NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (December 2022): Criterion have transferred Michael Haneke's 1989-94' Trilogy of The Seventh Continent, Benny's Video and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance to individual Blu-rays. They are cited as being "High-definition digital masters, supervised by director Michael Haneke". I have seen the films on (I think) DVD, but cannot find them to compare. I believe they have all been released on BD in Region 'B'. These 1080P transfer do look superior to SD with The Seventh Continent a shade less crisp and a little more video-y - which may be accurate to the source / production. All three films are in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio on dual-layered Blu-ray discs with max'ed out bitrates. They are clean and show pleasing, if not stellar, HD presentations.

NOTE: We have added 98 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the original German language with some French, English, Arabic and Romanian. There are not extensive effects; gunfire, trains, highway trucks etc. can export bass response. The segments with TV broadcast 'vieo' footage are realistically scattered and weak. Michael Haneke is not a director who uses musical score to enhance these films - a lot of empty pauses or diegetic sound often convey a more vérité experience. In The Seventh Continent there is Günter Mokesch and Karin Raab's Send Me Roses - and archival footage of The Power of Love by Jennifer Rush and Meat Loaf's Piece of the Action. It's all authentically flat, balanced and flawless in the uncompressed. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-rays.

The Criterion Blu-rays offers include three interviews conducted by Cinematheque francaise director Serge Toubiana from 2005 on each of the three films. Haneke discusses the making and production of The Seventh Continent, Benny's Video and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance in French with English subtitles. They run shy of an hour in total. The is also a 1/2 hour interview with film historian Alexander Horwath on Michael Haneke's early career. It recorded by Criterion in Vienna in December 2018. There is a 2013 1.5 hour documentary directed and written by Yves Montmayeur about Michael Haneke's career featuring interviews with the director along with actors Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Riva, Béatrice Dalle and Jean-Louis Trintignant. There is also a 25-minute interview with actor Arno Frisch (Benny’s Video) recorded by Criterion in Berlin in December 2018. Lastly, are Haneke and Serge Toubiana discussing scenes that were deleted from Benny's Video - about 1/4 hour's worth plus trailers for all three films. The package has liner notes with an essay by novelist John Wray (Gone to the Wolves.)

I would agree with the included documentary, Michael H. Profession: Director, IMDb description that "Michael Haneke, theorists of the image that knows better than any other the dregs of our society with their existential fears and emotional derailment to bring to light..." These three films have a lasting impression - often uncomfortably - as they unsentimentally probe the darker emotions that society, as a whole, instinctively represses. Unsettling themes include social, often self-imposed, alienation, desensitized violence, and robotically bland mass media exposure. His films are fearless and not without controversy; Funny Games, often exporting a sublime contempt for normalcy. I loved The Piano Teacher, Code Unknown, Hidden and White Ribbon. You can see the evolution of his style through these early films; The Seventh Continent, Benny's Video and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance. They are unique, deeply probing and brilliantly realized. The Criterion Blu-ray package offers director-approved transfers, interviews and more. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze