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Mill of the Stone Women aka "Il mulino delle donne di pietra" aka "Die Mühle der versteinerten Frauen" [Blu-ray]
The superior Arrow Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE(Giorgio Ferroni, 1960)Firstly, the German Subkultur Entertainment Blu-ray has 4 versions of Mill of the Stone Women, of varying source quality, on its dual-layered disc (the German theatrical listed as an extra). They are NOT seamlessly branched and I have posted one set of comparison captures below but I can tell you the order of best-to-worst prints is Italian, International (both with English language options), then French and German theatrical last. This is probably, also, accurate as to the damage status of each source. But there is also technical transfer quality to take into account - which we have posted below as well as the details of 3 SD (DVD) transfers. Comparison: Media Target Distribution / Subkultur Entertainment Region FREE Blu-ray vs. Mondo Macabro - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Neo Publishing (English Version) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Neo Publishing (French Version) - Region 0 - PAL
Blu-ray Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Explorer Film '58 Video: Media Target Distribution / Subkultur Entertainment
Disc: Region: FREE (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Disc Size: 49,384,350,150 bytes Case: Black Blu-ray case Release date: August 31st, 2016
Extras: • Commentary by Christoph Huber and Olaf Möller• "Das Plauderstündchen des Dr. Mabuse" - Archival interview with Wolfgang Preiss (16:51 with optional English subtitles) • German Trailer (3:19) • International Trailer (2:08 - in English) • Deutsche Theatrical Version (1:32:48 - German only - no subtitles) • Gallery ______________________________________________
International Version :
Bitrate:
Runtime: 1:34:32.124 Feature Size: 16,098,834,432 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.49 Mbps Chapters: 11
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DUBs: DTS-HD Master Audio English 553 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 553 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio German 481 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 481 kbps
/ 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit) Dolby Digital Audio German 256 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps
Subtitles: German, None
______________________________________________
F rench Version :
Bitrate:
Runtime: 1:29:51.010 Feature Size: 15,414,902,784 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps Chapters: 11
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DUBs:
DTS-HD Master Audio German 486 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 486 kbps
/ 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: German, None ______________________________________________
Italian Version :
Bitrate:
Runtime: 1:35:42.027 Feature Size: 8,896,555,008 bytes Video Bitrate: 9.96 Mbps Chapters: 10
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Italian 526 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 526 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit) DUBs: DTS-HD Master Audio English 465 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 465 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio German 481 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 481 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: German, None ______________________________________________
German Theatrical Version :
Bitrate:
Runtime: 1:32:47.144 Feature Size: 6,373,404,672 bytes Video Bitrate: 7.99 Mbps Chapters: 11
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.66:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DUB: DTS-HD Master Audio German 573 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 573 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles: None ______________________________________________
Description:
Before the Italian genre movie industry in the late 1960s
started churning out elegant and blood-soaked gialli, and
after that turned to ultra violent zombie and cannibal
movies, they produced a long string of gothic horrors. Maria
Bava’s “Black
Sunday”, aka “Mask
of Satan”, is of course the most well-known entry,
one of the most productive directors was Antonio Margheriti
(who often called himself Anthony M. Dawson), and the big
star was Barbara Steele. Excerpt from Whizzley located HERE
The Film:
In this offbeat costume horror film set in 1912, Hans (Pierre Brice), a young art student, is sent to a remote Dutch village to collect information about the local windmill. The windmill is decorated with moving sculptures of women in various gruesome scenes of torture and death. Professor Wahl (Herbert Boehme), the curator of the windmill, also teaches art and sculpture. Among the professor's students, Hans meets Liselotte (Dany Carrel), his childhood friend who still loves him. He also gets acquainted with Wahl's beautiful daughter, Elfi (Scilla Gabel), who suffers from a rare blood disease and is not allowed to leave her house. Then Hans discovers the shocking secret behind the professor's attempts to keep his daughter alive.
Theatrical Release: August 30th, 1960 Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews Set design is key to creating the film's unsettling atmosphere. The interior of the titular mill features an overwhelming, expressionistic feel that relies on odd structural designs and slants. Stairways stand at crooked angles, and doors hang off center creating a nightmarish landscape. In the middle of this gloom-filled structure sits the carousel, a motorized diorama which depicts the fates of women accused as criminals in gory detail. This sophisticated piece of machinery operates through the use of a series of gears which cause its morbid wax caricatures to be propelled forward in a terrifying series of lurching motions. It's a ghastly set piece that will be remembered by the viewer long after the film's finale. Excerpt from Classic-Horror located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. The superior Arrow Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE
The Blu-ray transfers are all 1080P but the version sources vary in quality - just like the DVDs. The film requires a restoration. There is mention of the Mondo DVDs strobbing and artifacts. This Blu-ray of the Italian and International versions seem to be the best, video-wise, of the lot - with the former having less damage but a lowly bitrate. Thankfully both these versions are offered with English language options (the French and German do not.) Bottom line - entirely imperfect but the 1080P is a step up from SD, regardless of the puny file sizes and bitrates.
On the DVDs: NOTE: Your (DVD) comparison of MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN doesn't mention anything about the color strobbing throughout the Mondo Macabro edition, this is perhaps the most distracting flaw I've ever seen on a DVD. I'm now interested in buying the English version of the French DVD but the store you list has a different version (A French/English/Italian version) - (Thanks Brian!) ***
A difficult comparison because
we actually have three different versions of the same movie here. First we
have the Mondo Macabro DVD which, according to the liner notes in the
extras, restores all sections that were removed for the US release except
a bridge scene which was never dubbed in English. Next we have the Neo
Publishing DVD containing both a French and an English version, which
appears to be the US release. However, both DVDs seem to contain all the
different scenes in one way or the other.
The superior Arrow Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :All 4 version on the Blu-ray have DTS-HD Master 1.0 channel tracks (16-bit) in their respective languages and all DUBBED in German with the International and Italian also supported with poorly sync'ed English DUBs. I found the audio had fluctuations - one notable drops out, some hiss surfacing and variable volume levels with the music - a score is by Carlo Innocenzi (who really found a niche pumping out music for many 'sword and sandal' flics of the 60's). Like the video - not at premium levels but a notch above DVD and serviceable for, less-discerning, viewing. There are optional German subtitles offered (but none of the German Theatrical) and, unfortunately no English subtitles anywhere except the interview supplement. My Oppo has identified it as being region FREE - playable worldwide.
Extras : Extras include a German-only commentary by Christoph Huber and Olaf Möller, a 16-minute archival interview with Wolfgang Preiss - Dr. Loren Bohlem from the film (with optional English subtitles) entitled "Das Plauderstündchen des Dr. Mabuse". There are German and International trailers and a slideshow gallery.
BOTTOM LINE:
The superior Arrow Blu-ray is reviewed / compared HERE
Gary Tooze December 5th, 2017
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
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