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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/fuller.htm
USA 1963

 

In Shock Corridor, the great American writer-director-producer Samuel Fuller masterfully charts the uneasy terrain between sanity and madness. Seeking a Pulitzer Prize, reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck) has himself committed to a mental hospital to investigate a murder. As he closes in on the killer, insanity closes in on him. Constance Towers costars as Johnny’s coolheaded stripper girlfriend. With its startling commentary on racism and other hot-button issues in sixties America and its daring photography by Stanley Cortez, Shock Corridor has had far-reaching influence.

***

Seeking a Pulitzer Prize, a reporter has himself committed to a mental hospital to investigate a murder. As he closes in on the killer, madness closes in on him. Writer/director/producer Samuel Fuller masterfully charts the uneasy terrain between sanity and dementia.

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 11th, 1963

Reviews                                                        More Reviews                                              DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Criterion Collection - Spine # 19 - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Gary W. Tooze and Alain Dupont for the DVD Screen Caps!

1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT

 

Box Covers

Released on Blu-ray in the UK by Criterion in September 2019:

Distribution

Criterion Collection - Spine # 19

Region 1 - NTSC

Wild Side Vidéo
Region 2 - PAL
Criterion Collection - Spine # 19 - Region A - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:40:27 1:35:54 (4% PAL speedup) 1:41:31.126
Video

1:83:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.59 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1:33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.41 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,927,152,387 bytes

Feature: 29,773,996,032 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

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

Bitrate:

 

Criterion Collection - Spine # 19

 

Bitrate:

 

Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller)

 

Bitrate:

 

Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller)

 

Audio English Dolby Digital 1.0

English Dolby Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles None French (non removable) English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Criterion Collection - Spine # 19

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterboxed - 1:83:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical trailer (2:52)
• Color bars
• 2-page liner notes essay by Tim Hunter

DVD Release Date: August 25th, 1998
Keep Case

Chapters 25
 

Release Information:
Studio: Wild Side Vidéo

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1:33:1

Edition Details:
• Disc 1 : Shock Corridor (1963)
• Disc 2 : The Naked Kiss (1964)
• Same extras for both discs/movies :
• Picture gallery, internet links and filmographies
• DVD-ROM bonus : posters
• Disc 3 : Extras
• Documentaries :
• Play it around Sam (French, 25:21) (Wild Side Vidéo documentary by Olivier Serrano about Fuller)
• La machine à écrire, le fusil et le cinéaste (English, 27:26)
• (excerpts from Adam Simon's 1996 documentary The Typewriter, The Rifle and the Movie Camera)
• A 12-page booklet by Samuel Blumenfeld about Fuller, Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss (in French)
 

DVD Release Date: October 4th, 2005
Custom Case

Chapters 12

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion Collection

 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,927,152,387 bytes

Feature: 29,773,996,032 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:
• New video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis (28:44)
The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera, Adam Simon’s 1996 documentary on director Samuel Fuller (55:06)
• Original theatrical trailer (2:54)
• 30-page liner notes booklet with illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller’s autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking

Blu-ray Release Date: January 18th, 2011
Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 20

 

 

 

Comments

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

ADDITION: Criterion Region 'A' Blu-ray January 11': While a vast improvement, I would say this Blu-ray by Criterion is a notch below the same video level as their, simultaneously released The Naked Kiss also directed by Samuel Fuller. Both older SD releases had major issues (Criterion's original 1998 DVD release is letterboxed + has some edge enhancement and the French Wild Side was brightness boosted, has 'non-removable' - on most players - French subtitles, is minutely interlaced as well as being an Open Matte print of the film). Everything advances on the 1080P transfer but contrast is a little muddier than I would have anticipated. One of the biggest benefits of the new hi-def appearance is the grain. The 1.75:1 is a strong improvement making this the definitive video presentation for Fuller fans.

Audio is lossless - Criterion offer a, faithfully, mono track in a linear PCM - sounding consistent and clear. There are optional English subtitles and, predictably, my Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Extras offer a 1/2 hour continuation of the interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis (the first 1/2 hour found on the Criterion The Naked Kiss Blu-ray) and Adam Simon's 1996 55-minute 1996 n director Samuel Fuller entitled The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera. It has input from Tim Robbins, Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. While only an excerpt on the Wild Side DVD - this is the full documentary. There is also a 3-minute original theatrical trailer and 30-page liner notes booklet with illustrations by cartoonist Daniel Clowes featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller’s autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking.

An delightful double with with Criterion The Naked Kiss. I've always found Shock Corridor a little hard to digest - but it's ham-fisted awkwardness is part of the film's charm. I LOVE the distorted color intercuts. Strongly recommended for those with less mainstream tastes and who are aware of the director's proclivities. There really isn't anything to compare this movie - it is definitely in a class by itself.

***

ON THE DVDs: The Region 2 looks overly bright, but possibly minutely sharper than the Criterion and its intentional soft- palette appearance. The Criterion is definitely more filmic in appearance. The Wild-Side has two major drawbacks though: non-removable (but not very intrusive) white French subtitles. These subs are player generated and can be removed by some enterprising individuals. On most computers you can watch both movies without subtitles. 

Here is a translation of what Manuel Chiche, Director of Wild Side Vidéo, wrote in a French DVD forum about their Fuller boxset :

"Both Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss have been originally shot in the 1:37:1 aspect ratio. Blacks bars have subsequently been added for the theatrical releases. We present both films in their original aspect ratios."

Well, lots of stuff is originally shot in 4:3 but theatrically presented at a widescreen ratio - this is common. Cutting to the chase - It appears as though the Wild Side edition is the 'Open Matte' version of the film.

For extras, the PAL edition's are obviously superior. Wild Side's DVD has a 3rd disc containing documentaries. The first one is entitled "Play it again Sam" and is in French. IMPORTANT ! : the second one is in English and consists of excerpts (ONLY excerpts) from the documentary "The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera". Some movie excerpts appearing in the original documentary couldn't be shown because of rights issues (the British Film Institute hasn't given its authorization).

Lastly the Wild Side has some nice animated menus.
 

- Alain Dupont and Gary Tooze

 



Menus


(Criterion Collection - Spine # 19 - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
 

 
 

 

Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


 

Screen Captures

 

1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion Collection - (original) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Wild Side Vidéo (Coffret Samuel Fuller) - Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


 

DVD Box Covers

Distribution

Criterion Collection - Spine # 19

Region 1 - NTSC

Wild Side Vidéo
Region 2 - PAL
Criterion Collection - Spine # 19 - Region A - Blu-ray

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Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Blu-ray

 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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