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(aka 'A Short Film About Love' -86 minutes version or "Krótki film o milosci")

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/kieslowski.htm
Poland 1988

In A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE, Kieslowski created a complex tale of desire, obsession, love and voyeurism. As opposed to A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING, this feature length film, which was based on the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," is dramatically different from its short film version–Decalogue VI. With an extended and more complex climax, A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE continues from where Decalogue VI stops, delivering an ending widely seen as more satisfying and conclusive.

A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE starts when nineteen-year-old Tomek (Olaf Lubaszenko), a forlorn Post Office worker, falls in love with Magda (Grazyna Szapolowska), a woman living in the apartment block opposite his room. Spying on her through a telescope, Tomek develops an unilateral and incredibly intimate relationship with his object of desire; he observes Magda undress, cook, make love and live her most mundane minutes.

As Tomek decides to take a more active part in Magda’s life– making prank phone calls to her house, stealing her mail…–he eventually decides to meet her in person and confess his voyeuristic relationship to her. At first repulsed but then attracted to the boy’s obsession with her, Magda finally invites Tomek to her place and provokes a sexual encounter between the two. Contrary to her expectations, Tomek responds with horror when connected to the real counterpart of his fantasized object of idealization. Tomek flees Magda’s apartment, runs home, and slits his wrists.

Riddled with guilt over the boy’s attempted suicide, Magda becomes obsessed with Tomek, and changes her entire routine in order to spy on the boy–now with a pair of binoculars. But this turning-of-tables act is only the beginning of a series of surprising events which not only change these characters relationship to each otheir, but also, disrupt their most hidden and unquestioned assumptions about how love and desire exist/function in their lives.
 

Posters

 

 

Theatrical Release : October 21st, 1988 - Warsaw

 

IMdb                                          Reviews                                              More Reviews                              DVD Reviews

 

 

Comparison:

Kino - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL vs. A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Thanks to Byung Joo for the Region 3 captures and to Per-Olof Strandberg for the Artificial Eye captures!

 

1) Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT

2) Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL- SECOND

3) A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - THIRD

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

 
Box Covers

 

 

 

  

Collection Boxset: The Kino is also available in the The Krzysztof Kieslowski Collection including: A Short Film About Love / Blind Chance / Camera Buff / No End / The Scar  / A Short Film About Killing !

    

    

Click to image enlarge

The Rest of the Kino Boxset:
Distribution

Kino Video

Region 0 - NTSC 

Artificial Eye

Region 2  - PAL

A9 Media ( South Korea)

- Region 3 - NTSC 

 Criterion Collection - Spine #837 - Region 'A' Blu-ray
Runtime 1:22:51 1:22:42-taken from NTSC master? 1:22:54 1:22:54
Video

1.5:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen

16X9 enhanced
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Bit-rate: 4.58 bps

1.61:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen

16X9 enhanced
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

Bit-rate: 6.2

1.5:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen

16X9 enhanced
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Bit-rate: 6.42 bps

1.70:1

Disc Size: 47,767,830,799 bytes

Feature Size: 23,573,514,240 bytes

Average Bitrate:31.75 Mbps

Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video: 1080P

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

Kino

 

Bitrate:

AE

 

Not Available
Bitrate:

A9

.

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

.

Audio Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono) Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono)

Polish 2.0 Channel (Mono)

LPCM Audio Polish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles English, and none English, and none Korean, English ( both removable) English, and none
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Kino Video

 Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.61:1

 

Edition Details:

• Interview with actress Grazyna Szapolowska (7:40)
• Interview with Kieslowski collaborator Annette Insdorf (7:07)
• Interview with Emmanuel Finkiel, 2nd Unit Director on Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs Trilogy (17:20)
• Tramway (1966, 5min) – A short film by Krzysztof Kieslowski (5:14)
• Kieslowski Filmography (text)
• Theatrical Trailer (1:57)
• Kieslowski Trailer Gallery (5 Trailers - No End, Blind Chance, Camera Buff, A Short Film About Love, A Short Film About Killing)

DVD Release Date: May 11th, 2004, Boxset came out: August 16th, 2005
Keep Case in single edition, Slim Keep case inside cardboard box
Chapters: 12

Release Information:
Studio: Artificial Eye (UK)

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.61:1

Edition Details:
• Annette Insdorf introduction (00:07:07)
• Grazyana Swapolowska interview (00:07:40)
• Emmanuel Finkiel interview (00:17:20)
• Short film TRAMWAY (00:05:14)
• Trailer (00:02:20) 


DVD Release Date: Sept 29th 2003
Transparent Keep Case

Chapters 11

Release Information:
Studio: A9 Media ( South Korea )

 

Aspect Ratio: 1.5:1 Letterboxed Widescreen, Anamorphic

 

Edition Details:

• Interactive Menu

• Photo Gallery

• Cast and Crew Info

• Movie Highlights (like a trailer)

 

DVD Release Date:  December 4, 2002

Keep case

Chapter stops: 12

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion

Aspect Ratio: 1.70:1

Disc Size: 47,767,830,799 bytes

Feature Size: 23,573,514,240 bytes

Average Bitrate:31.75 Mbps

Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video: 1080P

Edition Details:

• Selection of archival interviews with director Krzysztof Kieślowski, taken from a 1987 television piece on the production of Dekalog: Two, excerpts from the 1995 documentary A Short Film About “Dekalog,” and a 1990 audio recording from the National Film Theatre in London
• New program on the formal and thematic patterns of Dekalog by film studies professor Annette Insdorf
• New and archival interviews with Dekalog cast and crew, including cowriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, thirteen actors, three cinematographers, editor Ewa Smal, and Kieślowski confidante Hanna Krall
• Trailers (4:54)
• PLUS: A book featuring an essay and capsules on the films by cinema scholar Paul Coates, along with excerpts from Kieślowski on Kieślowski

 Blu-ray Release Date: September 27th, 2016
Transparent Keep case

Chapters: 10

 

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray August 16': The Criterion is part of their Dekalog Blu-ray package reviewed HERE and is cited as having "4K digital transfers" . More comments will be coming soon...

***

ON THE DVDs: ADDITION: Kino - Region 0 NTSC - August 2005 - Well we can easy dismiss the A9 media as being out of proportion (as well as some reported spelling and grammar problems in the subtitle translations). The AE and Kino look quite similar in sharpness. But side by side the greenish haze of the AE (quite possibly intentional), and that both the Kino and A9 are taken from a different standard source (without converting) give the Artificial Eye the edge. I found no visible proof that they were taken directly from PAL masters although there is evidence now that they are. Extras on the AE and Kino are almost duplicate with the Kino have some more trailers of Kieslowski films.

****

Now, as far as the transfer is concerned, there are quite a few problems to this South Korean release by A9 media.  The aspect ratio is out of whack. It looks to have been stretched vertically and another obvious problem was how dark and hazy the film looked.  Pops and scratches are also evident throughout. The R3 DVD does provide good removable English subtitles and a decent original polish stereo (from mono source) soundtrack.  The AE release does seem to have an abundance of green in the image but to date it is the best available for this film.

 - Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - below)





DVD Menus

(Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - RIGHT)

 

Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

 

1) Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL- SECOND

3) A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - THIRD

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL- SECOND

3) A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - THIRD

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

1) Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL- SECOND

3) A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - THIRD

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

1) Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL- SECOND

3) A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - THIRD

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

NOTE: Damage on Korean release

 

 

1) Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC TOP

2) Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL- SECOND

3) A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 - THIRD

4) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 

Hit Counter

Report Card:

 

DVD Box Covers

 

 

 
Collection Boxset: The Kino is also available in the The Krzysztof Kieslowski Collection including: A Short Film About Love / Blind Chance / Camera Buff / No End / The Scar  / A Short Film About Killing !

    

    

Click to image enlarge
Distribution

Kino Video

Region 0 - NTSC 

Artificial Eye

Region 2  - PAL

A9 Media ( South Korea)

- Region 3 - NTSC 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gary Tooze

Thank You!