I've seen a lot of comments on the poor transfer quality of the DVD version of "Two Women" on the Netflix comment section. There are sevearal releases out there. Gotham Distribution, Madacy Entertainment, Delta Entertainment, Koch Vision, Pro-Active Entertainment, are all listed on Amazon. Has anyone seen a DVD version with GOOD quality video and sound tranfers?
Thanks
I haven't seen other versions, but from what I'd experienced, avoid the Madacy release:
Worse than VCD quality (pumped to 720 x 480, shameless!)
Burned-in sub (blurry as hell)
Horrible menu
NO trailer!
Most of the texts are unreadable. This is a barebone release with all DVD-mastering mistakes one can possibly imagine. Avoid!
This movie was included in a 4-pack from Diamond Entertainment. Terrible picture quality as previously denoted. The other 3 films were of acceptable picture quality.
shareThis version is very good, with the restored version of the movie. It's the italian version PAL and without english subtitles.
http://www.dvdcom.it/prodotti.asp?id=2265&cat=1&scat=14&source=hp
Oooooh. Restoration!
But I think the Italian studios should include English subtitles now, seeing that their films are so popular and praised over the world.
Criterion, we have a job for you.
I bought it when I went to Spain on holidays
http://www.dvdgo.com/product~catgid~151~list~117~prodid~3938~typeproduct~1~dvd~Dos+Mujeres.htm
I bought a horrible ten pack of DVD's for the summer holidays... Released by Payless (which I've never seen or heard from since) and this film was amongst them.
It looked to me as thought it had been remastered, and the subtitles were very clear (I can't vouch for the translation, but it seemed decent).
I'm glad i spent that $10... lol. This movie was well worth it.
I can see the 'REPORT ABUSE' button... Now where is the 'REPORT STUPIDITY' button?
You can get a decent version on 'Italian Masterworks WWII Collection' from Tritonmedia.com, Burbank CA.
I have their DVD with Two Women + Paisa (Roberto Rossellini). Picture is pretty good, not restored, but sound is dubbed. Bought it from DVDSoon.com.
I agree with all stated above about the Madacy version: I threw mine away.
I just saw a beautiful print of the film at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. This is a film that Criterion should do. I got a copy of this horrible print guess its the Madacy from the library and took one look and turned it off.
share[deleted]
yes i bought it today and exactly the same problem.... hard to really assess the film but what I see is impressive.
shareRotten Tomatoes and Amazon agree on there being six releases on DVD of De Sica's Two Women (cover pictures can be matched at those two sites), but there are several discrepancies in their descriptions. Dvdcompare doesn't list the title.
To start with, IMDb gives the movie's runtime as 100', while RT shows it as 110'. Ordinarily I would accept IMDb's number, but Amazon does list some versions as being 110' long.
The six DVD releases listed are:
Alpha:
RT: no timing, no language given; Amazon: 100', English only
Koch:
RT: 100', no language given; Amazon: 100', English only [this is correct]
Vidtape (per RT) or Pro-Active (per Amazon):
RT: no timing, English only; Amazon: 100', no language given
Delta:
RT: 93', both Italian & English; Amazon 110', English only
Delta Hollywood Classics:
RT: 100', both Italian & English; Amazon 110', English only
Madacy:
RT: 93', no language given; Amazon 93', Italian only [this is correct]
Apparently ALL of these are very poor transfers. It isn't entirely clear, but it seems that the Madacy release may be the only extant version in the original Italian, with all the others having the English dub only. I've seen both the 100' English-language Koch and the 93' Italian-language Madacy. The Koch has marginally better picture and sound than the Madacy, but both releases are quite poor.
The difference in times is due to an extended cut in the 93' version, starting at the 44' mark, encompassing two sequential scenes. Following Michele and Cesira sitting in the dark talking about love, and Rosetta coming up to put her hands over her mother's eyes, the short version then cuts to Cesira and Rosetta talking in bed; the long version interpolates here a group of neighbors gathering together around a cook fire in a hut while Michele begins to read aloud from his Bible, and gets annoyed with the villagers for continually interrupting him and being obsessed with food and other possessions; Michele storms out and walks over to the cemetery where he is joined by Cesira, and he tells her that he loves her.
If anyone has specific knowledge of either of the two Deltas, or the Alpha or Vidtape/Pro-Active releases, it would be helpful to post details of those DVDs here.
Medusa - Region 2 - PAL is a descent quality DVD. Good picture and sound transfer.
Check out here for details and pics from that DVD:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/twowomen.htm
My earlier message (June 2007) gave a now-defunct link (Triton Multimedia).
This link takes you to the current seller of the same DVD which is pretty good and outshines three other products that I bought and threw away:
http://www.slingshotent.com/index_html.htm
Runtime is 100 mins. Sound is dubbed, picture and sound quality is mostly very good, compared to the very poor alternatives on offer elsewhere. There are blips, etc and a little colouring and it is 1:1.66 optimised from 1:1.33. Sells at $9.99. For this you also get Roberto Rossellini's 'Paisan' (1944) included on the same disc, also very good quality. Fantastic value, I think. Main thing is, you can watch this enjoyably all the way, unlike the others.
Plus bonus features: The Big Picture WWII US Third Army Documentary, Sophia Loren filmography & biography, Roberto Rossellini filmography & biography, Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon “Out to Punch”.
The rear cover (mine is dated 2001)carries the message: 'This New Media Title was Produced and Digitally Remastered at THE ENTERPRISE' (sic). They missed some bits.
I will keep this until a full restoration happens. Criterion - please don't ignore this brilliant movie.
I tried calling Slingshot today - the Italian Masterworks: Two Women / Paisan release is still listed at their website, but is no longer available.
shareI caught this on TCM... the print was pretty bad. TCM generally shows the best available version of a film, so this not a good sign!
THIS FILM NEEDS TO BE RESTORED!! Someone train me and I'll do it myself!! :-)
i just came to realise something as i was watching this, it's kind of weird that i haven't seen this on vhs or dvd, becouse as far as i know, it's probably sophia loren's most famous role, which she won an oscar for,
it's even been a remake done, (i saw that before this), and as i said, this can't be found on dvd (in some places).
only i saw it,
the world as i draw it,
the road i chose,
the people i knew,
and what destiny picked out for me too,
diffrent from you,
the world as i know it,
i don't know how to show it,
i'll be at the tree as it grew,
if you wanna share a tale or two,
it's all so harder now somehow,
as the years come building on by,
a view of your world, on top or in the gutter,
don't one story could match the other,
i keep learning things from you,
that i didn't knew,
a scene left behind,
know i can't go back to it now,
there is an endless box of files,
in the book of life.
atlantajoseph wrote:
"I caught this on TCM... the print was pretty bad. TCM generally shows the best available version of a film, so this not a good sign!"
====
TCM must have found a better print because the one that is airing as I type is FLAWLESS. Both the video and audio are top rate, as are the subtitles, which are in very legible yellow. And based on the post by kaream (Thu Oct 4 2007), this is the uncut 100m version, retaining the Bible-reading scene.
Although you didn't yet have have the benefits of HDTV in 2008, I'm currently watching it on TCM HD in 1080i, which at 1920x1080 pixels, is much higher than the 720x480 resolution of any DVD. Heck, until it's released on Blu-Ray, this is as close as you can come to watching a film print in a theater.
In other words, don't let your bad memories of that TCM airing prevent you from another viewing on TCM. And definiely watch in HD if you can.
Awesome, thanks for the heads-up! I will look for future TCM HD airings to record. Here's hoping the existence of a restored print bodes well for a Blu-ray release!
shareI have the MGM version but the original Italian has been dubbed into English.
[email protected]
This movie is airing on Turner Classic Movies on the 11th of June at midnight. if that helps. Perhaps you can tape it or record it to a disc.
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