ADDITION - Criterion - Region 1 -NTSC - November 06 - The Criterion appears sharper, slightly brighter and has less of the greenish/golden hue. I see no prominent signs of cropping. Subtitles are the same - generally the NTSC edition is best, but it's not overwhelming (depending on your system), but it does look superior. I will assume Criterion have minutely boosted the black levels to bring up the sharpness.

 

Criterion, as their usual preference, passed on the boosted 5.0 or 5.1 track option and has kept the 2.0 which sounded fine to my ear.

Most of the supplements are duplicated from the previous releases - They are excellent - A Conversation with Kieslowski (54:22), Interview with Irène Jacob (16:42), Kieslowski : Polish Filmmaker documentary (30:52), 4 Short Films - The Musician (10:17), The Factory (17:56), Hospital (20:48) and Railway Station (13:05).

But the Criterion has an insightful Insdorf commentary that is well worth the spin. I feel like I could listen to her all day - she has the most beautiful clear voice and her knowledge is extensive - she discusses Kieslowski's uncommon manner of storytelling and some interpretation of the film itself. No doubt one of my favorite commentaries of this year. On top of this are some new video interviews with cinematographer Slawomir Idziak (about 25 minutes) and composer Zbigniew Preisner (about 22 minutes) . Included is an an extensive booklet (actually a 70-page 'book') with articles by Jonathan Romney, Slavo Zizek, Peter Cowie and an excerpt on the book 'Kieslowski on Kieslowski'. As one might expect with Criterion - it is also flawlessly done in a tasteful and professional manner.

Bottom line: The Criterion is the definitive version but many will question whether they should upgrade if they already own one of the PAL editions. Personally I think the Insdorf commentary is reason enough but the almost hour of extra interviews and the spectacular book may be the final push to purchase. This is just another film that I want to own the best DVD edition available.

Gary W. Tooze

ADDITION- Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL - August 06 - A port of the MK2 edition, it appears to be identical.

 - Henrik Sylow

There are some subtitle package differences but I agree with Henrik regarding the image (duplicate) - extras are the same - and our investigation show the golden-hue was definitely intentional (by Slawomir Idziak / Krzysztof Zanussi).

Best to go for the cheapest of the two that you can find.

Gary W. Tooze

*****

One of the more highly anticipated DVD releases does not disappoint. Amongst knowledgeable DVD-ophiles MK2 is often considered the greatest production company in existence (Criterion included!). They consistently put out magnificent releases of desired narrative films in pristine condition - so much so that other companies often license there transfers. The MK2 edition comes with a 6 frame film strip negative from the film (this is limited to 20,000 - so it says - I have # 18181).

The anamorphic and progressive MK2 image is decidedly green-ish and I will have to consult some individuals to determine if this was intentional. I don't recall my old VHS looking this way BUT I do recall reading about discussions of this with Kielsowski's cameraman at the time. The aspect ratio has been maintained and it looks extremely film-like. The image is very clean and the English subtitles are exceptionally well-done. The 2nd disc of supplements are nothing short of fabulous. I will be reporting in my details after a second viewing but as it stands I am ecstatic about this release.

Gary W. Tooze