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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "C'era una volta in America (Italy)" )
directed
by Sergio Leone
Italy/USA 1984
Sergio Leone’s final film as a director and one he spent 17
years developing. Like the spaghetti westerns he was famous for, Once Upon A
Time In America concerns itself with a mythic America as seen from the
perspective of a foreigner who grew up experiencing the United States through
its movies. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: February 17, 1984 (USA)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution |
Warner Home Video Region 1 - NTSC |
Warner Home Video Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 3:49:01 | 3:49:19.829 |
Video |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,543,814,033 bytesFeature: 44,662,333,440 bytesVideo Bitrate: 14.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate |
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Bitrate : Blu-ray |
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Audio | English/French (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3410 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3410
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio Czech 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio German 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Italian 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB * Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Polish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps / DN -4dB Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround |
Subtitles | English/French/Spanish/None | English (SDH), Bulgarian, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish and none |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 59 |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,543,814,033 bytesFeature: 44,662,333,440 bytesVideo Bitrate: 14.96 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 59 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Warner Region FREE Blu-ray January 11': My comments would mimic much of what Gregg stated about the DVD. The Blu-ray visuals are likewise imperfect. Surprisingly Warner are using the MPEG-4 encode (for only the second time that I recall) as opposed to their usual VC-1. It hasn't benefited extensively from the HD transfer - while it has fewer artefacts and is more film-like than the SD - the low bitrate (for the almost 4-hour film) still produces noise - more than we are used to with this format. The image is richer but it is not a dramatic increase. The DVD had a green tinge (sometimes the sign of a failing telecine) to it that is removed on the 1080P transfer. This may very well be the apex of how Once Upon a Time in American can look on digital disc. It has some inconsistencies but nothing really detracted from the brilliance of the film. Also it is nice to have the whole thing on one, dual-layered, disc. There is a decent DTS-HD Master 5.1 in original English at 3410 kbps. While not containing sharp separations it definitely has notable depth as compared to the DVD. This can be felt in the Ennio Morricone score as well as some of the aggressive effects (gunfire etc.) This is obviously the same edition being sold internationally as it has a host of DUBs and subtitles and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.Supplements duplicate the 2003 DVD package with the excellent Richard Schickel commentary and 20-minutes of Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone documentary. We lose the 'Photographic Memories' but keep the trailer.
This is such an amazing film and one you really do want
in the best a/v edition. Both colors and audio are enough of a boost to
endorse - not to mention the entire film on one disc. I do suggest
tempering your video expectations though - but the film is a must-see.
Gary Tooze
***
ON THE DVD: While not
unpleasant to watch, the DVD suffers from inconsistency. The film print
has scratches and nicks along with visible grain. The video transfer,
while near superbit quality as far as compression goes, suffers from
intermittent shimmering on horizontal camera moves. Flesh tones often
appear reddish. In addition, in places the image is very sharp and
elsewhere it appears too soft. The original 1:85:1 image has been cropped
to a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. |
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Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC
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vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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Screen Captures
Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Warner Home Video (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution |
Warner Home Video Region 1 - NTSC |
Warner Home Video Region FREE - Blu-ray |