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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

directed by Max Ophuls
 USA 1948

 

Of all the cinema's fables of doomed love, none is more piercing than this. Fontaine nurses an undeclared childhood crush on her next-door neighbour, a concert pianist (Jourdan); much later, he adds her to his long list of conquests, makes her pregnant - and forgets all about her. Ophüls' endlessly elaborate camera movements, forever circling the characters or co-opting them into larger designs, expose the impasse with hallucinatory clarity: we see how these people see each other and why they are hopelessly, inextricably stuck.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

 

Posters

 

Theatrical Release: April 28th, 1948

Reviews                   More Reviews                    DVD Reviews

Comparison: 

Wild Side Vidéo (Out-of-print) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Second Sight - Region 2- PAL vs. Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL LEFT
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
 
Box Cover

.

All 4 Second Sight Ophuls Films/DVD

Distribution

Wild Side Vidéo

Region 0 - PAL

Second Sight

Region 2 - PAL

 Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:23:27 (4% PAL speedup) 1:23:30 (4% PAL speedup) 1:27:24.822

Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.42 mb/s
 NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.4 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 15,920,075,475 bytes

Feature: 15,798,079,488 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 22.00 Mbps

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate : Wild Side Vidéo

Bitrate: Second Sight

Bitrate: Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital Mono) English (Dolby Digital Mono) DTS-HD Master Audio English 891 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 891 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles French (non-removable) None None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Wild Side Video

Aspect Ratio - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Audio Commentary by Philippe Roger
• Presentation of the film by Noël Herpe
• A propos de Max Ophüls, interviews with Noël Herpe (15:05 min) and Ulla de Colstoun (06:26 min)
• Filmographies
• Photo Gallery
• 8-pages Booklet with Liner Notes by Philippe Garnier
• Web Links

DVD Release Date: 2 September 2003
Digipak Case
Chapters: 8

Release Information:
Studio: Second Sight  

Aspect Ratio - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Video Essay by Tag Gallagher
 

DVD Release Date: September 18th, 2006
Keep Case
Chapters: 16

Release Information:
Studio: Olive Films

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 15,920,075,475 bytes

Feature: 15,798,079,488 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 22.00 Mbps

Edition Details:

• none 

 Blu-ray Release Date: October 16th, 2012
Standard Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 8

 

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - October 12': The improvement in the 1080P video is evident here - noticeable by the screen capture comparisons. Details tighten and artifacts morph into film-grain. Contrast has deeper layered in HD. I think it looks quite nice. There is more information in the frame on all  4 edges but, depending on how discerning you are, or your system - this is not a demonstrative superiority - but it certainly exists. The Blu-ray , I think - is the North American debut of this masterpiece film that never came out in NTSC on DVD - so we have that benefit as well - no PAL speedup. The audio has a lossless upgrade but remains modest and there are no subtitles. It remains bare-bones with no extras. I still adore Ophuls' film - and this is a worthy part of every digital collection. Fabulous cover too! Strongly recommended!

***

ON THE DVDs: As the Wild Side Video Collector's Edition DVD is very Out-of-Print this comparison was primarily done to identify any irregularities - especially in the framing. I'm pleased to report that there are none of any significance.

I'd say the French DVD looks superior - with less visible artifacts, but the UK DVD is not fatally behind. The Wild Side appears to have richer black levels and is a bit smoother, but the Second Sight shows the faux-grain (which I like). The Wild Side has non-removable French subtitles, and the Second Sight offers none. I didn't notice any strong differences in audio (both offer original English only).

Extras: The Wild Side is stacked, but unfortunately (for us) nothing is in English (Noël Herpe Introduction etc.). The Second Sight has the least of all 4 Ophuls films/DVDs released at this time. This has an interesting 23 minute Tag Gallagher video essay. It always a pleasure to hear Tag's essential input - I hope he is used much more in future supplements.

Overall the French DVD is a classic, but weighing all factors (availability, Tag's video essay in English) - I'd say picking up the Second Sight is a great decision. I feel this way about all the other Ophuls Second Sight DVDs as well. Brilliant cinema and the digital presentations are a very welcome effort. Bravo Second Sight!

 - Gary Tooze

 

Menus

 (Wild Side Vidéo - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Second Sight - Region 2- PAL RIGHT)

 

 

Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 

1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 

1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 
1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 
1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 
1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 
1) Wild Side Video - Region 0 - PAL TOP
2) Second Sight - Region 2- PAL - MIDDLE
3) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

More Blu-ray Captures

 

Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray
Extras: Wild Side

 
Box Cover

.

All 4 Second Sight Ophuls Films/DVD

Distribution

Wild Side Vidéo

Region 0 - PAL

Second Sight

Region 2 - PAL

 Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray




 

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