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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'Not Tonight, Josephine!')
directed
by Billy Wilder
USA 1959
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Theatrical Release: March 29th, 1959
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
MGM (original) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Box Cover |
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![]() Re-issued by Criterion on Blu-ray in April 2025: |
Distribution |
MGM Region 0 - NTSC |
MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) Region 1 - NTSC |
MGM Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 950 Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Also available in the Forever Marilyn Blu-ray Collections in the US ,Canada and the UK. The North American package has The Misfits - Some Like It Hot - There's No Business Like Show Business - River Of No Return - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - How To Marry A Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch. The UK Blu-ray version has only Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch. | ||||
Runtime | 2:01:20 | 2:01:20 | 2:01:32.076 | 2:02:18.289 |
Video |
1.63:1
Original Aspect Ratio |
1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,493,514,118 bytes Feature: 42,069,983,232 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,083,086,789 bytes Feature: 31,165,304,832 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.83 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate : MGM (SE) |
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Bitrate: MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) |
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Bitrate: MGM Blu-ray |
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Bitrate: Criterion Blu-ray |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0) | English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 1.0) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 4057 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4057 kbps / 24-bit
(DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB) DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio German 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio Italian 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio Russian 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Czech 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB * Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Polish 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Thai 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround |
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | French, Spanish, None | English, French, None | English (SDH), Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italia, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, none | English (SDH), None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) Aspect Ratio:
Edition
Details: • 4 postcards with a poster and 3 caricatures
• 8 page liner notes booklet
DVD
Release Date: July18th, 2006 Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: MGM
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,493,514,118 bytes Feature: 42,069,983,232 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps
Edition
Details:
Blu-ray
Release Date: May 10th, 2011 Chapters 17 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,083,086,789 bytes Feature: 31,165,304,832 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.83 Mbps
Edition
Details:
Blu-ray
Release Date: November 13th, 2018 Chapters 13 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
ADDITION:
Criterion - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray -
October 18':
Criterion bring us Billy Wilder's classic comedy, "Some
Like it Hot" on a dual-layered
Blu-ray.
It is cited as a "New 4K digital restoration". The 1.85:1 image (the aspect ratio that was used in the
initial U.S. theatrical run - the MGM BD was 1.66:1) has
a high bitrate and looks great in motion. This is a
brand-new 4k restoration and it is quite impressive.
Detail levels are enhanced, as the screen captures will
prove. The contrast levels are also better layered, with
a deep and wide range of blacks and grays. I can't help
but repeat how great this
Blu-ray
is in motion. Just look at the detail that is now
visible in the fabric of the dress in the third screen
captures. There are the odd instances of damage, with a
scratch or debris here or there (see last capture), but
these moments are few and far between. Colin Zavitz *** ADDITION: MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray - May 11': I suspect without a further restoration - this is as good as it will get for the classic Wilder comedy. This new, dual-layered, Blu-ray has the same speckles as the 2-disc DVD and we can assume the same source. It improves in all the expected areas - tighter, some depth, far less artefacts and it visually picks-up contrast more notably. Technically the 1080P transfer is strong with over 42 Gig donated to the 2-hour feature and, hence, a high bitrate (over 4x the anamorphic DVD). It is in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This looks good in-motion and show a tad more information in the frame. The DTS-HD Master 5.1 (bump) at 4057 kbps sounds pretty solid with the musical numbers. There isn't abundant separation but there is a crispness not apparent on the CE. There is some pleasing depth in "Sugar Blues" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" - overall a definite improvement - I doubt I have heard the film sounding this good. There are a host of DUBs and subtitle options signifying the disc as being region FREE. Supplements mimic the CE but are accessible on one lone disc. We keep the commentary and featurette documentaries but lose the Pressbook, postcards/poster and liner notes. At under $15 this has to be considered a must-own. Great package of a timeless film looking and sounding better than ever with a bevy of solid extras. Recommended! *** ON THE DVDs: NOTE: There is another edition that came out between these two - a 'Special Edition' that was still 'flat' letterboxed. It had more extras than the original but far less than the new CE. There is quite a significant difference even beyond that the original is not anamorphic and the CE edition is 16X9 enhanced. We took extra screen captures for comparison to help highlight some of these differences. In a nutshell, the old edition shows more damage (slight speckles, very light scratches) and extensive artifacts next to the smoother CE. Another obvious difference is that the new CE is much darker. I prefer the darker look personally and feel it is probably closer to the original, but this is only an eduacted guess. The new CE does look like it has had boosted black levels - possibly excessively and it is quite possible that the original had boosted contrast/brightness as well. One could give examples from various scenes where background objects are obscured because of this on both editions. I don't feel it is overly significant although on the new CE skin tones can often look very dark (see 'secretary' capture and one following that). The old edition always looked 'thin' and this new CE may look too 'thick' for some viewers. In direct comparison we can see the old edition is slightly cropped - not a lot but enough to bother mentioning it (it was 1.63 ratio to the CE's 1.66). Overall the image quality weighs far in the new CE's favor - anamorphic, opened-up slightly, less damage and far less artifacts. It is an adequate replacement based solely on image. Audio on the new CE contains the same options as the older release (5.1 and mono, plus a French DUB) minus the optional Spanish DUB on the original. The original release does not have an English subtitle option (only French and Spanish). Unfortunately the new CE's subtitles are back to the common brighter yellow. I wasn't overly impressed with the new commentary - it had few redeeming features. Writers Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel share some input interspersed with archived comments by Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. There was nothing overly interesting or unique. I enjoyed the two featurette documentaries much more with soundbites from Lemmon, Wilder and many more in the 'Making of...". There is also a Tony Curtis/Leonard Maltin piece which is as one would expect. On the whole the new CE is the way to go. Although not perfect - it is better than one might expect from MGM. An easy choice for recommendation. |
Menus
(MGM (original) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs.
MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)
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Collectors Edition Disc 2
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MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
Subtitle Sample: Not exact frame
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) -
Region 1 - NTSC
SECOND
3) MGM - Region FREE -
Blu-ray THIRD
4) Criterion - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) MGM - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC SECOND 3) MGM - Region FREE - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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More Criterion Blu-ray Captures
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Light Damage (scratch on face - mark on chin)
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Report Card:
Image: |
Criterion Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Criterion Blu-ray |
Extras: | Criterion Blu-ray |
Re-issued by Criterion on Blu-ray in
April 2025:
MGM
Region
0 - NTSC
MGM (2-disc Collectors Edition)
Region
1 - NTSC
MGM
Region
FREE - Blu-ray
Criterion Collection - Spine # 950
Region
'A' - Blu-ray
Box Cover
Distribution
Also available in the Forever Marilyn
Blu-ray Collections in the US ,Canada and the
UK. The North American package has
The Misfits -
Some Like It Hot
- There's No Business Like Show Business - River Of No Return
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - How To Marry A Millionaire and
The Seven Year Itch. The UK
Blu-ray version has
only
Some Like It Hot,
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and
The Seven Year Itch.