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

ADDITION: Wildside - Region 'B' - Blu-ray March 2020: Then new Wildside 1080P image has slightly richer colors and contrast. Technically, it is about the same on a dual-layered disc with a reasonably high bitrate. I thought it looked quite pleasing in-motion. For those who can discern it the image is slightly superior, imo.

The bad news is, again, the non-removable French subtitles when the original English audio is chosen. This was part of the licensing agreement that Wild Side made to produce this package. The audio is in 24-bit DTS-HD Master tracks for both the original English (with non-removable French subtitles) and a French DUB. There are, the aforementioned, French subtitles on this Region 'B' Blu-ray disc.

Impressive inclusion, again, is the digibook (see below) that houses the discs (a second disc DVD is included). It is filled with beautiful photos and French text. It's a wonderful keepsake for fans of this film. There is the Donen commentary accessible - with optional French subtitles and a few other video extras - notably Robert Fischer's Fiction Factory 1/4 hour "A Son Remembers: Sean Hepburn Ferrer on Audrey Hepburn and "Two For the Road". It is described as a "warm and very personal look back on Audrey Hepburn at the time of the shooting of Stanley Donen’s much beloved romantic comedy TWO FOR THE ROAD (1967) by her son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer." It is in English with optional French subtitles.

So, the same conundrum - amazing package but the mandatory subs are a black-mark. Wildside are incomparable in these hardcover books - just stacked with color photos. Worth it? To serious fans of the film I'd say it could be considered to house the Twilight Time disc. To each his or her own!

***

ADDITION: Twilight Time Blu-ray - January 17':  Firstly, there have been a number of titles released on Blu-ray by both Twilight Time and the Masters of Cinema Group in the UK and, I believe, we have compared them all - The Man From Laramie, The Gang's All Here, and Nicolas Roeg's Eureka. The transfers may have been co-operatively rendered - I'm not sure, but the similarities are usually consistent. Twilight Time's new 1080P looks almost exactly the same as the UK rendering. It has a strong, but slightly lower, bitrate and the BD image has the same attributes; "slightly muted colors, texture, depth and a splendid brilliance in-motion".

Twilight Time give plenty of options for the film's audio. Both a 2.0 channel stereo and separate mono, in DTS-HD Master are offering for viewing Two For the Road, plus a similarly encoded isolated score option, or two commentaries (discussed below.) The great Henry Mancini (Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Experiment in Terror, Charade) scored the film which includes the The Two For the Road theme sounds pleasing and my ears can't detect any disparity in the MoC uncompressed audio. Both have optional English subtitles (sample below.) The Twilight Time Blu-ray is region FREE but limited to 3,000 copies.

Twilight Time include the older commentary track with director Stanley Donen also found on the Masters of Cinema but include a second, new one with film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman - and it's as rewarding as their other discussion tracks bringing up educational detail on the stars, director and production. Twilight Time also add an odd Fox Movietone Newsreel of award recipients (like Rod Steiger) with Two For the Road music behind it (?) and there is a theatrical trailer. The package contains a leaflet with liner notes by Julie Kirgo.

With the additional commentary it looks like the Twilight Time nudges ahead as the definitive digital release for Two For the Road - a funny, human, touching one. This Blu-ray package is certainly recommended!  

***

ADDITION: The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray - December 2014: It's great to compare to the DVD (which actually now looks boosted) - which I recall watching and remembering how striking it was years ago, but The Masters of Cinema's new 1080P with a max'ed out bitrate remarkably improves the visual appearance with richer, slightly muted colors, texture, depth and a splendid brilliance in-motion. It can look a bit darker beside the SD. It's an impressive and dynamic film to bring to Blu-ray. Linear PCM stereo at 2304 kbps is used - which sounds flawless. There are optional English subtitles and the Blu-ray disc is region 'B'-locked. Supplements include the previous commentary by director Stanley Donen from the DVD, and an Allerton Films piece on the screenwriter Frederic Raphael entitled Memories of Travelers. He talks about his work with Donen and actors. It runs over 25-minutes and is in French with English subtitles. There is also a theatrical trailer and one of The Masters of Cinema's extensive 36-Page liner notes booklets. Being Dual-Format a DVD is included of the film and extras. The appearance of the film is a highly important aspect to Two For the Road - as in most Donen movies - and seeing in HD was splendid. Very strongly recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: I wouldn't say this image is perfect, but it looks pretty darn good. Colors look stunning but it is moderately soft in some places - nothing fatal but it was slightly noticeable in projection viewing. Audio offers an English mono and a clear stereo track with two mono DUBS (French and Spanish). The film is quite clean and if you view the restoration comparison in the extras you can see the amount it has improved.

I'm only part-way through the Stanley Donen commentary and it is quite good with some short gaps as we re-watch the film. If you consider what you are getting here - a lauded Audrey Hepburn film directed by the great Stanley Donen - WITH a commentary by him... and it's is only $10 ?!? - this ridiculously low price makes this another no-brainer purchase from Fox's Studio Classics series.  out of  

Gary W. Tooze