If there is anyone from Criterion browsing these forums please don't listen to Slowcloud :D - give us a Decalogue boxset instead comparable to the Polish Edition...and at least i won't have to learn another language to be able to order from my retailer of choice :)

The MK2 set is very nice, but since the Criterion will not have any PAL speed-up issues, I'll have absolutely no problem making the switch. Great news if true!

It's probably true, since I just received my regon 2 set in the mail yesterday.:( ... I mean :)

The Criterion edition will improve on the MK2 with an Annette Insdorf commentary, the author of "DOUBLE LIVES, SECOND CHANCES: THE CINEMA OF KRZYSZTOF KIFSLOWSKI".

Plus the jury is still out on the MK2 transfer, see DVDBeavers review:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDRev...dvd_review.htm

With all due respect the jury is anything but out on the MK2 transfer! I am yet to see a solid proof that the greenish tint is not what Kieslowski opted for and that Marin Karmitz and Co. did a poor job while restoring the available in France print. All that I have read so far are comments of peope "remembering" what the film looked like in cinema. Mind you I am a man of age as well and I did see it in cinemas more than once yet I hardly have any recollections as to what the "proper" colors were. Throwing the VHS release in the mix anything but solves the enigma!!

If anything I am eagerly anticipating to see how the Criterion version will look (and the comments that will be made afterwards) given how badly Criterion manipulated the work of Melville in their catalog assuming that they knew what the "correct" color scheme was.

At this point all we could do is wait...

Ciao,
Pro-B

http://www.criterionco.com/content/i...ox_348x490.jpg
Krzysztof Kieslowski's international breakthrough remains one of his most beloved films, a ravishing, mysterious rumination on identity, love, and human intuition. Irene Jacob is incandescent as both Weronika, a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Veronique, a French music teacher. Though unknown to each other, the two women share an enigmatic, purely emotional bond, which Kieslowski details in gorgeous reflections, colors, and movements. Aided by Slawomir Idziak's shimmering cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner's haunting, operatic score, Kieslowski creates one of cinema's most purely metaphysical works: The Double Life of Veronique is an unforgettable symphony of feeling.

-New, restored high-definition digital transfer

-Audio commentary by film scholar Annette Insdorf

-Three short documentary films by Kieslowski: Factory (1970), Hospital (1976), and Railway Station (1980)

-Kieslowski -- Dialogue (1991), a documentary featuring a candid interview with Kieslowski and rare behind-the-scenes footage from the set of The Double Life of Veronique

-1966 -- 1988: Kieslowski, Polish Filmmaker, a 2005 documentary tracing the filmmaker's work in Poland, from his days as a student through The Double Life of Veronique

-A 2005 interview with actress Irene Jacob

-New video interview with cinematographer Slawomir Idziak

-New video interview with composer Zbigniew Preisner

-The Musicians (1958), a short film by Kieslowski's teacher Kazimierz Karabasz

-New and improved English subtitle translation

-PLUS: A book featuring new essays by Jonathan Romney, Slavoj Zizek, and Peter Cowie, and excerpts from Kieslowski on Kieslowski

Wait no more........

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDre..._veronique.htm

Well, got to hold my hands up and say credit where credit due...Criterion may just have surpassed the MK2 in most respects!

I'd say MK2 has been surpassed by Criterion in all respects. And given how good the MK2 disc is, that's astonishing.

OT - Hey RichDB10, can you scan the back of your Lone Wolf and Cub French box set? I sent you a email from the site but it seems you haven't gotten it.

Thanks

Rich:

I do not have an early copy of the Criterion version in my hands so for me to make a valid comment that either supports what DVDBEAVER have posted or goes against it would be unethical.

I will however say this:

There was a great concern that Criterion may amuse us with yet another color-adjusted release and I think that the message might have gotten to them. Partially! Certainly given the ongoing discussions over at the Criterion forum regarding earlier films released by Criterion I would think that the company approached this film with a great deal of care. This being said, it is quite obvious from the caps linked above that the image has been manipulated. The green tint has been softened a bit and what Mr. Tooze describes as “sharper image” looks like contrast boosting to me. I also take his “definitive” comment rather freely as he tends to favor Criterion consistently when for example similar technical “defects” (read contrast-boosting) in other non-Criterion releases are addressed differently.

This being said for the untrained eye these two releases will likely look near identical (which interestingly proves that the natural yellow look many claimed is the film’s true color is simply…bogus). I agree with Mr. Tooze that those who already have the MK2 disc have a difficult decision to make.

Finally, I agree, give credit where credit is due, this does appear to be a classy looking package.

Ciao,
Pro-B

Absolutely, i agree with you which was why i was careful to use the terms 'may' and 'most' in my remarks as not having first hand witness to the disc as yet it makes it impossible to say anything conclusively, as you so rightly point to.
Without also wanting to open up a whole new argument as well i do agree to a great extent with your comment about Mr Tooze's affinity to worship at the altar of Criterion all too frequently, although having said that i do greatly appreciate his work and his site remains an invaluable resource.

Anyway, back on track...i nonetheless am eager to see the results for myself once the disc is finally released.

Dek - i'll email you later.

Thanks!

I'm happy keeping my region2 but I'm definitely gonna rent the Criterion for the Insdorf commentary - loved her trilogy commentaries.

Does anyone know if the Criterion disc kept the European ending or if it used the U.S. version? Though I have the Artificial Eye disc, I've been holding onto my old VHS tape since it has those extra couple shots Kieslowski later added to make the ending (a bit) less vague for the North American market. I was kind of hoping Criterion would use that version, if only to make the double-purchase easier to take. ;-)

Yes! Added as a bonus!

Ciao,
Pro-B

So, you know for a fact that it includes both endings? I ask because it's not listed by Criterion among the features, and you said previously that you didn't yet have a copy. Thanks. (Big fan of your work, BTW.)

What's the title of the Kundera book this is based off of?

(I assume there is one based off the first post in the thread, sorry if I'm wrong)

um, can someone using spoiler tags, tell me about what shots were added for the US version?

It was confirmed by a member of the Criterion forum.

http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/...r=asc&start=50

Very bottom (last post)

Ciao,
Pro-B

Thanks, good to know. Wow. So now I need to double-dip. *sigh* Anyone interested in the Artificial Eye version, only slightly viewed? ;-)

And to the questioner above, this film is not based on anything by Kundera (maybe you're thinking of The Unbearable Lightness of Being?), it's an original script by Kieslowski and Piesiwicz (sp?).

I just received this today and I'm pretty impressed. I got this from DVD Planet and was surprised to see the package so big. I took it out and thought they had accidently shipped me the new Seven Samurai. It's a very nice 2-disc size digipack with a book included. It's like the Short Cuts package. I haven't opened it yet but it's certainly very impressive.