Letter From An Unknown Woman

directed by Max Ophuls
USA 1948

Of all the cinema's fables of doomed love, none is more piercing than this. Fontaine nurses an undeclared childhood crush on her next-door neighbour, a concert pianist (Jourdan); much later, he adds her to his long list of conquests, makes her pregnant - and forgets all about her. Ophüls' endlessly elaborate camera movements, forever circling the characters or co-opting them into larger designs, expose the impasse with hallucinatory clarity: we see how these people see each other and why they are hopelessly, inextricably stuck.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 28th, 1948

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DVD Comparison:

Wild Side Vidéo (Out-of-print) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Second Sight - Region 2- PAL

(Wild Side Vidéo - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Second Sight - Region 2- PAL RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover

All 4 Second Sight Ophuls Films/DVD

Distribution

Wild Side Vidéo

Region 0 - PAL

Second Sight

Region 2 - PAL

Runtime

1:23:27 (4% PAL speedup)

1:23:30 (4% PAL speedup)

Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.42 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 5.4 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

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

Bitrate : Wild Side Vidéo

Bitrate: Second Sight

Audio

English (Dolby Digital Mono)

Subtitles

French (non-removable)

None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Wild Side Video

Aspect Ratio - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Audio Commentary by Philippe Roger
• Presentation of the film by Noël Herpe
• A propos de Max Ophüls, interviews with Noël Herpe (15:05 min) and Ulla de Colstoun (06:26 min)
• Filmographies
• Photo Gallery
• 8-pages Booklet with Liner Notes by Philippe Garnier
• Web Links

DVD Release Date: 2 September 2003
Digipak Case
Chapters: 8

Release Information:
Studio: Second Sight

Aspect Ratio - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Video Essay by Tag Gallagher

DVD Release Date: September 18th, 2006
Keep Case
Chapters: 16

Comments

As the Wild Side Video Collector's Edition DVD is very Out-of-Print this comparison was primarily done to identify any irregularities - especially in the framing. I'm pleased to report that there are none of any significance.

I'd say the French DVD looks superior - with less visible artifacts, but the UK DVD is not fatally behind. The Wild Side appears to have richer black levels and is a bit smoother, but the Second Sight shows the faux-grain (which I like). The Wild Side has non-removable French subtitles, and the Second Sight offers none. I didn't notice any strong differences in audio (both offer original English only).

Extras: The Wild Side is stacked, but unfortunately (for us) nothing is in English (Noël Herpe Introduction etc.). The Second Sight has the least of all 4 Ophuls films/DVDs released at this time. This has an interesting 23 minute Tag Gallagher video essay. It always a pleasure to hear Tag's essential input - I hope he is used much more in future supplements.

Overall the French DVD is a classic, but weighing all factors (availability, Tag's video essay in English) - I'd say picking up the Second Sight is a great decision. I feel this way about all the other Ophuls Second Sight DVDs as well. Brilliant cinema and the digital presentations are a very welcome effort. Bravo Second Sight!

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Wild Side Vidéo - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Second Sight - Region 2- PAL RIGHT)

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