Dvd Review Alice of Wonderland in Paris - Echo Bridge

David Cronenberg fans, you've got a tough choice in front of y'all. Do you want the Canadian special edition DVD of eXistanZ from Alliance Atlantic, or the newer U.s.a. blu-ray from Repeat Bridge? If that sounds similar a no-brainer to you, I daresay you lot don't know all the facts, because information technology'southward a difficult compromise either mode. And information technology tin't even exist fully resolved by ownership both. Oh, and the only other options are even worse, and then until Criterion or Arrow swoop in to rescue this picture show with a fancy new version (don't hold your breath), it's actually downwardly to these two.

Update ten/26/xv - half-dozen/12/18:

There'south a brand new, fancy blu-ray edition on the market, from the UK's 101 Films.  And, well, I'm not sure it makes the choice whatsoever less tough.  Information technology really only adds more complications.  So let'due south see if nosotros can make sense of it all, shall we?

Frankly, I'd exist more bothered by our express selection if eXistenZ was a stronger film. Information technology feels like a halfhearted attempt to re-capture the magic of Videodrome, just updating television set with video games. But information technology'due south far more than conventional, not wild and trippy at all; and all the sci-fi concepts feel like well-worn tropes we've seen and heard many times over, well-nigh apparently in The Matrix which came out the same twelvemonth. There are a couple compelling images that feel like top shelf Cronenberg... a man is given a large plate of fish at a Chinese eating house. He eats the flesh off of them and then uses their basic to create a makeshift gun that fires teeth and uses it to shoot the waiter. Unfortunately, that and comparable moments add upwardly to maybe 98 seconds of this motion-picture show's otherwise dull 98 infinitesimal running time.

We're introduced to Jennifer Jason Leigh an eccentric genius video game designer who's debuting her latest virtual reality system to a small room full of suburbanites. A teenager tries to assassinate her, but her socially awkward bodyguard, Jude Police, rushes her off the premises. They hide out in a pocket-sized hotel where Leigh tells him that they accept to play her game to unlock secrets or something, and the majority of the motion-picture show takes place within her video game globe, which looks like the same chocolate-brown warehouse redressed to exist every location in the film. There's an amazing supporting cast, including Ian Holme, Willem Dafoe, Don McKellar, Final Night's Callum Keith Rennie, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley and Robert Silverman, who's my favorite recurring supporting cast member of Cronenberg's work. But they're all wasted playing cartoonish video game characters with empty-headed dialogue and incredibly fake accents. The accents are intentional; it'south written into the script that our leads bespeak out several times how unconvincing the video game characters are, especially their accents. Only it withal means nobody winds upward giving a dramatically compelling performance. They could've simply as well filled these parts with unknowns. Well, except Dafoe - he was dainty and creepy.

And the leads aren't much ameliorate. Jude Police sure wasn't the histrion he is today. And Leigh, well, I think yous can blame the writing for her office. The script's actually to blame for everything. Cronenberg's created a whole new, virtual reality world that'due south supposedly run by the human nervous system and re-engineered fish parts, and it's the most dull place in the world. It's basically the inside of a big cardboard box. If "eXistenZ" were an actual video game, it would be a huge bomb. And the flick just ever asks ane question: are nosotros in the game, reality, or a game within the game? You know, similar Inception or one of those. But there are never any stakes either way. Who's real, who's imitation, who's lying, who's double-crossing who? Everything'south so disconnected, it never matters. I retrieve the central issue we're supposed to be invested in is whether Leigh tin can save her game from mysterious saboteurs (who very well might non even exist), so she tin can get it into stores by release date? Um, okay.

Withal, it'southward difficult to resist all the talent involved. And this movie does have its moments... did I mention the fish-os gun? And it's Cronenberg returning to psychological science-fiction and torso horror, which is everything his fans were begging him for dorsum in 1999. It's just unfortunate that a bunch of people who know and care cypher about video games decide to write and flick a movie about the subject that probably interests them least in the world (you'll see when you watch the extras... Tarzan knew more about computers than these folk). So it's weak Cronenberg, just it's still Cronenberg. Worth a picket, and depending on your degree of dedication, however worth having in your collection.

And so what practise we have again? Well, when this was first issued on DVD, information technology was a new release movie, and fans were very allow down that all nosotros got in the US was a barebones disc from Buena Vista/ Dimension. But in-the-know fans quickly figured out that the situation was much better in Canada, where it was released with three audio commentaries and a 54-minute documentary! It's pretty rare that Canada will have unique extras apart from their U.s. counterparts, but I estimate Cronenberg beingness a Canadian filmmaker stirred up some local pride.

Simply, nonetheless, 1999 is very old in DVD terms, and every bit we'll run across shortly, this moving-picture show has been looking very much in demand of an update. And what label came to our rescue? Well, uh, Echo Bridge did. They came out with their own little special edition blu in the US, which, as you might doubtable given the company, is a petty less than perfect. It also went out of print rather speedily, and despite having been issued in 2012, now routinely goes for $forty-50 on Amazon and EBay. Is information technology worth information technology?  Or maybe yous'd prefer i of the newer blu-rays.  There was an every bit pricey mediabook released in Federal republic of germany, and using the same principal, last year.  And at present 101 Films has just released a Uk edition (a blu-ray/ DVD combo-pack, by the way), the 2nd in their new "Black Label" serial.

one) 1999 Buena Vista DVD two) 1999 Alliance DVD 3) 2012 Echo Bridge blu
4) 2018 101 Films DVD v) 2018 101 Films blu

Where to begin? Well, the framing is ane.78:1 on the blus and slightly pillar-boxed to about 1.74:1 on the older DVDs (the 101 DVD matches the 101 blu, naturally), giving the latter a niggling extra vertical data and leaving the blu feeling a bit tight and probably not how Cronenberg intended. Merely the Canadian DVD is chock full of haloing, over-sharpening, high contrast and even crushed blacks. Information technology may've been passable for 1999 - hey, at least it's anamorphic, right? The U.s. DVD doesn't accept whatever of those problems, and it's anamorphic as well, but it's pretty soft and compressed. Looking at the U.s.a. DVD makes yous understand the Canadians' temptation to try and artificially sharpen it.

Meanwhile the HD versions look pretty low-fi and compressed; only compared to the DVDs, they do testify a readily credible comeback. I've seen complaints online near the brightening, but I prefer it. I remember information technology's the darker picture that'southward incorrect. I hateful, y'all just can't look at those 2 shots of Leigh by the pump and say you prefer the 2d one. Fifty-fifty there, the blus have some edge enhancement and other imperfections, but compared to the Brotherhood DVD, it's a revelation.  To cut to the chase, all these discs seem to exist using the same master, with only very slight framing adjustments.  The blu-rays are naturally a chip clearer than the DVDs, and the Alliance disc has a few extras flaws.  But basically nosotros're looking at a lot of repetition between transfers, and if anyone was hoping whatever of the newer editions were going to "relieve" this pic and requite us a real boost in PQ... lamentable, folks.

i) 1999 Buena Vista DVD ii) 1999 Alliance DVD iii) 2012 Repeat Bridge blu
four) 2018 101 Films DVD 5) 2018 101 Films blu

Except for one thing.  Wait at the above prepare of shots... The Repeat Bridge blu-ray is interlaced! Yuck, fifty-fifty the old DVDs didn't have that trouble, and it's really hard to ignore on Echo Bridge's disc. I guess hither is where I should mention that Echo Bridge too released Existenz on blu as part of a philharmonic-pack with some other movies. They're the kind of budget releases EB is known for; but they announced that even those those earlier discs were 1080i; this 2012 solo blu-ray was supposed to be 1080p. Sounded great, only nope! Jokes on us, it'due south "i," as well.  But thankfully, the 101 release (and reportedly the German release besides) corrects this effect and isn't interlaced at all.

At least their claim to have added a new 5.1 audio mix is true, which tops the two.0 stereo track of their by packs, and the lossy 5.ane mixes on the DVDs.  101 Also gives us both the v.1 and 2.0 mixes, both in lossless LPCM on the blu.  All versions as well feature optional English subtitles except the Echo Bridge disc.

Extras-wise, equally I say, Brotherhood killed it. That documentary is specifically virtually Carol Spier, the film'southward production designer. So if yous're hoping for an eXistenZ making-of, information technology's a footling disappointing; only it'southward a pretty interesting feature in its ain right, and with the 3 commentaries - including one past Cronenberg himself, ane by effects supervisor Jim Isaac, and one by DoP Peter Suschitzky - information technology adds up to a pretty great special edition. Information technology'southward too got the trailer, which the EB blu is missing.

Echo Bridge of course didn't port over any of Alliance's features. Merely they stepped things up from their previous, barebones combo-packs past including 3 vintage interviews sectional to their new blu. The best is an virtually xxx-infinitesimal piece with Isaac, who'southward got a ton of props and creations to show off. And so there are interviews with Jude Law and Willem Dafoe. Law'due south fun because it's a big get, just Dafoe'southward a trivial more interesting when he talks nigh his craft. Unfortunately a lot of time is wasted in both of their interviews asking them if they like video games or using the computer, which they don't but still stumble their way through long, rambling answers. The parts where they talk about the moving-picture show itself are interesting, though.

Oh, and the US DVD has nix only the trailer and an insert.

But here's where things get interesting.  The new 101 release drops and adds a whole bunch of features to make some other very distinct gear up.  They carry over the David Cronenberg commentary and the Spiers documentary from the Alliance disc.  Oh, and the trailer.  Just they drop the other two commentaries.  However, they practice carry over the iii interviews from the Echo Span blu. And, most interestingly of all, they've created some cool, new special features.

First of all, they add two, new audio commentaries with flick critics/ scholars.  One with Kim Newman and Ryan Lambie, the other with Nathaniel Thompson and Edwin Samuelson.  I found myself drawn in more by the latter, but both are pretty practiced.  And there's a brand new, on camera interview with Christopher Eccleston, which is not bad, talking about his experiences filming and his have on Cronenberg in general.  So, they've also dug up a vintage 'making of' featurette, which is cool because information technology gives united states of america some backside-the-scenes footage and interview clips with a few actors nosotros don't otherwise hear from, like Don McKellar, Ian Holme and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  And they also pull out a few interview clips from the featurette (and the Jim Isaac talk) every bit separate clips.  They're the same, redundant video clips, merely I estimate it'south for convenience if you merely want to hear Cronenberg or Leigh'southward takes without watching the whole thing.

101's gear up also comes in an attractive skid box with an impressive booklet.  The book features a note from the president of 101 films, a glossary of eXistenZ terminology, notes past Alex Morris and most interestingly, an interview with Denise Cronenberg.  It has the look and experience of a fancy Criterion release, where the full color booklet has a proper spine and is housed outside the amary case.  And unlike the German mediabook, of course, all the text is in English, which is always a plus.

So, what does one do?  Just virtually every release has unique extras.  The blu-rays look better than the DVDs, but they're all fairly underwhelming.  And Echo Span has that distracting interlacing problem.  What I'd say is this: if you've already sprung for the German language media book, then exit it at that, unless you lot're a die-difficult fan and need all the special features.  If you've got the old Alliance DVD, the 101 release is the best way to upgrade because you'll get the HD and the total set of extras.  Only if y'all haven't got this movie at all yet, it's a bit of a tie between the German and UK blus, basically depending which set of extras is more than exciting to you (and maybe whichever is easier and cheaper to get your easily on).  Actually, what this film needs is a new friggen' scan, and yous might withal want to hold off on getting whatsoever of these blus in the hopes of a Criterion or Arrow finally doing information technology justice.  Simply that could be a very long expect.

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Source: http://www.dvdexotica.com/2015/10/controversial-blus-david-cronenbergs.html