Medusa Home Entertainment

Region 2 - PAL

1.67:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.89 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1.62:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.85 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.76 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

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

Medusa Home Entertainment

Anchor Bay Entertainment (Dario Argento Collection)

01 Distribution

Blu-ray

English (Dolby Digital 5.1); English (Dolby Digital 2.0 surround); French (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)

Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo)

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.67:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 2:39)
• Cast and Crew List

DVD Release Date: 1 February 2004
Amaray

Chapters 20
 

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterboxed - 1.62:1

Edition Details:
• Audio commentary by Dario Argento, FX artist Sergio Stivaletti, composer Claudio Simonetti
• Theatrical Trailer (4:3; 2:35)
• Behind the Scenes Segment (4:3; 4:41)
• Claudio Simonetti Music Video [Jennifer] (4:3; 4:11)
• Bill Wyman Music Video [Valley] (4:3; 4:00)
• Director Dario Argento interview [interviewed by Joe Franklin] (4:3; 9:03)
• Biographies
• Filmographies
 

Chapters 20

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterboxed - 1.66:1

Edition Details:
• none
 

Chapters 12

• Creeper and Creatures: Sergio Stivaletti LIVE Q & A Session (18:54 in 1080P)

Blu-ray Release Date: March 7th, 2011
Chapters 16

ADDITION: Arrow Video - Region FREE Blu-ray - March 2011': I'd say this is a pretty significant improvement in the video quality as compared to the previous DVDs. This Arrow Blu-ray appears to be the only digital representation that is both the longer cut and in theatrical running time (no PAL speedup). The screen captures should bear out a crisper image, accurate colors and it showcases some depth as well. I'm no expert on the film but this is displays a dramatic superiority over the flatter, and often boosted, SD visuals. It is dual-layered with a strong bitrate.

Audio stays faithfully 2.0 channel stereo but offers both English or Italian tracks in linear PCM (lossless) renderings. The films score has always been dominant but now adds some impressive buoyancy and heavier depth. Some may need to damper their volume levels in certain scenes. Arrow have seen fit to add subtitle options both for the English and Italian tracks as a choice and I have determined that the disc is region FREE - playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

No commentary as found on the Anchor Bay but we get a full Dario Argento's Monkey Business: The Making of Phenomena documentary-style featurette running over 50-minutes in 1080P plus Claudio Simonetti Remembering Phenomena for 6.5 minutes in 'Music for Maggots' and lastly, a LIVE Q & A Session with Sergio Stivaletti entitled Creeper and Creatures for shy of 20-minutes.

I think this is a strong release - supplying a solid presentation - some new extras and the fact that it is region FREE should please many Argento fans around the globe. Recommended!   

 - Gary Tooze

***

ADDITION: 01 Distribution - February 2010: Like the previous Medusa DVD, the 01 Distribution release represents the longer, rougher Italian cut of the film in a similar looking master but the new disc is non-anamorphic and lacking extras. The superior Medusa disc had a 16:9 transfer, English and Italian subtitles and a 5.1 upmix in addition to the 2.0 stereo mix. Like the Medusa disc, the 01 disc also has warmer than intended color timing. The new Anchor Bay transfer looks almost identical to their previous release with the correct blue tinting (absent on the Italian disc) but looks sharper and clearer with anamorphic enhancement (even though the bitrate has been slightly reduced from the older transfer - likely for the addition of the new 17m documentary "A Dark Fairy Tale"). Both Anchor Bay disc present the 110 minute export version of the film (New Line cut the film down to 84 minutes for its US theatrical release). The English 2.0 mix on the earlier Anchor Bay disc is not the film's original Dolby mix but a downmix of the 5.1 upmix (it would appear the same mixes are carried over to the new disc including the French mono track). The Italian cut runs longer in PAL than the export version because it is an earlier cut of the film (the export version is his approved cut).

***

 - Eric Cotenas