NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Firstly, the 3 films are divided on the 2 dual-layered Blu-ray discs as follows:

Blu-ray 1) Gabbeh (1996) and The Silence (1998) with audio commentary on Gabbeh by critic Godfrey Cheshire, trailers and stills gallery

Blu-ray 2) The Gardener (2012) and the bulk of the video supplements

This is advertised as "Brand new 2K restorations of The Silence and Gabbeh from the original camera negatives". All three films sport max'ed out bitrates and we have compared Gabbeh (1996) and The Silence (1998) to the North American DVDs of years ago. The 1080P are in the correct theatrical running time, where the DVDs were unconverted PAL-> NTSC and hence running 4% slower. The Blu-ray image is a bit paler but looks true, as now the SD seems boosted but the HD has more information in the frame, vastly superior contrast, depth, doesn't have the associated artifacts of the improper SD-conversion issues (see combing sample below) and therefore, also, looks significantly better in-motion. It's really no contest - these are such visually beautiful films that shine in the higher resolution. The Gardener  was shot in HD, is in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio - and looks very crisp on the Blu-ray. The films are so visually impressive it is so great to have them in this format now as it changes the entire film experience - for the better.

Audio: is all liner PCM mono and there are no flagrant imperfections and all in the original Persian (Farsi) language with abundant English on The Silence. These seem to be accurate-to-original audio transfers - flat but these scores; nothing credited on The Silence, Hossein Alizadeh (A Time for Drunken Horses) on Gabbeh and music by Paul Collier and Salar Samadi on The Gardener. gentle support the narrative.  There are English subtitles for each film but not for the English language on The Gardener. The three Blu-ray discs are Region FREE - available in the UK and US.

Supplements: On the first disc offers the audio commentary on Gabbeh by critic Godfrey Cheshire (author of "Personal in My Memory") who has served as chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle. His insights are revealing and for fans of the director or Iranian cinema in general - it is well-worth the indulgence. There are also trailers (Gabbeh US trailer - 1:19, Gabbeh French trailer - 1;17, The Silence French trailer - 1:02, The Gardener - 4:21) and stills galleries on both Blu-rays. On the second disc is Poetry in Motion an hour-long interview with Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an in-depth conversation between the Iranian auteur and film critic Jonathan Romney (author of Short Orders: Writings on Film), newly produced for this edition. It explores the director, his methods and overall view of cinema. It's excellent. Mohsen with Closed Eyes is an imaginatively filmed, 16-minute, archival interview with Makhmalbaf on The Silence. The package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow and the first pressing gets an illustrated booklet featuring new writing by film academic Negar Mottahedeh and Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

Largely, many Iranian 'Festival secrets' have disappeared from the conversation but what a great way to bring them back into our memories with The Silence and Gabbeh representing two powerfully impacting film experiences - looking and sounding pristine. This Blu-ray package is such great news and we can only hope its a coming trend with more like Forough Farrokhzad, some early Kiarostami (Where is the Friend's Home?), Jafar Panahi, Majid Majidi making it to this format. As for Arrow's Mohsen Makhmalbaf: The Poetic Trilogy Blu-ray set - it is very strongly recommended!    

Gary W. Tooze