Drowning By Numbers Blu-ray

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

directed by Peter Greenaway
UK / Netherlands 1988

Greenaway's Drowning By Numbers is reviewed / compared on 4K UHD HERE

Three related women, a mother, her daughter and her niece (played by Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson and Joely Richardson), are all known by the name Cissie Colpitts. Also in common are their dissatisfaction with their husband's philandering ways. The solution ? - drown each of them and make it look like an accident. The reluctant local coroner, a curmudgeon called Madgett, is drawn in to help hide the murders. His eventual price? - sexual favors. The story is sequentially interspersed with the numbers one to one-hundred, which appear passively hidden though easily visible, throughout the entirety of the film.

Regarded as one of Greenaways finest, it showcases his unique brand of cinema with beautiful, teasing imagery while perfectly mirroring a literary riddle of murder, morality and sexual solidarity. The director's following, who enjoy his quirky characters, are in their nirvana with this offering. Many may find it tedious and often disjointed. Reactions often vary from strongly like to strongly dislike. Unfortunately for me, I am in the latter camp, but can plainly see how others can be attracted to this form of cinema 'madness'. Ripe with the crossword style appeal (in searching for the numbers), few can argue about the beauty cinematography of the countryside and landscapes. Perhaps Greenaway's most abundantly desirable facet in his films are that they are dissimilar to most everything else existing in movies today. Eclectic in the extreme.

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 10th, 1988 - Toronto Film Festival

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

FilmFour- Region 0 - PAL vs. MediumRare - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) FilmFour - Region 0 - PAL - LEFT

2) MediumRare - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Covers

Distribution	FilmFour - Region 0 - PAL	MediumRare - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:53:36 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:58:42.156
Video	1.41:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.67 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	Disc Size: 38,807,419,882 bytes Feature Size: 26,481,936,384 bytes Total Bitrate: 26.04 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - 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 Mono)	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	None	English (HoH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Film Four International Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.41:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer DVD Release Date: 2002 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: MediumRare Aspect Ratio:- 1.66:1 Disc Size: 38,807,419,882 bytes Feature Size: 26,481,936,384 bytes Total Bitrate: 26.04 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Fear of Drowning (26:08 in 1080i) • Beneath the Surface - Peter Greenaway on Drowning By Numbers (35:10 in 1080P) • Podcast (18:34 in 1080P) DVD of the feature Blu-ray Release Date: June 15th, 2015 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

Greenaway's Drowning By Numbers is reviewed / compared on 4K UHD HERE

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

ADDITION: MediumRare - Region 'B' - Blu-ray June 15': This is one of those comparisons that has such a large difference that we can let the captures speak for themselves. EVERYTHING goes in the favor of the MediumRare's new 1.66:1 dual-layered, 1080P transfer. Greenaway fans that have suffered with these early DVDs should be thrilled with this new Blu-ray.

The linear PCM audio is imperfect but this would be in-line with the original production. It is significantly superior to the SD - and adds optional (HoH) subtitles. The disc is region 'B'-locked.

MediumRare also add some wonderful extras. Fear of Drowning is a 26-minute featurette on the production, the excellent 35-minute Beneath the Surface -has director Peter Greenaway deciphering some of the subtle themes and facets that make up Drowning By Numbers, and there is even an 18-minute Podcast (audio only) discussing the film's content. The Dual-Format edition includes a second-disc DVD of the feature.

What a revelation to finally see Drowning By Numbers in something beyond the sloppy, bare-bones, DVD of more than a decade ago. Very strongly recommended!

***

DVD Comments (2002): This DVD is not exceptionally sharp or well-done. The colors look like they may be quite beautiful during filming, however they are hazy and dull in this Australian DVD offering. It seems to look acceptable on a tube, but the flaws are really prevalent when projected. Audio is consistent. No subtitles and virtually no extras. Aspect ratio seems right in composition although sources indicate that the film was shot partially open matte (mostly exteriors) and hard matted at 1.66:1 (all interiors), so the 1.41:1 DVD is as close as we have seen so far for this film (which is obscene). NOTE: Overscan may kill the view-ablity of a few of the numbers - be sure to zoom in!

The other DVD offerings (Japan etc.) are even poorer (and censored I believe). Greenaway fans may not mind this lackluster presentation, but anyone looking for a strong, clean image may be disappointed with this release. I suspect, as other Greenaway films on DVD are of about the same quality that the prints are poor and in need of restoration. This may be the case, regardless we have a weak DVD from FilmFour. It looks like it came from a third generation VHS.

Gary W. Tooze

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