ADDITION: Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray - September 2010: It should be apparent from the screen shot comparisons - in what areas Criterion's 1080P transfer advances. Colors are a bit richer but the lines are all sharper. Everything tightens up and we have plenty of depth that the flatter DVD couldn't export. The DVD looked good, comparatively softer, but the Blu-ray looks... fabulous.

Audio also improves with a lossless DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3341 kbps. Being a Wes Anderson film there is a cornucopia of music from The Rolling Stones and The Kinks to Ravi Shankar and Satyajit Ray (YES, that Satyajit Ray!). Serious cinephiles may recognize some of the master-director's scores from such films as Charulata (1964) or Jalsaghar aka The Music Room (1958) - the latter possibly my favorite Ray film. Wonderful! Criterion have included optional English subtitles and my Momitsu confirms that the disc is region 'A'-locked.

While I always loved Anderson's film - having watched Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums at least a 1/2 dozen times each. It was only after I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox that I started to recognize a deeper level of his brand of genius. That film is a definite masterpiece! - anyway what is great about The Darjeeling Limited Criterion package are the extras.  

When starting the feature you get the options to watch Hotel Chevalier (part one of The Darjeeling Limited - 13:11 in HD! - as are all video supplements) before, separately - or not at all. I really like this short with a sexy Natalie Portman described as 'A short prologue of one heartbreaking history of love and the prologue of the travel told in The Darjeeling Limited.' I only noticed now that the executive producer is my friend Nicolas Saada. Commentaries featuring Anderson are always super and he is joined here by co-writers Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. Its informative, humorous and it substantially helped with my appreciation. Criterion include the 40-minute Behind-the-scenes documentary by Barry Braverman and a 20-minute discussion between Anderson and filmmaker James Ivory on the music used in the film. After that is a long list of mostly shorter pieces including notables like Anderson’s 'American Express' commercial, a video essay by critic Matt Zoller Seitz, deleted and alternate scenes, audition footage, stills galleries, on-set footage shot by Roman Coppola (2:29) and a 10-segment piece by actor Waris Ahluwalia, a theatrical trailer and lastly they include a 16-page liner notes foldout featuring an essay by critic Richard Brody and original illustrations by Eric Chase Anderson. Whewww.

I'm really happy that Criterion released this title in high-def because it gave me the opportunity to re-watch and become aware of details that eluded me the first time. Whether it was the higher resolution visuals, crisper soundtrack or bountiful extras - this is a package that I can heartily endorse. Criterion have done a super job releasing another Anderson film in digital. Strongly recommended!

***

ON THE FOX DVD: Beautiful looking film with bright colors toned down to a semi-soft palette. The dual-layered, progressive and anamorphic Fox DVD looks wonderful with consistent detail and excellent contrast. I can only see this looking better if it was in 1080 - which is not yet scheduled. Blues, greens and yellow look exceptionally strong. The transfer has no major (or even minor) flaws that I can determine. Audio is offered in a fairly unutilized 5.1 track and there is also a 2.0 Spanish DUB available. There are optional subtitles supporting the dialogue in English, French or Spanish. Expectantly it is super clean with no speckles or damage marks.

Supplements include the 13 minute short "Hotel Chevalier" which acts as a kind of 'part one' to The Darjeeling Limited (and can be viewed in that way). It is cute, touching and sexy all at once. There is also a, 20 minute, 'Behind the Scenes...' entitled 'The Darjeeling Limited Walking Tour'. It follows Production Designer Mark Friedberg around as he discusses some of the locations and shooting details.

Wes Anderson's films are refreshing in their uniqueness. This is no exception. I know some critics were so-so on this one but I enjoyed every moment with characterizations always teetering into unexpected directions. Part of Andersons inspiration for the film was Renoir's 1951 The River (based on the novel by Rumer Godden) shown to him personally by Martin Scorsese. Great DVD from Fox. 

Gary W. Tooze