"Through a Glass Darkly" Tartan Region 0 PAL vs Criterion Region 0 NTSC

(aka 'Through a Glass Darkly')

directed by Ingmar Bergman
Sweden 1961

While vacationing on a remote island retreat, a family’s already fragile ties are tested when daughter Karin (Harriet Andersson) discovers her father has been using her schizophrenia for his own literary means. As she drifts in and out of lucidity, the father (Gunnar Björnstrand), along with Karin’s husband (Max von Sydow) and her younger brother (Lars Passgård) are unable to prevent Karin’s harrowing descent into the abyss of mental illness. Winner of the 1962 Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film and featuring an astonishing lead performance by Andersson, Through a Glass Darkly presents an unflinching vision of a family’s near-disintegration and a tortured psyche further taunted by God’s intangible presence.

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Theatrical Release: October 16th, 1961 - Sweden

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DVD Comparison:

Tartan Region 0 - PAL vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC

(Tartan - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Tartan DVD Region 0 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine # 209 Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:25:42 (4% PAL speedup)	1:29:45
Video	137:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate:5.50 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.66 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Tartan
Criterion
Audio	Swedish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	Swedish (Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono), DUB: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, and none	English and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Tartan Video Aspect Ratio: Standard - 1.37:1 Edition Details: • Trailer/Advertisement for Tartan's 'The Ingmar Bergman Collection' - 2:53 • Stills Gallery - 5 poorly done stills • Bergman on 'Winter Light' - 23 static pages of transcript and questions to Ingmar Bergman ( from 'Images - My Life In Film') • Philip Strick Film Notes - 7 Static pages • Filmographies of Bergman, Bjornstrand and Thulin DVD Release Date: November 19th, 2001 Transparent Keep Case Chapters 20	Release Information: Studio: Criterion / Home Vision Aspect Ratio: Standard - 1.37:1 Edition Details: • New high-definition digital transfer • Exploring the film: Video discussion with Ingmar Bergman biographer Peter Cowie • Essay by Peter Cowie •Original theatrical trailer • Optional English-dubbed soundtrack • New and improved English subtitle translation • Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition DVD Release Date: August 19th, 2003 Box set Chapters 18 Box Set includes the following films: • Through a Glass Darkly, 1961 (91 minutes) • Winter Light, 1962 (80 minutes) • The Silence, 1963 (95 minutes) • Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie • Number of discs: 4
Comments:	Of the three film discs in the Criterion Boxset, this is the most obviously won by Criterion. In most scenes the Criterion is brighter as well as sharper. The Criterion again shows grain, but the Tartan appears hazy in direct comparison. This is the easy one of the bunch - Criterion all the way! - Gary W. Tooze

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(Tartan - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)