Esther and the King - Joan Collins

Search DVDBeaver

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

(aka "Esther e il Re" )

directed by Raoul Walsh, Mario Bava
Italy, USA 1960

Esther and the King (1960) is a cast-of-thousands epic spectacle set in the Ancient World, of the kind popular in its era. The film is visually gorgeous, with rich color design in its elaborate costumes and sets. Such an immersion in a world of spectacle was typical of such 1960-era films, including Fritz Lang's The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959) and Anthony Mann's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). All of these films have huge sets that represent royal palaces. The sets are brilliantly colored, and remote from anything in modern life. They give a dream like feeling to the works, a sense of total escapism from contemporary reality, at least in visual appearance.

Excerpt of review from The Films of Raoul Walsh [Michael E. Grost] located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 18 November 1960 (New York City, NY)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

20th Century Fox (Fox Cinema Archives) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. KSM Klassiker - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for all the Screen Caps!

(20th Century Fox (Fox Cinema Archives) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. KSM Klassiker - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	20th Century Fox Region 0 - NTSC	KSM Klassiker Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:49:08	1:44:48 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	2.32:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.86 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2:35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.75 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: 20th Century Fox (Fox Cinema Archives)
Bitrate: KSM Klassiker
Audio	Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 (English)	Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 (English, German dub)
Subtitles	None	German, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 2.32:1 Edition Details: � Theatrical Trailer (2:26) DVD Release Date: March 18th, 2014 Keep case Chapters 11	Release Information: Studio: KSM Klassiker Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2:35:1 Edition Details: � Theatrical Trailer (2:28) � Theatrical Trailers for 6 other films � Biographies for Raoul Walsh, Joan Collins, Richard Egan � Photogallery (12 images) DVD Release Date: September 17th, 2012 Keep case Chapters 12

Comments

In the review of the Fox's made-on-demand disc of Esther and the King, I mention that there is a German disc from KSM Klassiker presenting film with anamorphic enhancement. Here is the comparison of the captures - the German transfer shaves off some of the image on the sides and lacks some clarity expected from higher resolution on this dual-layered DVD. The colors are the same, so it seems both transfers derived from the same source. It's still a mystery why the US disc is not enhanced - at least the film is not pan-and-scanned like other releases from Fox Cinema Archives 23 Paces to Baker Street, Night People). 2.0 Mono soundtrack is decent for both, but we need to consider German disc's PAL speedup. Both discs feature original trailer and KSM Klassiker adds more trailers for other films they released and some bios and galleries. German disc is slightly better for its anamorphic enhancement, but hopefully film gets a Blu-ray release from Fox or Twilight Time soon.

- Gregory Meshmam

DVD Menus
(20th Century Fox (Fox Cinema Archives) - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. KSM Klassiker - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)