ADDITION: Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray April 15': The video looks the exact same in our static capture frame comparisons, but as the Masters of Cinema is more technically robust it may look a bit smoother in-motion (dependant on your system). It must be from the same restoration and, like the Criterion, looks very impressive. Without the supplements - the UK transfer has a max'ed out bitrate and is, essentially, superior in terms of image quality (9 Mbps higher bitrate) although noticing this may be dependant on your size of screen and how discerning your are.

The big issue is why Criterion did not include the English language track - repeating Samuel's comments: Unlike the original MGM DVD, there is no English language track on the Criterion Blu-ray, As Samuel tells us in email "The 3 principal characters are English or American, spoke their lines in English, and the film I saw in theaters in 1969 was in English (most Italian actors dubbed of course)." (Thanks Samuel!)

But Masters of Cinema have included the English-language track as well as the Italian - both lossless linear PCM. It also has optional English subtitles and is region 'B'-locked.

Their only extras are a, rougher looking, trailer and large liner notes booklets featuring a new essay by Pasquale Iannone on Fellini and his usage of the 'Scope frame; rare archival imagery; and more.

So The Masters of Cinema wins for the a/v presentation and Criterion gets the nof for the extras.

***

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - February 2015': The Criterion image not only offers a far more authentic shift in the color scheme, but also significantly more information in the frame (edges). Along with the tighter, richer colors (noble reds, blues and golds), the HD image exports a pleasing depth and film-like feel. There is more detail and every visual aspect has improved over the flatter, duller DVDs. Bravo!

Criterion opt for a linear PCM in original 1.0 channel mono at 1152 kbps. Authentic, clear and consistent. The score has contributions from a few including Nino Rota (8 1/2, I Clowns, Purple Noon, The Leopard etc.) and pieces like The Drums for the Niegpadouda Dance. It all benefits from the lossless and there is some minor depth to appreciate. Criterion have optional English subtitles on their region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

NOTE: Unlike the original MGM DVD, there is no English language track on the Criterion Blu-ray, As Samuel tells us in email "The 3 principal characters are English or American, spoke their lines in English, and the film I saw in theaters in 1969 was in English (most Italian actors dubbed of course)." (Thanks Samuel!)

Extras are extensive. Recorded by Criterion in 2014, we get an audio commentary that is a dramatic reading from Eileen Lanouette Hughes’s 1971 memoir On the Set of “Fellini Satyricon”: A Behind-the-Scenes Diary and makes for a highly interesting re-viewing of the film. Ciao, Federico!, Gideon Bachmann’s hour-long, highly remarkable 1970, documentary shot on the set of Fellini Satyricon captures Fellini at work interspersed with interviews, comments from some of the performers and members of his entourage. It shows rants (after one of the set designers), an actress - and then a yelled apology, reassuring concerned Capucine while morphing into a flirtatious and sprightly character not unlike the protagonists of Satyricon's colorful, ancient, murals. While he claimed to hate to give interviews, Federico Fellini rarely declined to take part in them. Criterion include several conversations with the director - a 10-minute, audio only, archival segment conducted by Gideon Bachman, a short French Television piece from 1969 and 2-minutes with Gene Shalit from 1975. From 2011, Criterion add their 7.5 minute interview with cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno who shot nine different projects for Fellini but he claimed that Satyricon was the most challenging of them all. He described the production of this epic film. There is a new, 24-minute, documentary - produced by Criterion - about Fellini’s adaptation of Petronius’s work, featuring interviews with classicists Luca Canali, a consultant on the film, and Joanna Paul author of the article Fellini-Satyricon: Petronius and Film. More new Criterion-produced video - we get a 2014 interview with world-famous photographer Mary Ellen Mark, who was just 20 when Look magazine assigned her to document the production of Fellini Satyricon. She shares her experiences on the set and her iconic photographs of Fellini and his film for about 13-minutes. We also get Felliniana, a presentation of Fellini Satyricon ephemera from the collection of Don Young's memorabilia, the Felliniana Archive. There is also a trailer and the package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by film critic Michael Wood.

Truly magnificent and one of the most stacked Blu-ray package of the early year. So much value here - this is an easy must-have for cinephiles everywhere. Our highest recommendation!

 - Peter Mann

Peter is spot-on with his comments. The Region 1 may be slightly darker and I think the PAL version may have the superior contrast. It is possible that the NTSC may be marginally sharper, but again differences are of negligible.