mei Ah edition has a DTS sound. The two others only in DD 5.1. The Antonioni episode is presented on the Mei Ah disc in English language, where the Warner and The Artificial-Eye have it in Italian. Both versions seems to be made at the post production stage, and even though most of the actors seems to be speaking English on the set, some sequences and actors feel more natural in the Italian language.

On the extra front the most important extra is on the Warner disc, Antonioni's short film EYE TO EYE. The AE disc lacks of extra material, besides a trailer.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

NOTE: From DVDTalk HERE:

...the Antonioni segment is presented in a very different version.

Most shockingly, the entire short film has been dubbed into Italian even though it was originally shot with the actors speaking English. It has also been edited differently, with a little over two minutes of footage removed, including some erotic content. The scene of the sexy neighbor girl rolling around on the bed fingering herself has been truncated by 30 seconds, and the subsequent scene of she and the main character having sex is a minute shorter. No specific objectionable acts were "censored", per se; it's just that both have been condensed. Two later scenes have had their order shuffled (the new structure actually works a little better), with some minor trimming as well.

*****

ADDITION: Warner - Region 1- January 06' - This is a little puzzling. The Warner have made the English subtitles mandatory (non-removable) when non-English audio is played. For those who desire the optional French or Spanish subtitles - they appear at the top of the screen, while the forced English ones are at the bottom (see sample below).

Regarding the image itself, the DVDBeaver ListServ have stated (Thanks Eric, Adam, and Pepsi):

'My gut feeling is that the Warner is a bit better in this area (and in contrast). However, the Warner seems to suffer from some blockyness (esp. noticeable in the black and white screen). The Warner is cropped a bit on top and less on the bottom, and the Mei Ah the opposite. Warner is also a tad sharper (based on writing on the wall in the 3rd shot)'

'For the Wong section (Warner), the colors are 100% correct for Christopher Doyle’s cinematography which always tends to lean towards the dark side. The other two passages look a bit too dark, so perhaps the brightness is not evenly optimized? '

'I prefer the Mei Ah all the way. Look at the picture where a man and woman is standing. In the Mei Ah you see the shape of the jacket on the man, and also the dress of the woman, where the light "undresses" her. The last picture seems too green in the Warner edition. if it's intended, why has the cinema-photographer and art director, made such a big effort to make the table linen, chair and the sky so blue. The Warner edition takes their effort away. Overall the Warner seems to green!'

My own opinion is that I think they are about equal in sharpness (possibly the Warner a notch ahead). I think the Mei Ah has had some brightness boosting, but I think Warner have manipulated the colors - I see some excessive red and this may be part of the reason that the image is so dark. It's a tough call, but the mandatory subtitles are surely a black mark against the Warner. Although the Warner is on a dual layered DVD it only takes up 5.26 Gig, but after French, Spanish subtitles and extras are removed it would fit on a single layered disc. Warner certainly didn't maximize the bitrate on this DVD.

Regarding the addition on the Warner DVD of the Antonioni directed short film from 2004 - Lo Sguardo di Michelangelo (aka Michelangelo Eye to Eye): I had a range of emotions while watching it. First I thought it appeared a shade silly, pretentious and hedging toward Antonioni's reputed ego. But then it began to metaphysically evolve just like an Antonioni feature film. In this case though there was no concrete plot and the actions on screen (there is no dialogue) could have a myriad of interpretations, but I was overwhelmed by its beauty. Film can be such a personal experience and this probably holds true for Antonioni more than most other directors. I have watched this 18 minute short film three times now and I think it might be a very strong reason to pick up the Warner disc, even if you already own the Mei Ah. It is as close to the Antonioni of old as I can remember (certainly pre-Beyond the Clouds).

Gary Tooze

****

This is a pretty good release from Mei Ah. I can see something that to me looks like digital noise, but it's reasonable sharp, colors are good, and the soundtrack is better than you might expect being very consistent. Menus are nice - sharpness of the image is not fatally poor but still some minor haziness. Hopefully we can verify the color palette (a usual Mei Ah failing) with a comparison of another edition soon.

- Runar Ursin Reed

DVD Menus

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL

(Mei Ah (2 disc limited edition) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)

Subtitle sample

NOTE: Not exact frame