Mr. Arkadin Blu-ray release from Germany

[atcolomb]

Came across this new German Blu-ray release of Mr. Arkadin by NSM Records. It has three cuts of the film and is region B. According to Amazon Germany the extras are: Audio commentary with Dr. Rolf Giesen and Dr. Gerd Naumann; Original trailer (recut); Confidential Report (98min; German or English with optional; Corinth Version (100min; English with optional English or German subtitles); Comprehensive Version (105min; English with optional English or German subtitles). You can currently buy it on Amazon or Ebay.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Confiden ... ay/282030/

https://www.amazon.de/Confidential-Repo ... KAKR8XB7XF

[Nicholas-HE]

This is very exciting. Has anyone picked this up, and how does it compare to the Criterion edition?

[atcolomb]

I am tempted to buy it and i do have a all region Blu-ray player. But there is a good chance that Criterion will release their version on Blu-ray and i hope this year. I might wait for some reviews on it and for now i do have the nice looking French Blu-ray released by Carlotta.

[Steve Paradis]

I am tempted to buy it and i do have a all region Blu-ray player. But there is a good chance that Criterion will release their version on Blu-ray and i hope this year. I might wait for some reviews on it and for now i do have the nice looking French Blu-ray released by Carlotta.

https://www.criterionchannel.com/the-co ... mr-arkadin

[Florinaldo]

I am tempted to buy it and i do have a all region Blu-ray player. But there is a good chance that Criterion will release their version on Blu-ray and i hope this year. I might wait for some reviews on it and for now i do have the nice looking French Blu-ray released by Carlotta.

The Carlotta BD Arkadin does look very nice as compared to previous DVD editions, but it holds only the Confidential Report version. The long talk by Jean-Pierre Berthomé is a highlight of this release.

[Roger Ryan]

I'm quite surprised this new German Blu-ray release uses the same cover artwork as Criterion's. Was this release sanctioned by Criterion or is this some kind of bootleg release?

[atcolomb]

From what i can find out NSM Records was founded in 1995 and from their website: "is one of the largest independent DVD distributors in Austria. From our new central warehouse on the border of Lower Austria / Burgenland, we supply our customers quickly and reliably with classics from the horror and action genre". If you look at the back cover of the Blu-ray it has a copyright "1955 Warner Bros". My guess is that they distribute the Blu-ray but not manufacture it?

https://mgvqwtq2ark5fsyih7wodrxr6i-jj2c ... mr_arkadin

[sergio]

I received a copy of the Blu-ray yesterday. It misspells Paola Mori's name on the cover ('Paola Miro'), which isn't a good sign! But, in fact, it seems to be a perfectly decent release. If you have the Criterion DVD then admittedly this may not offer a huge leap forward technically. Confidential Report probably looks the best, on par with previous Italian and French releases on Blu-ray, while the Corinth and 'Comprehensive' versions of Mr Arkadin are relegated to the extras. As far as I can tell, while all on a single disc, these are presented in genuine HD (I can't see obvious signs of upscaling). The only extra is the audio commentary in German on the CR version. All three versions are presented in English with no forced languages or subtitles and, as far as I can tell, are presented individually without branching, so the average bitrate hovers around the 16MBPS mark but does go a lot higher at times too. Given that the Criterion DVD is now OOP, this inexpensive release offers what seems to me a very decent way of accessing the three versions of the film in HD.

[atcolomb]

I received a copy of the Blu-ray yesterday. It misspells Paola Mori's name on the cover ('Paola Miro'), which isn't a good sign! But, in fact, it seems to be a perfectly decent release. If you have the Criterion DVD then admittedly this may not offer a huge leap forward technically. Confidential Report probably looks the best, on par with previous Italian and French releases on Blu-ray, while the Corinth and 'Comprehensive' versions of Mr Arkadin are relegated to the extras. As far as I can tell, while all on a single disc, these are presented in genuine HD (I can't see obvious signs of upscaling). The only extra is the audio commentary in German on the CR version. All three versions are presented in English with no forced languages or subtitles and, as far as I can tell, are presented individually without branching, so the average bitrate hovers around the 16MBPS mark but does go a lot higher at times too. Given that the Criterion DVD is now OOP, this inexpensive release offers what seems to me a very decent way of accessing the three versions of the film in HD.

Thanks for the info Sergio and i do have the Criterion dvd box set so do i wait for Criterion to re-release it on Blu-ray or buy this release?

[sergio]

Thanks for the info Sergio and i do have the Criterion dvd box set so do i wait for Criterion to re-release it on Blu-ray or buy this release?

Well, I'm glad to have it because it is in HD and so offers an image quality that is a bit superior to the older standard definition DVD. There's not a massive difference but it has twice the bitrate of the DVD so it depends how important this is to you and how sensitive you are to SD vs HD (which I certainly think I am ). I have a 50" plasma TV. Those who use a projector might get the most benefit from the increase in resolution. But assuming Criterion do a Blu-ray upgrade, I'll definitely be getting that too!