Kinuyo Tanaka and young Hideko Takamine in Gosho's "Song of the Flower Basket" (1937):



Chishu Ryu in same:

La Bandera (French R2)
I don't have the R1 to hand for a direct comparison, but this new Warner France release seems like a distinct improvement.

Yummo!!!!

A HUGE Improvement on the R1 print. Aucun titres, encore?

Sous-titrage français pour sourds et malentendants.

Quelle chic! Ca, c'est pour moi!

I'll attempt some caps from the R1 later if Im not too drunk (and insulting people.)

(THREE lines. Voila!)

(Now ruining the effect. The R1 print is so daggy I didnt even realize Duvivier uses rear projection for the dream sequence. He does the same thing, from a dissolve in one great short scene from the fantastically good la Tete d'un Homme when Maigret/Harry Baur begins interrogating the suspects.)

Sorry, K but I got sidetracked with the Boot I have of la Tete d'un Homme:

David Lean Collection (UK R2 9-disc box)

Blithe Spirit:


Brief Encounter:


Great Expectations:


This Happy Breed:


Hobson's Choice:


Madeleine:


Olvier Twist:


The Passionate Friends (the only weak transfer in the set):


The Sound Barrier:

Caps from the R0 (not R3) Taiwanese "10th Anniversary" reissue of Happy Together -- I assume the Hong Kong edition is identical:













Looks pretty much identical to the Kino SE (as seen on DVD Beaver) -- so much so that I suspect they're the same transfer, although the Kino is slightly less cropped. Notice that the first shot is in B&W only on the Kino SE and the 10th Anniversary reissue; my guess is that all the previous versions were incorrect and the shot was supposed to be in B&W from the beginning (Fallen Angels had the same problem, which was finally fixed on the Accent release). The remixed 5.1 soundtrack is probably better than the Kino's 2.0 mix (I can't really judge, lacking the proper equipment), but visually I'd say it's a wash. I'm glad I got it for $30 and not $130-200.

Gosh!

The black and white for the opening is definitely wrong.

And the rest of the transfer looks actually better than both the Kino, and the crapoid R2/4.

This should look like electrically charged neon, in a smaller, fatter ratio.

Im still waiting!

Any improvements in the 10th Anniversary edition (it looks a bit sharper and more detailed to my eyes, although this could be an artifact of the capture and compression process on my part and/or the Beev's) are probably due to a higher video bitrate, since it puts Buenos Aires Zero Degree on a separate disc whereas the Kino crams it all onto one. And I'd normally agree about the opening, except the disc was apparently done by Jet Tone themselves -- nobody's infalliable, but between Jet Tone's involvement and the previous incident with Fallen Angels, I think the case can be made. I confess I've never given a lot of thought to the logic behind the B&W/color transitions but it doesn't seem to hurt the scene to have it in B&W. I'm interested to hear your thoughts, though. In any event, I've fired off an e-mail to Jet Tone on the matter, although I'm not holding my breath for a response.

Yes.

If only Doyle and Madam still spoke.

I think the Doyle work on Fallen Angels says it all. Should all be in color, but for some moment specified by Wong, like Ashes of Time, if any.

BTW Doyles Ep in Paris je't'Aime is a riot!!

Mirror - Distinction Series, AUST, R0

Ivan's Childhood - Distinction Series, AUST, R0

they both look incredible!
best available versions of both? looks so to my eye...
yes, I am interested in Double Indemnity caps to devlinn, by the way

Double Indemnity - Madman, AUST, R4

Four captures from the Polish dvd of Krzysztof Zanussi's Iluminacja.











And one from the mineral water advertisement that you are forced to watch not only every time you load the dvd in the machine,
but also every time you start the film from the menu. Grrrrrrrr

Wow. The girl from the water advertisement is much hotter than the guy with the glasses...

Les Enfants du Paradis
Criterion vs Pathé Classique (French R2)
Optional French subs only on the Pathé

Criterion (top) vs Pathé (bottom):



Criterion (top) vs Pathé (bottom) - lots of detail missing in the shadows on the Criterion:



Criterion (top) vs Pathé (bottom):

I've never before been so inclined to weep over screen captures. Jesus, that looks good. And I can see Arletty's aureolas! I may have to get it, even though my French surely can't keep up with the dialogue. Of course, I've seen this so many times, I've got a lot of the dialogue memorized.

Wow... those captures leap off the screen. Ditto this is a purchase one cannot ignore. Thankfully familarity and a reasonable knowledge of French = a no brainer!

Oh my!

Does one wait for an HD of this or just lash out?

I ought to add that I didn't much like the new soundtracks on the Pathé edition. There's a choice of 2.0 or 5.1 and they both sound overprocessed and metallic compared to the Criterion.

There had to be a catch. This new DVD must be a testament to the improvements made in telecine technology and technique over the past five years--Criterion's transfer was done in hi-def from a fine-grain master from the Pathé restoration. Criterion surely won't revisit this one until an HD release since the current package is so good and an anamorphic transfer is not an option as it was with most of the other recent reissues.

Couldn't resist posting this. Here's ol' Joan and Fred in "the Bavarian number" from Dancing Lady (R1 Warner Bros.) "Here in Bavaria / They take good care of ya!"