directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Poland 1987

This is the brilliant series of ten films directed and co-written by Krzysztof Kieslowski for Polish television in 1987. Each short films is loosely but philosophically accurate in its basis on one of each of the Ten Commandments. Diagnosing moral ambiguities with simplistic and gripping realism is only scratching the surface of this probing and infinity everlasting series of short films that bind themselves together on a ultimately fascinating premise of the scriptures and the tablets of Moses. This is 'it' folks.       Gary W. Tooze

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DVD Comparison:

FACETS / Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Infinity Entertainment (Korean) - Region 0 - NTSC

Big Thanks to Paul Whitelock for all the screen captures!

(Facets / Image Entertainment - R0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Infinity Entertainment - R0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers

 

 

Distribution

FACETS / Image Entertainment

Region 1  - NTSC

Infinity
Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime 560 minutes 613 minutes
Video

1.33 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.37 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.72
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

Audio Polish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Polish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Subtitles English (non-removable) English, Korean and none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Facets / Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 1988

Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• All Regions
• Color

DVD Release Date: April 18, 2000
Box Set


Release Information:
Studio: Infinity Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 1988

Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
The entire 10-episode "Dekalog" mini series on 5 discs, each episode based on one of the Ten Commandments, along with a bonus disc with the 56-minute documentary feature, "Krzysztof Kieslowski: I'm So-So...", all packaged together in a huge collector's box. Includes the following episodes:
I Am the Lord Thy God (53 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of Thy Lord God in Vain (53 mins.)
Honor the Sabbath Day (56 mins.)
Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother (55 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Kill (57 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (58 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Steal (55 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness (55 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife (58 mins.)
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods (57 mins.)

DVD Release Date: 2003
Box Set

Comments:

 The Infinity release is in general (but not always) softer than the Facets release, but I think that it has it has better color fidelity to the original film elements than the Facets does (again, in general). For example, regarding Dekalog 5 I remember reading that Kieslowski said to his cinematographer something like "If you want to shoot the film in s**t green, that's your business." Until the Infinity release I've never seen 5 in green (the Korean "A Short Film About Killing" DVD is more yellow than green).

The Facets release seems to be cropped a bit and is missing some content at the top and bottom (as compared with the Infinity). The Infinity has a bit of black on the left and/or right edges of the image (in order to get the full vertical content in frame). You can see the cropping clearly in the Dekalog 10 screen captures.

The most surprising difference is that each episode of the Facets is SHORTER than the Infinity. The time difference builds up gradually, which leads me to believe that the Facets might have been mastered from a PAL video source.

The only significant shortcoming of the Infinity release is the quality of the English subtitles. The subtitle text has some spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors, and in some instances is displayed on the screen for too short a period of time. The amount of dialog contained in the Decalogue is less than a typical film, so the problem is mitigated a bit, but nevertheless you might find the subtitle errors distracting. Examples from the first three episodes can be found HERE

The Infinity set contains the documentary "I'm so-so..." on a separate DVD and a booklet (written in Korean). The DVDs also contain a "What is Dekalog..." on each disc, which appears to be a description (in Korean text) of each episode.

 - Paul Whitelock

NOTE: there is a distinct difference in the picture quality of the 3 disc single-sided Facets discs with the two disc double sided version. The three disc version appears to have sharper quality from the brief analysis that we gave it.





DVD Menus

(
Facets / Image Entertainment - R0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Infinity Entertainment - R0 - NTSC - RIGHT)


 


 

(Facets / Image Entertainment - R0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Infinity Entertainment - R0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

CLICK to Enlarge

 

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 Decalogue 10 (above)
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 Decalogue 8 (above)
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 Decalogue 7 (above)
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 Decalogue 6 (above)
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 Decalogue 5 (above)
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 Decalogue 4 (above)
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 Decalogue 3 (above)
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 Decalogue 2 (above)
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 Decalogue 1 (above)

 

 

 

 

 


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