ADDITION: Schröder Media - Region FREE Blu-ray - May 2012: Very ugly - pass. They used 576i instead of 1080P - hence ghosting and combing - no lossless sound, pitiful bitrate. Total rip-off - do NOT buy the German Blu-ray.

***

One of the more lopsided comparisons in DVDBeaver history (although not at the level of Two Women as another dramatic example of image variance). This, of course, becomes commonplace when titles slip into the Public Domain. Until now there have been no acceptable releases of The Snows Of Kilimanjaro but Fox has righted that wrong with a magnificent and stacked new DVD package. It excels over the Koch in every area - sharpness, color, detail, more information in the frame as well as audio where the Fox gives option for stereo or original mono. The Fox offers optional subtitles in English or Spanish.

The Fox DVD has some excellent supplements including an informative and professional commentary by film historians Patricia King Hanson and Frank Thompson (who has written a book on director Henry King - Henry King Director: From Silents to Scope). They discuss things associated with Hemingway's short story and how the eventual screen play utilizes many aspects of other Hemingway works. It appears as though this film had some trouble hurdling the Hays code at the time with references to multiple marriages etc. It is an evenly paced commentary and the two work well together supporting each other's comments with additional facts. There is a 13 minute featurette entitled The Snows of Zanuck: The Making of Kilimanjaro - it focus on Zanuck and his original Bohemian convictions - rising from nothing to be a powerful mogul. It is quite interesting viewing. Included are a 13 minute audio conversation with director King and another , about 15 minutes, with writer Casey Robinson. There is also a restoration comparison, still gallery and theatrical trailer. There are no liner notes.

It is obvious which edition to choose and I support purchasing the entire Hemingway Collection (which we review in detail). It makes for a substantial savings from buying individually and Fox has done another admirable job with this collection. Recommended.  

Gary W. Tooze