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

ADDITION: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray July 19': This is quite the comparison. Kino have used a 1.37:1 source which has a more greenish/yellow appearance as did the Microcinema DVD (although less o). We, obviously, like comparative analysis and can see what information is included or removed between the two 1080P renderings. IMDb cites the 1.37:1 as being accurate (Laboratoires Franay Tirages Cinematographiques (LTC), Paris, France) however, I am unsure and it may have been shown theatrically in both ratios - depending on the theater. (NOTE: Peter tells us it should be 1.66:1)  The MoC can look horizontally stretched a bit beside the Kino which, like the UK package, is on a dual-layered Blu-ray with a max'ed out bitrate. It's always good to have choices. I think I lean to the Kino appearance, which looks tighter to me, and is impressive on my system. This is independent of the aspect ratio question.

For the audio, Kino use a lossless DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono (24-bit) and I'd be hard-pressed to differentiate from the uncompressed MoC transfer where I noted a few minor sync issues as mentioned on both UK Blu-ray and the 2009 DVD. There are effects (gunfire etc.) that are flat with some depth. The score is by Paul Misraki (Godard's Alphaville, Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos, Welles' Confidential Report ) and certainly benefits from the lossless purity with crisp guitar strings. There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

Kino include a valuable audio commentary by film critic Samm Deighan who discusses cultural influences, identifying a tumultuous political crossroads of Bunuel's work whether it be in Spain, France or Mexico, his immense power as a filmmaker and many subtleties imbedded in the narrative. It is excellent. We get the same 33-minute interview with film critic Tony Rayns plus a Death in the Garden and Milky Way trailer. The package contains 12-pages of liner notes with photos and an essay by film critic Peter Tonguette.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a very different package from the Masters of Cinema. Aside from the AR of the presentation, and colors, it has the commentary and booklet.

***

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray June 17': This can confirm our suspicions that the DVD was from an unconverted PAL source. It's quite interesting just how green the 1.33:1 aspect ratio SD image is - especially as compared to Masters of Cinema's 1.66:1 1080P Blu-ray. The video improvement is easily identifiable - more detail, authentic skin tones (colors), and contrast. It looks a shade glossy and flat, without an abundance of grain, but is excellent in-motion via the dual-layered HD transfer with a max'ed out bitrate. Very pleasing.

MoC go linear PCM (24-bit) in the French language. There may be some minor sync issues (like the DVD) - probably inherent. There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray disc.

Masters of Cinema's Blu-ray doesn't have a commentary like the Microcinema DVD but they do have some very good supplements. We get a 33-minute new interview with Tony Rayns who's insights are always valuable. There is the same 36-minute interview with actor Michel Piccoli but also a 25-minute one with film scholar Victor Fuentes about Bunuel and the film. There is Masters of Cinema's exclusive trailer and the package has a booklet featuring a new essay by Philip Kemp, and archival imagery, plus a second disc DVD of the feature.

A favorite Bunuel film - and it's so wonderful to own in on Blu-ray looking so superior to the old DVD with the extras especially Rayns.

***

DVD: This is an interesting transfer in that despite ghosting artifacts (see last capture) it has moments of excellent clarity. It is advertised as "Mastered in HD from a 35mm archive print" and this would explain why the image quality can look so strong, but why so green? My suspicion is that the transfer is from an unconverted PAL source as IMDb lists the film's running time as 104 minutes and this is almost exactly 4% faster (PAL speedup) - just shy of 100 minutes. Still, there is lots of good to focus on - the disc is dual-layered and adhering to Death in the Garden's original aspect ratio of 1.33:1.  Aside from the above mentioned conversion artifacts - it looks very impressive. It may be a shade yellow/green and tend to look a bit frail but detail is unusually strong and the print used must have been exceptionally clean. I kept thinking that I was seeing edge-enhancement but it seems to be a shade of moiring on the visuals which have prominent black levels further bringing up the sharpness. So while imperfect it is very watchable producing a video quality far in advance of what I was anticipating after seeing earlier Mexican Buñuel's to DVD like El Bruto (1953), Susana (1951), and Gran Casino (1947).

The audio gives options for either French or Spanish - both in 2.0 channel. This may be an issue with some as they have their weaknesses in the form of out-of-sync'ed DUBs, but I tend to be more forgiving for this as I don't feel it's a transfer weakness but one inherent in the print used. I preferred the Spanish after some testing but others may disagree as the French tended to have more inflection - with subtleties of whispering or bold exclamations. There are optional English subtitles described as "New and improved".

Extras are where this release shines the brightest with a Criterion-level commentary by film scholar Ernesto R. Acevedo-Munoz, author of 'Buñuel and Mexico: The Crisis of National Cinema'. It's very informative and professional - a perfect choice to discuss details of a Mexican-made Buñuel film. We also get two new video interviews - the first is a 16X9 enhanced 26-minute conversation from July 2008 with actor Michael Piccoli conducted by Juan Luis Buñuel (son of the director). The second is 4:3, also from 2008 and runs 25-minutes with film scholar Victor Fuentes. It runs occasionally showing posters of Buñuel films or clips from Death in the Garden. Both are excellent viewing and are in Spanish with optional English subtitles. We also get a 16-page liner notes booklet featuring essays by Javier Espada, Juan-Luis Buñuel and Susan Hayward - but I have not had a chance to see it yet - but I do look forward to it as I am in a very Buñuelian mood.

Even if you ignore Charles Vanel - one can't help but think of The Wages of Fear. This was very enjoyable adventure if not as 'cutting' as one may expect from the director. At the writing of this review - you can pre-order for less than $17 - and despite the inferiorities with the transfer - we certainly recommend to fans of the director or cinema in general. The extras alone are worth it in my opinion. 

Gary W. Tooze