- Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors: Blue Trois couleurs: Bleu DVD Review DVD Comparison Krzysztof Kieslowski Three Colors: Blue Trois couleurs: Bleu DVD Review DVD Comparison Krzysztof Kieslowski Three Colors: Blue Trois

( aka "Three Colors: Blue" )

by Krzysztof Kieslowski
France 1993

"...in other ways, however, the Three Colours films cannot be faulted. They showcase a director working at the summit of his powers, with equally skilled and talented collaborators like Piesiewicz and composer Zbigniew Preisner. Many moments will surely linger in the memory - be it the reflections in the dark pools of Binoche's huge eyes, or the elliptical time-lapses of Blue; the orgasmic flashes of blinding white light in White; the catwalk sequence in Red, where Jacob is illuminated by flashbulb after flashbulb, or even just recurring in-jokes like the music of Van Den Budenmayer."

Review by Keith H. Brown
Taken from EUFS Programe Autumn 1999

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Artificial Eye Region 2 - PAL vs. Buena Vista Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC

Posters ( Click to enlarge )

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews - R2

(Artificial Eye Region 2 -Left, Buena Vista Region 1 - Right)

DVD Box Covers
Can also be purchased in the Tri-Colors Boxsets
Distribution	Artificial Eye Region 2 - PAL Region 2	MiraMax - Region 1 NTSC
Runtime	1:33:54 ( PAL Speedup )	1:38:09
Video	1.85:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic Average Bitrate: 6.27 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.85:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen / anamorphic Average Bitrate:4.59 mb/s NTSC 960X540 29.97 f/s
Bitrate: Artificial Eye
Bitrate: Buena Vista R1
Audio	French (Dolby Digital 5.0)	French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, None	(removable): English and English for the hearing impaired
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye (UK) Aspect Ratios: Widescreen letterbox - 1.85:1 anamorphic Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 2 - PAL Layers: Dual Edition Details: • Region 2 encoding • Color, Dolby Extras • Krzysztof Kieslowski - masterclass. 7.30 minute feature, where the director takes us through a single scene from the film. • interviews with Juliette Binoche, Jacques Witta (Editor) and Marin Karmitz (Producer) • Excerpts from the original soundtrack.Three pieces of medium length from Zbigniew Preisner’s superb score, presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. This is a particularly welcome extra as we tend only to hear snatches of the soundtrack throughout the film. • Theatrical trailers for Blue, White and Red. These are presented non-anamorphically at 1.85:1. DVD Release Date: October 29th, 2001 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 36	Release Information: Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Aspect Ratios: Widescreen letterbox - 1.85:1 anamorphic Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1 - NTSC Layers: Dual Extras: • Documentary 'Reflections on Blue' - Non-anamorphic widescreen - 17:25 • Documentary 'A Discussion of Keislowski Early Years' - 4:3 - 15:01 • Interview: 'A Conversation with Juliet Binoche on Kieslowski' - 4:3 - 7:56 • Feature 'Kieslowski's Cinema Lesson' - Non-anamorphic widescreen - 7:30 ( subs in French and English ) • Audio Commentary by Annette Insdorf Sneak Peek Trailers • Red - Pan and scan - narration in English - 1:02 • White - Pan and scan - narration in English - 1:02 • K's Heaven - Pan and scan - narration in English - :54 DVD Release Date: March 4, 2003 Keep Case inside a Box Set Chapters: 20

Comments:

NOTE: Additional - The Buena Vista version does not have subtitle reference for the final Chorus. This is a pretty large omission and should be noted. See large screen capture #1.

The Buena Vista exhibits some pronounced edge enhancement which has messed the colors up significantly (see red skin tones). The Artificial Eye has been cropped both vertically and horizontally (see last large capture for most obvious example). The colors are really different on both discs. The sound is in favor of Buena Vista with the original 2.0 as the Artificial Eye is only 5.0 ( a mistake ). Extras are good on both, but Buena Vista has the Commentary track. I think color balance is far superior on the Artificial Eye, and with the omission of the Greek Chorus translation from the Buena Vista - we recommend the Artificial Eye DVD.

Gary W. Tooze

Note for "Blue": R2 - Although the case states that the film has a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, it is in fact 5.0, losing the sub-woofer channel, which is not particularly important for the film.

Recommended Reading in French Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


The Films in My Life by Francois Truffaut, Leonard Mayhew	French Cinema: A Student's Guide by Philip Powrie, Keith Reader	Agnes Varda by Alison Smith	Godard on Godard : Critical Writings by Jean-Luc Godard	Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson	Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2) by James Quandt	Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski by Annette Insdorf	French New Wave by Jean Douchet, Robert Bonnono, Cedric Anger, Robert Bononno	French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present by Remi Fournier Lanzoni

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(Artificial Eye Region 2 - LEFT, Buena Vista Region 1 - RIGHT)