No complete print of Les Otages is known to exist. For this region-free progressive DVD edition, the film has been reconstructed from two censored copies, one French, the other Swiss-German. Fortunately for us, the censorship in each case was substantially different, allowing the restorers to piece together the complete film using Raymond Bernard's shooting script as a guide.

The French and Swiss elements each show moderate levels of grain and damage, but are of comparable quality, so the transitions are not too jarring. However, one unavoidable problem is that the segments from the Swiss copy have German subtitles that are ingrained on the image. When the player-generated optional English subtitles are activated, a semi-opaque black box is used to dim the German subtitles (if present) so that they do not distract the viewer. See the final capture below for a sample of this.

An interesting hour-long documentary on the disc (in French, with optional English subtitles) discusses the making of the film and its censorship and restoration. A second interview featurette, also with English subtitles, talks about the historical context.

Overall, a very commendable release from one of the more English-friendly French publishers. The Amazon.fr Marketplace link above allows you to order from the DVD's French distributor Zalys.