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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Faux semblants" or "Blodbrødre" or "Die unzertrennlichen")
directed
by David Cronenberg
Canada / USA 1988
In Dead Ringers, David Cronenberg tells the chilling story of identical twin gynecologists—suave Elliot and sensitive Beverly, bipolar sides of one personality—who share the same practice, the same apartment, the same women. When a new patient, glamorous actress Claire Niveau, challenges their eerie bond, they descend into a whirlpool of confusion, drugs, and madness. Jeremy Irons’ tour-de-force performance—as both twins—raises disturbing questions about the nature of personal identity. *** Elliot (Jeremy Irons), a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly (also Irons). Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the meeker of the two, without the woman knowing the difference. Beverly falls hard for one of the patients, Claire (Geneviève Bujold), but when she inadvertently deceives him, he slips into a state of madness. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: 8 September 1988, Canada - Toronto Film Festival
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
On Air - Region 2 - PAL vs. Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL vs. Criterion (oop) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Shout! Factory [Collector's Edition] - Region 'A' Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Ole Kofoed and Will Kelly for the DVD Screen Caps!
1) On Air - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT 2 ) Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FOURTH5 ) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Distribution |
On Air Region 2 - PAL |
Holland Criterion/Video Film Express Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion Collection - Spine # 21 Region 0 - NTSC |
FilmMedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Shout! Factory [Collector's Edition] Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:50:43 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:50:44 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:55:32 | 1:50:59.320 | 1:55:28.922 / 1:55:28.922 |
Video |
1.85:1
Cropped Aspect Ratio |
1.89:1
Cropped Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.9 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.64
Original Aspect Ratio |
1.78:1 - 1080i Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,730,566,888 bytesFeature: 28,083,671,040 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps |
1.78:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,115,537,825 bytes Feature: 40,831,408,128 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps 1.66:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,704,590,201 bytes Feature: 37,587,812,352 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
On Air
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Bitrate:
Holland Criterion |
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Bitrate:
Criterion
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Bitrate: Filmmedia
Blu-ray
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Bitrate: Shout! Factory Disc 1
Blu-ray
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Bitrate: Shout! Factory Disc
2
Blu-ray
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Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384 kbps) |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround |
DTS-HD Master Audio English
979 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 979 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768
kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio French 1004 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1004 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English
4014 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4014 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /
1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English
1559 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1559 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /
1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 4014 kbps 5.1
/ 48 kHz / 4014 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps /
24-bit) |
Subtitles | Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish or none. | Dutch, none | None | French, none | English (SDH), none (both) |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: On Air Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Video Film Express Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date:
unknown Chapters 4 2 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: October 13, 1998 Chapters 43 |
Release Information: Studio: Filmedia
1.78:1 - 1080i Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,730,566,888 bytesFeature: 28,083,671,040 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps
Edition Details: (25:57) (7:11 in English) Special
Effects (20:24 in French)
Blu-ray
Release Date: January 27th, 2012 Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: Shout! Factory
1.78:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,115,537,825 bytes Feature: 40,831,408,128 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps 1.66:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,704,590,201 bytes Feature: 37,587,812,352 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps
Edition
Details: DISC 1: DISC 2
Blu-ray
Release Date: November 15th, 2016 Chapters 36 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below
Blu-ray
captures were obtained directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
ADDITION:
Shout! Factory
Blu-ray -
December
16': The new
Blu-ray
'Collector's Edition' of Cronenberg's Dead Ringers has me quite
ambivalent. Firstly, a lot of fans have tired of the multiple aspect ratio
packages. This has both 1.78 on disc one and 1.66 - actually at 1.67:1 - cited
as a a new 2k scan - on
Blu-ray
disc 2.) The option is the production company trying their best to appeal to
everyone and not get into trouble by creating a transfer with an incorrect AR.
Consumers sense capitulation and a reason for them to inflate the price.
From our emails - many fans would prefer they stick with a single AR - the one
originally theatrically broadcast (yes, we realize in the 50's there were
theatres incapable of the new widescreen process and two different aspect ratios
could
be found theatrically - this makes the choice of multiple ARs, certainly, more
reasonable for older films i.e. Masters of Cinema's
Shane and Welles'
Touch of Evil.) So the consensus is that more modern films shouldn't,
generally, require multiple AR releases within the same
Blu-ray
package ala Shout! Factory's
Black Christmas. I understand much of the reasoning - source
availability etc. but am just reporting on purchaser preferences that I have been
privy to.
Secondly, both of these transfers have issues, IMO. The 1.78:1 transfer on disc one has a very blue/green cast over the visuals - unnaturally so. It looks dark and colors seems dampened by that. While the 1.66:1 has a superior, more natural, color scheme - it seems to have some DNR-style softness. The compared Shout! Factory (under 'Scream Factory' logo) images don't compliment each other at all - exposing each other's weaknesses. There are also issues regarding the framing (at times opened-up or zoomed-in and sometimes cropped) - and I'll leave you to determine by our captures below. I wasn't very pleased with the video transfers of either BD although both are on dual-layered discs with max'ed out bitrates. The running time is exact down to the 1/1000th of a second between the two, supposedly different, sources. There are legitimate questions here and my preference would be to return these two problematic transfers for one great one!
Shout! Factory use the same 5.1 track for both ARs. It sound decent with some depth but not squeaky-tight separations in the DTS-HD Master (24-bit) - both also have the option of a 2.0 channel stereo lossless option. The score is by Howard Shore (Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, Scanners and The Brood, Tim Burton's Ed Wood, Fincher's The Game and Se7en etc.) and it certainly benefits from the uncompressed transfer adding that creepy underbelly atmosphere we find in much of the director's oeuvre. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles on both (see samples below) and the Blu-rays are region 'A'-locked.
Shout! Factory offers many extras including two audio commentaries on the 1.78:1 version - a new one with writer William Beard, author of The Artist As Monster: The Cinema of David Cronenberg and it has plenty of information on the director and the production and a second, previously heard one with actor Jeremy Irons. On disc 2 there are new video pieces - Carey’s Story – a 10-minute interview with Heidi Von Palleske, Working Artist – a 24-minute interview with Stephen Lack (Anders Wolleck in the film), Connecting Tissues – a 20-minute interview with special effects artist Gordon Smith and Double Vision - a 13-minute interview with director of photography Peter Suschitzky. There are also 17-minutes worth of vintage interviews with Jeremy Irons, director/co-writer David Cronenberg, producer Marc Boyman and co-writer Norman Snider and a 7-minute vintage Behind the Scenes featurette and a 4:3 theatrical trailer.
Well, with the extras and progressive 1080P transfers - the Shout! Factory Blu-ray seems the best, although far from ideal, option. We can hope that, someone like, Arrow or MoC in the UK take the bull by the horns and give us a great new 4K-restored Blu-ray transfer but the Shout! Factory does have value with their extras. It remains a fascinating if uncomfortable film and one of the more unforgettable horrors of the 80s. *** ADDITION: Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - June 12': Despite some definite black-marks - interlaced, appears to run in PAL time (1080i50), movement in the bastardized 1.78:1 frame - this doesn't look too-too bad and gave me a decent presentation. My Region FREE LG Blu-ray player could remove the French subtitles when the English dialogue is selected and I suspect any machine that has remote accessible (as opposed to menu-enforced) subtitles - can do similar. There is a bit of noise on the dual-layered transfer with high bitrate and colors gain vibrancy and detail certainly rises. There are hints of depth. The audio is lossless and the Howard Shore score is solid via the DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel sounding atmospheric and creepy - although there are no dynamic attributes. There is a French DUB.I haven't deeply investigated the extras but there is a lot (1 3/4 hours worth) and the two main video pieces are in English with forced French subtitles - one on Cronenberg. Easily to accentuate the flaws but this did give me the best presentation of Dead Ringers that I've yet seen. I doubt Criterion will revisit the title and for a relatively obscure-but-intriguing effort - this may be the best we get. It is notably more film-like than the previous DVDs. *** DVD ADDITION - Criterion Holland - Video Film Express (Sept -04) - Although on the box it is stated as 1.66 it is actually around 1.89 and therefore not the original aspect ratio. It looks as though they have purchased the Criterion extra features which match to a 'T', except the color on the Cronenberg featurette has a green haze to it. The feature image is likewise distorted. It appears to be even more hazy than the 'On Air' PAL edition, but has the vibrant colors of the Criterion. Anyway, its a pass for the image and the aspect ratio. Don't bother. *** The out-of-print Criterion, in the proper aspect ratio of around 1.66, is showing much more image in the bottom of the frame than the "On Air, which has been cropped to 1.85. The non-anamorphic, early Criterion DVD is also sharper, brighter and has more vibrant colors. Contrast is also far better but skin tones do look a little reddish. Extras are kind of impossible to equal in the case of the Criterion. Stacked with a directors commentary, featurette etc. as per par for the course, we suggest the Criterion - at Amazon's Marketplace for almost $70 - Cronenberg fans will not be complete without it. There is also a Dutch release with extras ported from the Criterion (see HERE). Certainly cheaper but has PAL speedup and we are unsure of the transfer quality. - Gary W. Tooze |
DVD Menus
(On
Air - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Holland Criterion/Video Film Express -
Region 2 - PAL - MIDDLE vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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Shout! Factory - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
Shout! Factory
Disc 2 - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) On Air - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2 ) Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FOURTH5 ) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FIFTH6) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) On Air - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2 ) Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FOURTH5 ) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FIFTH6) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) On Air - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2 ) Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FOURTH5 ) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FIFTH6) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) On Air - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2 ) Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FOURTH5 ) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FIFTH6) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) On Air - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2 ) Holland Criterion/Video Film Express - Region 2 - PAL - SECOND3) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - THIRD 4) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FOURTH5 ) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FIFTH6) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More Blu-ray Captures
1) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP2) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Filmedia - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP2) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.78:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE 3) Shout! Factory (Collector's Edition 1.66:1) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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