My Life as a Dog Blu-ray - Anton Glanzelius

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

( aka "My Life as a Dog" )

directed by Lasse Hallström
Swedish 1985

My Life as a Dog (Mitt liv som hund) tells the story of Ingemar, a twelve-year-old from a working-class family sent to live with his uncle in a country village when his mother falls ill. There, with the help of the warmhearted eccentrics who populate the town, the boy finds both refuge from his misfortunes and unexpected adventure. Featuring an incredibly mature and unaffected performance by the young Anton Glanzelius, this film is a beloved and bittersweet evocation of the struggles and joys of childhood from Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallström.

Posters

Theatrical Release Date: March 24, 1987

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Comparison:

Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Arrow Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Arrow Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	Criterion Region 0 - NTSC Spine # 178	Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray Spine # 178	Arrow Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:41:42	1:41:57.277	1:41:39.426
Video	1.66:1.00 Letterboxed WideScreen Average Bitrate: 7.48 mb/s NTSC 960x540 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,268,418,558 bytes Feature: 29,881,282,560 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,500,569,341 bytes Feature: 29,808,359,232 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.02 Mbps
Bitrate: Criterion
Bitrate: Criterion Blu-ray
Bitrate: Arrow Blu-ray
Audio	Swedish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio Swedish 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit	LPCM Audio Swedish 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English, and none	English, and none	English, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer: • New high-definition digital transfer supervised by the director • "Shall We Go to My Place or Your Place or Each Go Home Alone?" a 1973, 52-minute film by Lasse Hallström • New video interview with Lasse Hallström - 3 Chapters - widescreen anamorphic - 18:20 • "Reflections on My Life as a Dog" by Kurt Vonnegut and essay be film critic Michael Atkinson DVD Release Date: March 11th, 2003 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 24	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,268,418,558 bytes Feature: 29,881,282,560 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.99 Mbps Widescreen anamorphic - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer: • New high-definition digital transfer supervised by the director • "Shall We Go to My Place or Your Place or Each Go Home Alone?" a 1973, 52-minute film by Lasse Hallström • New video interview with Lasse Hallström - 3 Chapters - widescreen anamorphic - 18:20 • "Reflections on My Life as a Dog" by Kurt Vonnegut and essay be film critic Michael Atkinson Blu-ray Release Date: September 13th, 2011 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters: 22	Release Information: Studio: Arrow Films 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 38,500,569,341 bytes Feature: 29,808,359,232 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.02 Mbps Edition Details: • Come On Then! (Kom igen, nu'rå!), a 1981 TV film by Hallström about a 35-year-old footballer (played by Swedish pop star Robert Broberg) looking back over his life (36:30) • Original theatrical trailer (2:40) • Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Peter Walsh Blu-ray Release Date: May 5th, 2017 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Arrow - Region 'B' Blu-ray - May 2017': The Arrow source appears the same as the Criterion (I noticed the same light marks and scratches). And while both have max'ed out bitrates on dual-layered discs - in-motion, I preferred the Arrow as I notices some unusual softness on the Criterion. It was rare (see girl's face and skirt under the railway bridge - in expanded caps). These are trifling complaints for most - who will notice no significant differences at all between the 1080P visuals.

Arrow, also go with a linear PCM track - also supporting the score by Björn Isfält (Roy Andersson's A Swedish Love Story and Lasse Hallström's What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and in the original Swedish language with optional English subtitles. Their Blu-ray disc is region 'B'-locked.

Arrow include, in a wobbly 1080i, the 36-minute, Come On Then! (Kom igen, nu'rå!), a 1981 TV film by Hallström about a 35-year-old footballer (played by Swedish pop star Robert Broberg) looking back over his life and an original theatrical trailer. The package has a reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Candice Tripp and for the first pressing - a booklet featuring new writing on the film by Peter Walsh.

My Life As a Dog is a wonderfully human film that I warm to more with each viewing. We have a director that I consider a master storyteller and seeing his film on Blu-ray seems to make them even more impacting and special. Absolutely recommended!

***

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - September 11': Predictably the Criterion 1080P transfer looks very strong. While the DVD from more than 8-years before was competent this Blu-ray improves in all the expected areas - colors tighten, detail improves, depth is notable and consistent grain is evident. There seems more information the frame - most apparent at the top and bottom edges and overall the image looks far more film-like providing a pleasing presentation. We have the same transfer - supervised by the director - only rendered to HD medium and the superiority of the new format is evident in the screen captures below.

Audio gets an authentically mono treatment in lossless with a linear PCM track. It is notable for its lack of flaws and there are optional English subtitles (sample below).

Extras duplicate the previous DVD with Lasse Hallström's curious 1973, 52-minute film entitled "Shall We Go to My Place or Your Place or Each Go Home Alone?" and a video interview with the director covering 3 specific topics and lasting just under 20-minutes. There is also a theatrical trailer and a liner notes leaflet with "Reflections on My Life as a Dog" by Kurt Vonnegut and essay be film critic Michael Atkinson.

***

ON THE DVD: Pretty tight anamorphic picture that I found a shade dark. It shows some good film grain and nice clear mono sound. The Extras are outstanding and lovers of this film will really enjoy listening to the Interview and seeing the cute short film. Nothing to complain about, except maybe the price :) . A commentary from the director would have been a bonus, but I can live without it. out of