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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Day of the Woman" )

 

directed by Meir Zarchi
United States 1978

 

Author Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE?) leaves bustling New York for idyllic splendor of Kent, Connecticut to write her first novel. Immediately, she is eyed up by gas station attendant Johnny (Eron Tabor) and his pals Stanley (Anthony Nichols) and Andy (Gunter Kleeman). Jennifer seems to make a friend in mentally-challenged grocery delivery boy Matthew (Richard Pace), but Johnny and pals decide to get Matthew laid and Jennifer is the unwilling mate. The men chase her through the woods and gang-rape her twice and then pursue her back to her cottage (where they additionally violate her by ripping up her manuscript). The guys send Matthew back to kill Jennifer, but he is unable to do it. Jennifer recovers and systematically mutilates and murders each of them. Shot in cinematographer Yuri Haviv's (DOUBLE AGENT 73) own country cottage using his antiquated but reliable 35mm equipment, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is slickly made, yet it is still iconically Grindhouse (other than the error in the poster that specifies five mutilated men instead of four, the memorable poster art is ideally suited to the picture). In the commentary, director Mier Zarchi mentions at Haviv's sound recorder was so ancient that it could no longer hold sync, and that Zarchi - a former sound and film editor - had to cut the magnetic tape stock to sync up the audio in post-production. This comment draws viewer attention to the film's deliberate sound design. There is no music score. Jennifer's screams, the men's cat-calls and shouts of verbal abuse (and their eventual screams) shatter the stillness of the countryside. The only seeming piece of underscoring turns out to be a harmonica played by one of the rapists. For the simplicity of its narrative and execution, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE certainly divided serious film critics, some of which suggested that viewers who enjoyed the rape scenes are potential rapists and those who enjoyed the revenge scenes are potential sadists. Feminists critics, particularly, seemed to reach for any aspect of Keaton's performance that suggested that the filmmakers were really taking the "she asked for it" tack. Keaton's Jennifer is possessed of a certain lack of affect - before the assaults - that perhaps invites, or provokes, probing interpretations of her mental state; but she certainly does not "flaunt" herself (as Briggs mentions of a feminist critic's review). The male characters are far less ambiguous in their sexism and outright misogyny (almost to the point of parody), yet only lead rapist Johnny and mentally-challenged Matthew are distinctly rendered as characters (and are the recipients of the brunt of Jennifer's vengeance). Critic Joe Bob Briggs, in his optional commentary, astutely refers to Stanley and Andy as "Frick and Frack" for their interchangeability (it is hard to tell which is which during the finale). I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE should be stripped-down and efficient exploitation filmmaking, but - as grisly and grueling as parts of it are - it has managed to

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: 22 November 1978 (USA)

Reviews                                                                  More Reviews                                                            DVD Reviews

Comparison:

 Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-Ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) Screen Caps!

Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray RIGHT

Box Covers

 

 

 

Distribution Elite Entertainment
Region 1 - NTSC
Anchor Bay
Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
Runtime 1:41:00 1:41:18.030
Video

1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.69 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Disc Size: 29,328,822,350 bytes

Feature Size: 26,175,221,760 bytes

Average Bitrate: 27.89 Mbps

Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P

 

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

Bitrate:

 

Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition)

 

Bitrate:  Blu-ray

 

 

 

Audio English DTS 5.1; English Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono

Dolby TrueHD Audio English 3246 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3246 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Embedded: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles none English (SDH), none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Elite Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.83:1

Edition Details:
• Audio commentary by director Meir Zarchi
• Audio commentary by cult film reviewer Joe Bob Briggs
• DAY OF THE WOMAN trailer (16:9; 2:40)
• Spanish DAY OF THE WOMAN trailer (16:9; 3:24)
• I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE trailer #1 (16:9; 2:53)
• I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE trailer #2 (16:9; 2:58)
• DAY OF THE WOMAN TV spot (4:3; 0:36)
• I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE TV spot #1 (4:3; 0:30)
• I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE TV spot #2 (4:3; 0:31)
• 3x DAY OF THE WOMAN radio spots
• Poster and Cover Art Gallery
• Reviews and Articles
• Filmographies
• THX Optimizer
• Easter Egg: Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery

DVD Release Date: 17 December 2002
Amaray

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment

 

Disc Size: 29,328,822,350 bytes

Feature Size: 26,175,221,760 bytes

Average Bitrate: 27.89 Mbps

Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P

 

Edition Details:

• Audio commentary by director Meir Zarchi
• Audio commentary by cult film reviewer Joe Bob Briggs

• The Values of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit on Your Grave (29:00)
• Alternate Main Title (:16)

• 4 trailers of the film

• TV Spots / radio Spots

• Stills and poster Gallery


Blu-ray Release Date: February 8th, 2011
Standard
Blu-ray case

Chapters 12

 

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were obtained directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Anchor Bay - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - February 2011 - The Anchor Bay is a significant jump ahead with a notably brighter and more color infused image. It is also much more detailed. The frame moves around a bit (sometimes we gain information - and other times we lose some). It has some nice grain but can tend to look manipulated although, IF it is, I suspect it more on the source. It is very clean. Bottom line is, that at about 4X the bitrate - the Blu-ray is visually quite stronger - as most would have expected.

The dual-layered Blu-ray offers a strong lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 bump at 3246 kbps. This is more than necessary to support the, fairly basic, track. We get authentic screams and hillbilly grunts - just what the doctor ordered for a true Grinder. Dialogue can be scattered in the bush - but this is surely a representation of the original. The Blu-ray offers some English (SDH) subtitles - see sample below.

Extras duplicate the DVD with the two commentaries, trailers, TV Spots etc. but add the half-hour Values of Vengeance: Meir Zarchi Remembers I Spit on Your Grave which fans of the genre will enjoy.

The Blu-ray is pretty good - well, about as good as this film will ever get to digital. It's a real nasty piece of work - but the appeal is just as hardcore. If I am ever in the mood (which I truly hope is not too frequently) - this is a trashy sidebar that tends to work better than most of its ilk. 

Gary Tooze

***

Elite's first DVD release of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE was a non-anamorphic, barebones edition in 1998. It was followed by the 2002 Millennium Edition under review, which added 5.1 and DTS tracks, two commentary tracks, and additional trailers, TV spots, and radio spots to a new 16:9 transfer. The 5.1 tracks do not add much to the film (which features no musical score), but they seem true to the original mix (the original mono track is also included). Both audio commentaries are worthy listens, addressing the critical reception (director Zarchi spends the whole of the opening credits quoting several volatile reactions, while Joe Bob Briggs brings up scene-specific critical comments) as well as production anecdotes. Anchor Bay UK has also re-released the film (following two previous BBFC-cut editions from Hardgore and Anchor Bay UK) on Blu-ray and DVD paired with the 2010 remake, and cut by 2m 54s of "potentially harmful material" (suggesting that UK viewers may still fail to be repelled by repellent actions); the remake was cut by 43s.

 - EricCotenas

 

 


Menus


Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray RIGHT
 

 


 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

Subtitle Sample - Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray

 

Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray BOTTOM

 


Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray BOTTOM

 


Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray BOTTOM

 


Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray BOTTOM

 


Elite Entertainment (Millennium Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 'A' -Blu-Ray BOTTOM

 

More Blu-Ray Captures

 


 

Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Blu-ray
Box Covers

 

 

 

Distribution Elite Entertainment
Region 1 - NTSC
Anchor Bay
Region 'A' -
Blu-ray

 

 


 




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Gary Tooze

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