I Served the King of England -

directed by Jiri Menzel
Czech Republic | Slovakia 2006

Jan Díte is a “small man from a small world.” Despite this he has big ambitions – and here he tells his story. We meet him (played by Oldrich Kaiser) in his declining years after he has just been released after a 15-year jail term, but it’s clear the spark of wit is still with him as he flirts with a young girl he meets in the forest and begins to do up the wreck of a pub he has been sent to live in.

Excerpt of review from Amber Wilkinson at Eye For Film located HERE

Rating

Poster

Theatrical Release: Czech Republic 19 December 2006, Germany 16 February 2007 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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DVD Comparison:

Shock - Region 0 - PAL vs. Sony Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg for the Review!

(Shock - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Sony Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	Shock Region 0 - PAL	Sony Pictures Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:54:20 (4% PAL speedup)	1:59:16
Video	1:1.85 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7,66 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.35 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
Bitrate
Audio	Czech; German (Dolby Digital 5.1), Czech; German (Dolby Digital 2.0)	Czech; German (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English (Forced)	English, French, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Shock Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.85 Edition Details: • Trailer (2:28) • Photo Gallery DVD Release Date: September 5th, 2008 Keep Case Chapters 13	Release Information: Studio: Sony Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1:1.85 Edition Details: • Previews DVD Release Date: February 17th, 2009 Keep Case Chapters 28

Comments

ADDITION: Sony - Feb 2009': The Shock image quality seems superior to me with truer colors (skin tones, Nazi flag etc.) where the Sony has some green infiltration... but does show a shade more information in the frame. Audio seems a wash with the under-utilized 5.1 but the Shock offers a 2.0 channel as well. The Sony subtitles are quite large in a gaudy yellow font but are removable where the Shock are 'forced'.

Overall, I don't think it's a significant difference with both being dual-layered and purchasers may consider the easiest-to-obtain/best-priced edition as they are both devoid of any substantial extras. I don't see any sign of it on Blu-ray yet. NOTE: Tom tells us it is already on Blu-ray (but no English subtitles) HERE. (Thanks Tom!)

I share Per-Olof enjoyment of the film - it's a lot of fun with some amusing scenes.

Gary W. Tooze

***

ON THE SHOCK: It's always a pleasure to watch a film made by Jiri Menzel and Bohumil Hrabal - Pearls of the Deep (1966), Closely Watched Trains (1966), Larks on a String (1969 / 1990), Postriziny (1981), The Snowdrop Festival (1984) and I Served the King of England (2006). I Served the King of England is like a fresh wind from the golden age of Czech comedy.

The anamorphic image is solid, though a little bit soft and the black levels are occasionally more towards gray. I have seen a Czech DVD screener, and it was identical to this one , so I suppose the image is the best SD can perform.

There are two audio tracks. A more dynamic DD 5.1 mix, and a DD 2.0 for normal Tube users.

The only extra is a trailer. The English subtitles are forced.

The Australian DVD from Shock, is full of errors on the back cover: It's not a DVD-4 (!) (Single layer), it's a DVD-9 (Double layer) and has occupied 6.99 Gb of space. The main language is not English, it's in the original Czech / German language. And it's not Region 4, it's region free.

The same title is coming soon from Arrow Films (UK), and those who have patient: Sony Classic is holding the US rights, and it's rumored that they will release it in Blu-ray.

- Per-Olof Strandberg

DVD Menus

(Shock - Region 0 - PAL LEFT vs. Sony Region 1 - NTSC RIGHT)