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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'L'Éclipse" or "Eclipse" or "The Eclipse"')
France / Italy 1962
| The conclusion of Michelangelo Antonioni’s informal trilogy on modern malaise, which began with L’avventura, L’eclisse (The Eclipse) tells the story of a young woman (Monica Vitti) who leaves one lover (Francisco Rabal) only to drift into a relationship with another (Alain Delon). Using the architecture of Rome as a backdrop for the couple’s doomed affair, Antonioni reaches the apotheosis of his modernist style, returning to his favorite themes: alienation and the difficulty of finding connections in an increasingly mechanized world. |
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Theatrical Release: April 12th, 1962 - Italy
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
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Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kinokuniya (JAPAN) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Per-Olof Strandberg for the Optimum Home Entertainment Screen Caps!
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
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Single Disc Blu-ray version
available in March 2018:
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| Distribution | Criterion Collection Spine #278 - Region 1- NTSC |
Optimum Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | Criterion - Spine #278 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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The Optimum R2 PAL release is also available
in The Alain Delon - The Screen Icons Collection which includes
Un Flic, Plein Soleil, L'eclisse,
Traitement De Choc and Flic Story.
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| Runtime | 2:05:48 | 2:00:44 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:03:33.572 | 2:06:05.266 |
| Video | 1.83:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.3 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1:1.85
Original Aspect Ratio |
1080i Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,848,468,129 bytes Feature: 30,846,369,792 bytesVideo Bitrate: 29.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,431,587,872 bytes Feature: 35,689,826,304 bytesVideo Bitrate: 33.49 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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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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| Bitrate: Criterion |
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| Bitrate: Optimum |
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| Bitrate: Kinokuniya Blu-ray |
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| Bitrate: Criterion Blu-ray |
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| Audio | Italian (Dolby Digital 1.0), Commentary: English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0) | DUB: LPCM Audio French 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit |
LPCM Audio Italian 1152 kbps 1.0
/ 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
| Subtitles | English, None | English, None | Japanese, None | English, None |
| Features |
Release Information:
Edition Details: • Audio
commentary by film scholar Richard Peña, program director of the Film
Society of Lincoln Center
• 30 page liner notes booklet |
Release Information: Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 12
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Release Information: 1080i Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 30,848,468,129 bytes Feature: 30,846,369,792 bytesVideo Bitrate: 29.93 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Photo Gallery
Booklet (In Japanese) |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,431,587,872 bytes Feature: 35,689,826,304 bytesVideo Bitrate: 33.49 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Audio
commentary by film scholar Richard Peña, program director of the Film
Society of Lincoln Center
2 DVD of the feature and all the extras of
the
Blu-ray Chapters 18 |
| Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' Blu-ray - May 2014: As expected and appreciated the Criterion Blu-ray advances over the Japanese in just about every visual area. Black levels return to their inky richness, detail is striking and there is depth. Criterion have transferred to a dual-layered disc, with a very high bitrate. The only thing I can see is that the Japanese Blu-ray shows a shade more information on the side edges. The audio is transferred via an authentic, mono, linear PCM. There are optional subtitles. Criterion include the excellent commentary by film scholar Richard Peña, program director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the 55-minute Michelangelo Antonioni: The Eye That Changed Cinema documentary exploring the director’s life and career, in HD as well as the Elements of Landscape, a twenty-two-minute piece from 2005 about Antonioni and L’eclisse, featuring Italian film critic Adriano Aprà and longtime Antonioni friend Carlo di Carlo. There are liner notes featuring essays by film critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Gilberto Perez, as well as excerpts from Antonioni’s writing about his work and 2 DVDs holding the feature and all the extras of the Blu-ray. Criterion diligently completes an amazing package. My favorite Antonioni and a must-own for digital librarians everywhere.***
ADDITION: Kinokuniya - Region 'A' Blu-ray - March 2014: Don't get your hopes up! (he says to himself.) I post this as I thought others might be as curious as I about this Japanese Blu-ray release. Before purchasing I considered that even if it didn't have English subtitles, I know the film so well, that I still might appreciate the incredible visuals in HD. Unfortunately, this fails on almost every front. The transfer, while dual-layered with a decent bitrate, is 1080i (interlaced) and looks quite 'faint' and has numerous speckles and artifacts. The audio, although in linear PCM, is a poor French DUB with crackles throughout. Ugly. The Japanese subtitles are removable. There are no extras, a side from a weak photo gallery and extensive liner notes booklet in Japanese, and the menu system is clunky (you can't remove or add the subtitles on-the-fly - you must stop and restart the film from the beginning.) And the biggest failing is that some sequences are 'cut' - mostly, it appears, during the montage sequences at the end of the film - for shame! (the last capture could not be matched because it is not on the Blu-ray!) The one thing I did get out of comparing this BD was the amount of information in the frame - we get a healthy amount more on the Japanese transfer - mostly on the left and right edges. Even more than the Criterion DVD. So, let's hope we see this and L'Avventura, come to Blu-ray by a strong production company... soon. I, not only, consider this in the top 20 films of all time, but it is also one where the appearance is so vital to the film experience - L'Eclisse deserves the very best quality we can establish for home theatre viewing. ***
ON THE DVDs:
Compared to the Criterion, this Optimum (Studio Canal) DVD seems quite
weak. It has only used 4 GB of space on the single-layered disc. There
are compression artifacts visible throughout. There is some disturbing
aliasing if you look at objects like the furniture, walls, cars on the
street, etc. The interesting thing is that the Optimum disc is cropped
on the both edges, but the Criterion disc is cropped on the top and the
bottom. Could these be a sign that the actual screen ratio should be in
1:1.66. The Optimum ratio is 1:1.74. - Per-Olof Strandberg
ON THE CRITERION:
I'm still
trying to confirm the aspect ratio (possibly should be 1.66 ?), but I
would say that this may be the DVD release of the Year. Image quality is
excellent - akin to, and possibly exceeding, Criterion's own
L'Avventura. Dusted grays, pitch
blacks and un-boosted whites make for a pure film-like image. This film
is so beautiful and Criterion have risen to the challenge with their DVD
presentation. Original Italian mono audio (with optional English mono
commentary) and excellent removable English subtitles.
Include in this package are some valued extra features.
An insightful
commentary on the main feature disc, a 30 page liner notes booklet and two detailed featurettes on the
second disc. Both documentaries will be highly treasured by Antonioni
fans. This may move directly to the
Essential DVDs listing. Our
strongest recommendation.
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(Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Criterion - Disc 2
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Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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NOTE: Not exact frame
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Screen Captures
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Example from television broadcast
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP2) Optimum Home Entertainment - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND 3) Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray THIRD 4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Scene missing from the Japanese Blu-ray |
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More Criterion Blu-ray Captures
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Michelangelo Antonioni films on DVD (NTSC) - CLICK COVERS or REVIEW BUTTON for more information
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Recommended Books for Michelangelo Antonioni reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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That Bowling Alley on the Tiber: Tales of a
Director by Michelangelo Antonioni |
Antonioni, Or, the Surface of the World by Seymour Chatman |
My Time With Antonioni: The Diary of an
Extraordinary Experience by Wim Wenders, Michael Hofmann |
Antonioni: The Poet of Images by William Arrowsmith, Ted Perry |
Antonioni by Sam Rohdie |
The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni
(Cambridge Film Classics) by Peter Brunette, Ray Carney |
Michelangelo Antonioni by Seymour Chatman, Paul Duncan |
L'Avventura (B.F.I. Film Classics) by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith |
| Box Covers |
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Single Disc Blu-ray version
available in March 2018:
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| Distribution | Criterion Collection Spine #278 - Region 1- NTSC |
Optimum Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Kinokuniya - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | Criterion - Spine #278 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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The Optimum R2 PAL release is also available
in The Alain Delon - The Screen Icons Collection which includes
Un Flic, Plein Soleil, L'eclisse,
Traitement De Choc and Flic Story.
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Criterion Blu-ray |
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Sound: |
Criterion Blu-ray |
| Extras: | Criterions |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!