The first official DVD comes at 22.01.2009

Okay, I finally received my copy of the official DVD from Schröder Media. Here is what I discovered:

The movie is presented in widescreen format. We can see the entire frame in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It's not presented in 16:9 anamorphic format though, only 4:3 letterboxed. The movie has a single audio track, in German. There is NO English audio track.

The quality of the movie is fair, not excellent. Schröder Media apparently did not remaster the movie from a good print. The image lacks detail, lacks sharpness, and scenes are alternately too bright or too dark (they didn't adjust the film's dynamic range for home video).

For the benefit of English speakers, there is a 4:3 cropped pan & scan USA TV version of the movie included as an extra feature. The quality is only fair, the color is faded, the image lacks sharpness, and the movie suffers from the same dynamic range problems as the main feature.

All in all, this DVD is a disappointment. The USA TV version is useless and should not have been included. Rather, the main feature should have been given two selectable audio tracks, German and English, instead of only a German track. It boggles the mind that Schröder Media handled it this way, as it is child's play to add a second audio track to a DVD feature.

The only positive thing that I can say about this DVD is that the main feature shows the entire frame of the original film. I can finally see everything that appeared on the cinema screen at the film's original premiere!

And that's the real disappointment here. There are some wonderful scenic vistas of British Columbia in this film that beg to be seen on a properly remastered and restored 16:9 anamorphic widescreen DVD. Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 40 years for a quality DVD company to come along and do a proper job.