DVD Image Comparison

Hi lyris1-1 1

A few things occur me to over this; most film fans are laymen – only a few of them are interested in the technical aspects of the authoring process. I make no claim to have a profound knowledge of what’s involved but I think I’ve reasonable insights of the time and work involved from the very beginning of the process (e.g. licence acquisitions, restoration, etc.) to the final product.

To be honest, I don’t put much stock in a PC image and my laptop has a 17 inch screen. They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and for me that means viewing the entire feature on a big good quality screen. Sites like DVD Beaver provide a useful guide.

You say the images are blurred. I’m the first to admit I can be a little anal over certain things (such as runtimes, discs being correctly flagged for progressive playback, etc.) but I’m not one to find the frame on the DVD and compare it with a screen grab on a PC. The point being, I, like many others, use the screen grabs from sites like DVD Beaver to get a basic idea of what I’m buying. The review and overall score means more to me than the screen grabs alone.

Perhaps to the more technically astute eye, those grabs are blurred, but to me they’re not and although I have to look close, it’s obvious, even on a relatively small laptop screen that the Mondo Vision DVD is superior to the rest of the discs compared.

You also have to understand that some people (like myself) judge these arguments with caution, not least because two opposing sides will always defend their position vociferously. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not calling you a liar, however, I’ve read much on this issue – from both sides and after a while the lines can become somewhat blurred and it becomes difficult making the distinction between what’s truth and what’s hyperbole or specious.

If I sound like I’m defending DVD Beaver that’s only because over the years their site (among others) has saved me hundreds, if not thousands of pounds in helping me select the correct release to ensure I get the best possible viewing experience. I don’t think there’s any question that DVD Beaver heaped a great deal of praise on Mondo Vision’s release of La Femme Publique.

Personally, I feel the entire matter has been somewhat blown out of proportion. When I made the initial post on this thread, I’d only scratched the surface of this argument. Since then, I’ve read the views from several other sources (including the Criterion forum thread you provided). On the other hand, I appreciate a great deal of time, effort and money went into this DVD (and no doubt Mondo Vision’s other releases) and La Femme Publique is a title I held off buying for a number of years in anticipation of a release like Mondo Vision’s, which is a marvellous disc and honestly, the transfer and audio speaks for itself. For a standard definition release it’s amazing, and on my set-up looks pretty damn close to HD.

Whatever the current situation is, I think it’s time DVD Beaver and Mondo Vision made their peace. If that’s not possible, perhaps it’s better to agree to disagree and move on. DVD Beaver are an invaluable site for people like me and I’m not about to stop using them. Likewise, I highly anticipate great things from Mondo Vision’s future releases, particularly Possession. I’ve read conflicting reports about the cut status of the long OOP Anchor Bay DVD. As someone who obviously knows their Zulawski films, perhaps you could confirm one way or the other? And, if the Anchor Bay release is cut or there’s an alternative extended or director’s cut, what version will Mondo Vision be releasing and when can we expect it?

All the best.



What we see as spectacle is in fact a ceremony