Title | Best |
Three Colours: Red (Trois Couleurs Rouge) | R2UK |
(This section updated May 2003, following release in Region 1. ) This trilogy was released in DVD in Region 2 by Artificial Eye/MkII Editions in 2001 and this was, until recently, the clear and obvious preference over Region 4, both for source and transfer quality and for the very comprehensive extras package Region 2 received. However after much ado, the trilogy has now finally been released by Miramax in Region 1, and the decision as to which is now the better release is less clear-cut. Region 1 benefits from not only (mostly) the same extras as Region 2, but some exciting new ones including additional interviews and a commentary track. However weighed against this is differences in the quality of the transfers, plus Region 1 being in NTSC. Let's start by looking at extras, first the Region 2 release and then highlighting the new Region 1 extras. In comparison to Region 2, the Region 4 release misses out on:
In comparison to Region 1, the Region 4 release misses out on:
Annette Insdorf had nothing at all to do with the making of the films, but was a personal language translator for and close friend of Kieslowski for many years and so had exclusive access to the recluse director for interviews over a prolonged period of time. Insdorf is a scholar, film critic and writer, being the author of the book "Double Lives and Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski", which is highly recommended. The audio commentary is authoritative, well-planned, enlightening and is virtually non-stop. It provides a fantastic insight into the development of the story and K's layering of imagery. In fact, I found this audio commentary to be probably the best of all three, in terms of the amount of illumination it provided, but I would have to say that all three commentaries are great. Still, do bear in mind this commentary remains by someone completely unrelated to the film. OK, so Region 1 is the clear winner in terms of extras; it gets (virtually) all of the Region 2 goodies, plus much more. But what about transfer qualities? Well, this is not an easy choice at all - a harder decision even than for Blue or White. I am going to stick with the Region 2 transfer though, as it still benefits form superior PAL video resolution, full 5-channel audio specs and more subtle subtitling. There is no denying that new Region 1 print is warmer and probably a bit sharper, and the increased colour saturation does suit this film (more so than the other two) by artificially enhancing the element of warmness in the colour palette. In comparison, the Region 2 colouring may be said to be more reserved and even a bit washed, yes, but it still remains subtle and, in my opinion, more faithful. Check out DVDCompare's comparison page here, and note the screen captures. This is a very difficult choice and the decision will be one of personal preference. Despite the additional extras it misses out on, I feel the extras package on Region 2 still provides enough of an insight into the film that the missed extras and commentary only provide incrementally greater insight, and this is outweighed by superior audio and, arguably, more faithful video transfers. If you are obsessed about this film enough like me to justify investing in it more than once, then my recommendation is buy Region 2 for the film transfer and Region 1 for the extras. Indeed, that's the order in which these two discs now appear at the top of my top 10 DVDs list. |