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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

Directed by Stanley Donen
USA 19
67

 

Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney suffer marital problems as they tour around France in this sarcastic 1960s comedy from Singin' In The Rain's Stanley Donen.

After winning an Oscar for Darling in 1965, screenwriter Frederic Raphael took a similarly sardonic look at marriage with Two For The Road, a witty and tightly plotted marital drama that earned him another Academy nomination. Based on his own experiences of motoring around France with his wife every summer, the film explores various junctures in the relationship of husband and wife Mark (Finney) and Joanna (Hepburn).

When the film opens, the couple have been married for 12 years and things clearly haven't been 'happily ever after'. Evidently tired of each other, they struggle to even hold a conversation, let alone hold together a marriage. What follows is a deconstruction of their relationship as the film flashes back, via some quirky visual transitions, to the day they first met through, then to their honeymoon period and later their first child, all taking place in French locations.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 27th, 1967

Reviews                                                                                 More Reviews                                                                           DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

20th Century Fox (Studio Classics) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B'- Blu-ray vs. Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Wild Side - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 Box Covers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comes in a standard Blu-ray Edition:

or with the book -  see images below:

Distribution 20th Century Fox (Studio Classics # 37) - Region 1 - NTSC The Masters of Cinema Spine #107
Region
'B' - Blu-ray
Twilight Time
Region FREE -
Blu-ray
Wild Side
Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
Runtime 1:50:56  1:51:02.322 1:51:01.905 1:51:11.623
Video 2.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.82 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 43,729,668,797 bytes

Feature: 34,903,670,400 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.34 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,905,694,450 bytes

Feature: 35,591,989,248 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 49,274,502,813 bytes

Feature: 30,931,716,096 bytes

Video Bitrate: 28.90 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate: Masters of Cinema Blu-ray

Bitrate: Twilight Time Blu-ray

Bitrate: Wild Side Blu-ray

Audio English (Mono) , English (Dolby Digital 2.0), DUBS: French (Mono) , Spanish  (Mono)  LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1982 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1982
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1911 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1911
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Isolated Score:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1783 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1783
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentaries:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2032 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2032
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1979 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1979
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)

DTS-HD Master Audio French 2020 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2020 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1948 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1948 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1859 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1859 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
 

Subtitles English, Spanish, None English, None English (SDH), None French (forced when English language is chosen), None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: 20th Century Fox (Studio Classics)

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 2.33:1

Edition Details:

• Commentary by director Stanley Donen

• Restoration Comparison
• Theatrical trailers
• Stills Gallery
 

DVD Release Date: November 1st, 2005
Keep Case
Chapters: 24

Release Information:
Studio:
The Masters of Cinema

 

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 43,729,668,797 bytes

Feature: 34,903,670,400 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.34 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Commentary by director Stanley Donen
• 
Frederic Raphael - Memories of Travelers (25:34)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:15)

• 36-Page liner notes booklet

DVD

 

Blu-ray Release Date: January 19th, 2015
Transparent
Blu-ray Case

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio:
Twilight Time

 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,905,694,450 bytes

Feature: 35,591,989,248 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary with Film Historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman
Audio Commentary with Director Stanley Donen
Isolated Music Track
Fox Movietone Newsreel (1:45)
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:17)
• Liner notes by Julie Kirgo
Limited to 3,000 Copies!


Blu-ray Release Date:
January, 201
7
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio: Wild Side

 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 49,274,502,813 bytes

Feature: 30,931,716,096 bytes

Video Bitrate: 28.90 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Commentaire audio de Stanley Donen (In English with optional French subtitles)
Carnets de route : le scénariste Frederic Raphael raconte l'écriture du film (36:04 - French-only)
La Fin du voyage : Sean Hepburn Ferrer parle de l'expérience de sa mère Audrey Hepburn sur le tournage (16:04 - English with optional French subtitles)
La Mode et le Style : la chef costumière Sophie Rochas se souvient du tournage (28:47)
Récit de voyage : retour en images sur la carrière de Stanley Donen (5:27 - French only)
Virages de modes : focus sur la garde-robe d'Audrey Hepburn dans Voyage à deux (11:07 - French only)
Bande-annonce Trailer (2:16)

DVD


Blu-ray Release Date: March 11th, 2020

Custom Blu-ray Case

Chapters 13

 

 

 

Comments:

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

 

Package - Wild Side Region 'B'- Blu-ray

 


Menus

 

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray RIGHT


 

Twilight Time - Region 'A'- Blu-ray

 

 

Wild Side Region 'B'- Blu-ray

 

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920 X 1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample

 

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray SECOND

3) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD

4) Wild Side Region 'B'- Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

Screen Captures

 

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray SECOND

3) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD

4) Wild Side Region 'B'- Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray  TOP

2) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TMIDDLE

3) Wild Side Region 'B'- Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray  TOP

2) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TMIDDLE

3) Wild Side Region 'B'- Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray TOP

2) Twilight Time - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC TOP

2) The Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 

 Box Covers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comes in a standard Blu-ray Edition:

or with the book -  see images below:

Distribution 20th Century Fox (Studio Classics # 37) - Region 1 - NTSC The Masters of Cinema Spine #107
Region
'B' - Blu-ray
Twilight Time
Region FREE -
Blu-ray
Wild Side
Region 'B' -
Blu-ray




 

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