Fitzcarraldo Blu-ray - Klaus Kinski

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Werner Herzog
West Germany 1982

Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" is one of the great visions of the cinema, and one of the great follies. One would not have been possible without the other. This is a movie about an opera-loving madman who is determined to drag a boat overland from one river system to another. In making the film, Herzog was determined to actually do that, which is more than can be said for Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, the Irishman whose story inspired him.

"Fitzcarraldo" (1982) is one of those brave and epic films, like "Apocalypse Now" or "2001," where we are always aware both of the film, and of the making of the film. Herzog could have used special effects for his scenes of the 360-ton boat being hauled up a muddy 40-degree slope in the jungle, but he believed we could tell the difference: "This is not a plastic boat." Watching the film, watching Fitzcarraldo (Klaus Kinski) raving in the jungle in his white suit and floppy panama hat, watching Indians operating a block-and-tackle system to drag the boat out of the muck, we're struck by the fact that this is actually happening, that this huge boat is inching its way onto land -- as Fitzcarraldo (who got his name because the locals could not pronounce "Fitzgerald") serenades the jungle with his scratchy old Caruso recordings.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: March 4th, 1982 - West Germany

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Comparison:

Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL vs BFI (Werner Herzog Collection - 8-Disc Blu-ray Box Set) - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Pavel Borodin forthe DVD screen captures!

1) Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT
2) Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL MIDDLE

3) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Anchor Bay Region 0 - NTSC	Anchor Bay Region 0 - PAL	BFI Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:36:55	2:30:40 (4% PAL speedup)	2:37:02.333
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.21 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.39 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,417,794,523 bytes Feature: 45,852,483,648 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.97 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: AB (US)
Bitrate: Anchor Bay UK
Bitrate: Anchor Bay UK
Audio	German (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dubbed) (Dolby Digital 5.1)	German (Dolby Stereo & Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio English 1509 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit LPCM Audio German 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio German 1509 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, and none	English, and none	English, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • All Regions • Color, Widescreen • Commentary by director Werner Herzog, producer Lucki Stipetic and Norman Hill • Production notes • German Theatrical Trailer • Still Gallery • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: November 2, 1999 Keep Case Chapters 23 *This DVD can be purchased individually or in the 6 disc Kinski/Herzog Boxset found at Amazon HERE	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Commentary track by Werner Herzog, producer Lucki Stepic and journalist Norman Itill • Trailer • Film notes • Talent bios • Photo gallery DVD Release Date: 2 September, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: BFI 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,417,794,523 bytes Feature: 45,852,483,648 bytes Video Bitrate: 28.97 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary with Werner Herzog and Norman Hill • Stills Gallery (4:24) • German Theatrical Trailer (3:08) • English Theatrical Trailer (3:08) Blu-ray Release Date: August 25th, 2014 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

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

ADDITION: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (August 14'): The 1080P image is a huge increase over the DVDs with significantly superior flesh tones colors and pleasingly layered contrast. It can shows a bit more information in the frame. I'd still like to get the US "Herzog: The Collection" version from Shout! Factory to compare. I'd very pleased but would like to cover more of this BFI collection. This is a VERY positive addition. It has the commentary and optional German/English tracks. It was, truly, like seeing the film afresh with this HD transfer. Stay tuned for more.

***

ON THE DVDs: Not much to say here... the Region 1 is obviously sharper and superior. Both colors match but I still think there is too much red in the image... and they both appear saturated to me. Extras are the same as is the sound. The REgion 1 is the preferred choice for its superior image quality. the menus are a personal preference - I like less flamboyant the Region 1's.

- Gary W. Tooze

Menus

(Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

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

Subtitle Sample

BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Screen Captures

1) Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC TOP
2) Anchor Bay - Region 0 - PAL MIDDLE