Stardust Memories - Woody Allen

directed by Woody Allen
1980

Allen considers this to be one of his best films in addition to The Purple Rose of Cairo and Match Point. Considered by some to be an homage to 8½ by Federico Fellini, the film is shot in black-and-white in the style of Fellini's surrealist films of the 1960s, and examines the semi-autobiographical story of a famous filmmaker, played by Allen, who is plagued by fans who prefer his "earlier, funnier movies" to his more recent artistic efforts, while he tries to reconcile his conflicting attraction to two very different women, the mercurial and unstable Dorrie (Charlotte Rampling), and the earnest, intellectual Daisy (Jessica Harper). Allen, however, denies that this film is biographical and regrets that audiences interpreted as such.

Excerpt from Wikipedia HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: USA 26 September 1980

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DVD Comparison:

MGM (UK) - Region 2,4 - PAL vs. vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg for the Screen Caps!

(MGM (UK) - Region 2,4 - PAL - LEFT vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	MGM (UK) Region 2,4 - PAL	MGM Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:25:03 (4% PAL speedup)	1:28:24
Video	1:1.85 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.38 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1:1.85 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.35 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: MGM (UK)
Bitrate: MGM
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), German (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, None	Spanish, French, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM (UK) Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.85 Edition Details: • None • DVD-5 (SS-SL) DVD Release Date: 16 Jul 2007 Keep Case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.85 Edition Details: • Trailer • Booklet • DVD-10 • On B side Open Matte version of the film. DVD Release Date: July 5, 2000 Keep Case Chapters 25

Comments:

NOTE: We have added some open matte caps from the opposite side of the MGM (US) DVD.

The new MGM (UK) disc is made seven years after the US R1 DVD. Who should have believed that the old NTSC disc beats the new PAL disc in every way. MGM UK (Sony) has placed forced warnings and logos in the start of the R2 disc, but didn't even bother to make menu pages. They advertise people to avoid bootleg DVD's, at the same time their disc look like one!

The R2 disc has a darker image, the blacks are blocked and the image is full of compression artifacts. The R1 image is cropped at the right side. Both are single layers and have 4.15 (UK) and 3.62 (US) gig.

There are different sound and subtitle options on the editions. If they are not needed, the old R1 is the way to go.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

DVD Menus
(MGM (UK) - Region 2,4 - PAL - LEFT vs. MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)