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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by
Christian Petzold
Germany 200
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Narrowly escaping her volatile ex-husband, Yella flees her small hometown in former East Germany for a new life in the West. She finds a promising job with Philipp, a handsome business executive with whom an unlikely romance soon blossoms. But just as Yella seems poised to realize her dreams, she finds herself haunted by buried truths that threaten to destroy her newfound happiness. Christian Petzold's Yella is a stylish and deliciously suspenseful mystery. *** Yella is a reserved young woman with unrevealed depths of intelligence, larceny and passion. Their gradual revelation makes this more than an ordinary thriller, in great part because of the performance of Nina Hoss in the title role. Soon after we meet her, she's followed down the street by her former husband, Ben, who will stalk her throughout the film. Partly to escape him, she leaves her town in the former East Germany and goes to Hanover to take a job. [...] The writer-director, Christian Petzold, uses a spare, straightforward visual style for the most part, except for those cutaways to trees blowing in the wind whenever we heard the harsh bird cry. He trusts his story and characters. And he trusts us to follow the business deals and become engrossed in the intrigue. I did. I could see this being remade as one of those business thrillers with Michael Douglas looking cruel and expensive and finding his female equal. I'm not recommending that, just imagining it. Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times located HERE |
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Theatrical Release: February 14th, 2007 - Berlin Film Festival
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL
Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg for the AE caps and info!
(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT)
| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC |
Artificial Eye Region 2 - PAL |
| Runtime | 1:24:45 | 1:25:00 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video | 1.85:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.35 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1:1.85 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | German (Dolby Digital 2.0) | German (Dolby Digital 2.0), German (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
| Subtitles | English, None | English, None |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • "Nothing
Ventured" documentary by Harun Farocki (52:08 - also interlaced) • 10-page
liner notes booklet |
Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 11 |
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Firstly - a very interesting and enjoyable film that skirts all over leaving you with a high level of anticipation. I loved the music as well. It's one of those films you wish would go on endlessly. ADDITION: Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL March 09': Big thanks to Per-Olof for his quick work. As well as being far cheaper the Artificial Eye release has a superior image (the Cinema Guild looks a lot greener now) being progressive and we can see the NTSC is actually an unconverted PAL speed with all the deficiencies of that inferior transfer method. The UK disc also has better color balance, detail etc. etc. Audio on the AE gives a 5.1 as well as the stereo and there looks to be some healthy extras with extensive interviews with Petzold and Hoss. No-brainer to go for the British disc on this intriguing work. Be sure to check out the AE sale at Amazon UK HERE with many titles being up to 70% OFF! *** ON THE North American release: Cinema Guild (known as a distributor of documentary films among other pursuits) seem to have taken over New Yorker Video's DVD line and this transfer is heavily interlaced showing dramatic combing - especially in the beginning 20 minutes of the film (see sample below). It does settle down - or should I say there are less horizontal pans - and should appear quite acceptable on CRT systems. There seems to be a bit a greenish haze over the image which was consistent with NY'er's European catalogue - so it is possible the transfer was done when they were still solvent. I'm unsure whether this is an unconverted PAL port but it is possible as ghosting can be hard to identify with interlaced combing present.
The 2.0 channel audio is unremarkable but probably consistent with the theatrical as the film is almost entirely dialogue driven interspersed with some of the brooding score. On the extra front Cinema Guild have included a documentary (surprise!). Harun Farocki's 50-minute long German film - "Nothing Ventured" - and it too is interlaced transferred. There is also a theatrical trailer and 10-page liner notes booklet with photos and an essay by Marco Abel. At $30 - this borders on ridiculous although the film is certainly worthy of a viewing. I see Artificial Eye have their recent issue for a little over $10 - 65% off HERE.... and at present that is the route we recommend! |
DVD Menus
(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT)
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Subtitle Sample
(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
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Screen Captures
(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
Heavy combing visible on the Cinema Guild disc
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(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
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(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
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(Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL BOTTOM)
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| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | Cinema Guild - Region 1 - NTSC |
Artificial Eye Region 2 - PAL |
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Gary Tooze
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