Lust for Life Blu-ray - Kirk Douglas

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

Directed by Vincente Minnelli
USA 1956

Vibrant orange sunflowers. Rippling yellow grain. Trees bursting with white bloom. "The pictures come to me as in a dream," Vincent Van Gogh said. A dream that too often turned to life-shattering nightmare. Winner of Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Best Actor Awards, Kirk Douglas gives a fierce portrayal as the artist torn between the joyous inspiration of his genius and the dark desperation of his tormented mind. The obsessed Van Gogh painted the way other men breathe, driving away family and friends, including artist Paul Gauguin (1956 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Anthony Quinn). Directed by Vincente Minnelli and saturated with the hues of Van Gogh's sea, field and sky, Lust for Life captures the ecstasy of art. And the agony of one man's life.

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Theatrical Release: September 17th, 1956

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Comparison:

Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Warner - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Warner Home Video - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC	Warner Brothers Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:02:-04	2:02:18.581
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.18 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 34,480,031,898 bytes Feature Size: 31,493,965,824 bytes Total Bitrate: 27.92 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), DUB: French - Quebecois (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2988 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2988 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBs: Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio German 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None	English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by: film historian Dr. Drew Casper • Theatrical trailer DVD Release Date: January 31st, 2006 Keep Case Chapters: 32	Release Information: Studio: Warner Archive Disc Size: 34,480,031,898 bytes Feature Size: 31,493,965,824 bytes Total Bitrate: 27.92 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Edition Details: • Commentary by: film historian Dr. Drew Casper • Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light (20:23) • Theatrical trailer (3:04) Blu-ray Release Date: September 18th, 2007 Standard Blu-ray case Chapters 14

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray February 15': Massive improvement over the 2006 SD. Most noticeably in the colors - an important part of Lust For Life - which are brighter, richer and deeper. There is significantly more information in the frame - mostly visible on the side edges. This is a dual-layered 1080P transfer with a decent bitrate for the 2-hour film. Grain textures are also visible - this looks beautiful in-motion.

Warner use a bump; a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at a strong 2988 kbps. Now the film did have a 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) audio track originally and this robust lossless sounds highly impressive with some deft, if not discreet, separation. The depth is very evident in the the iconic Miklós Rózsa (The Lost Weekend, The Killers, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity) score. There are optional foreign-language DUBs and subtitles available on the region FREE Blu-ray disc.

Extras include the excellent commentary by film historian Dr. Drew Casper, as found on the original DVD. Warner, do however, provide a new supplement - a 20-minute vintage 'Making of' entitled Van Gogh: Darkness Into Light - made in 1956 and directed by Fritz Goodwin. This behind the scenes look has many European locations that were used in the filming including Holland and France. It was interesting to see some of the challenges re-constructing buildings that are present in many of Van Gogh's paintings. There is also a, lengthy, theatrical trailer.

Excellent film - and an equally strong package. I really love Lust For Life and give this Blu-ray our highest recommendation!

***

ON THE DVD: I'm not particularly over-the-moon with this transfer - it is quite dark, dull colors and not as sharp as I would have anticipated. Looking the Warner-gift horse in the mouth I still must note this is a tight-to-the-frame-edges progressive, anamorphic DVD with a great commentary by Dr. Casper. The audio is clear and the subtitles are up to Warner's usual high standards. Perhaps I was anticipating too much from the image quality or the existing elements were in mediocre condition. I also found Minnelli's frequent long shots with characters at a fair distance from the camera to detract from my viewing enjoyment. I suppose there are reasons why but regardless - overall I was just kind of blasé with this film and presentation. Others may enjoy it much more than I did.

Gary W. Tooze

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