Maelstroem in Anamorphic Widescreen? (1 Viewer)

[Marc Colella]

For those wondering if Alliance will butcher Maelstroem, as they have with many other films on DVD, the answer apparently is no:
Further down in this page, you'll see a mention of Maelstroem and it recieving a widescreen transfer enhanced for 16x9:
Link Removed
Nothing in terms of extras, but I'm just happy they've managed to stray away from P&S (at least on this release).

 

[Jason Whyte]

Here's the complete text:

CATCH UP: Denis Villeneuve's Maelstroem, a clever and audacious existential rant about the meaning of life, won five of Canada's Genie Awards and eight of Quebec's Jutra Awards.
If you, like most English Canadians, ignored this marvellous (if twisted) comi-tragic film in theatres, this is your chance to catch up. Tomorrow, Maelstroem is being released on VHS and DVD by Max Films through Alliance Atlantis.
The DVD offers a widescreen version in French with English subtitles and enhanced for 16:9 ratio TVs. Despite the film's artistic flourishes, that choice unfortunately highlights Villeneuve's harsh lighting and raw photography.
The DVD is also undernourished with extras. Nevertheless, Maelstroem -- the story of a young woman seeking salvation after she kills a fishmonger in a hit-and-run accident -- is a strong drama shot through with sardonic humour, especially in the droll narration by a talking fish. It should be seen.

Interesting....I'll check in with A and B tomorrow and see if this is true on the case. If true, I'm going to be pissing everyone off to buy a copy. What a great film.
Jason
------------------
Link Removed
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)

 

[Jason Whyte]

CNL also notes it as anamorphic AND 5.1...things are looking better...is Alliance finally waking up?
Jason (again)

 

[Marc Colella]

HMV is also indicating an anamorphic + 5.1 disc.
I think it's now safe to assume that Alliance cut us a break on this release.
Jason, it looks as though we may be the only people on this forum who are interested in this DVD (or even heard of this film ).
------------------
Marc.

 

[Hendrik]

...from a contemporary Canadian review of this film...
"...The lack of dialogue leaves viewers to savour the recurring images of rushing water, dirty feet and fish guts..." ...all this... and anamorphic widescreen plus DD 5.1 sound, too ... how could anyone resist?!...
. . .

. . .

 

[Jason Whyte]

Marc,
I think there are a few of us on here who have heard of it, I think you and I spoke of it once in one of the threads in movies. It should be known by more than a few canadians being that it swept the Genie awards.
Hendrik,
I don't think that review either mentions that Marie-Josee' Croze is one of the most beautiful women in the world and she's fascinating in this film, and the imagery in the film serves a major purpose to the storytelling. (Believe me, there's more to this film than dirty feet, fish guts and rushing water.)
Jason
------------------
Link Removed
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)

 

[Marc Colella]

Jason,
Where's the Maelstrom image that you keep in your signature?
Upon hearing the good news about the DVD, I figured that you'd want to continue promoting the film.

------------------
Marc.

 

[Jason Whyte]

There, that's better.
Dropped it about two weeks ago, and had no idea that the DVD would be 16x9 and 5.1. It's now my sig again and I'll link the trailer in my sig tomorrow.
Jason
------------------
Awesome Movies Of The Week (Maelstrom)
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)

 

[Jason Whyte]

Whoops...
------------------

AWESOME Movie Of The Moment (Maelstrom - Now Available On DVD)
Click Link Removed To Download The Trailer (in french)!
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)

 

[Marc Colella]

Now that's much better Jason.

Thanks for the link to the trailer. I was looking all over the net for it yesterday, and couldn't find it (but I really wasn't surprised).
Let me know what you think of the transfer and sound when you get it. I'm not sure if I'll get the chance to pick the DVD up today.
------------------
Marc.

 

[Jason Whyte]

VERY limited numbers on the disc, so grab a copy while you can. Just got mine shipped from CNL (whom, last I checked, only had a few left), and will be reviewing the disc tonight.
Jason
------------------

AWESOME Movie Of The Moment (Maelstrom - Now Available On DVD)
Click Link Removed To Download The Trailer (in french)!
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)
Film Critic, Link Removed

 

[Marc Colella]

Jason,
Did you have a chance to check out the disc yet?
Was wondering how the transfer was.

 

[Jason Whyte]

Oh, it's good. It's sooooo good. I've only seen the film at UVIC Cinecenta a month ago and I remember it looking like this perfectly.
My only two gripes about the entire disc:
1. FBI and opening logos took FOREVER to load.
2. When you hit "Play movie", the movie starts without its original Alliance Atlantis/Max Films logos and slams right into the intense music without warning.
The transfer is roughly 1.78:1 and looks incredible, with Villenvenue's daring cinematography coming through clear as a bell. And the french 5.1 is good, although nothing reference material here. Good use of surrounds and directionality.
Both the french and english version of the trailer are included, and the only difference is that the english one has subtitles and english title cards.
And it's not even a gripe, but I would have loved to have the player generated subtitles look just like the ones did in the english trailer. Very sharp and easy to read, but then again, so are the ones in the film itself.
I wonder if Denis Villenvenue wanted any extras and Alliance said no, or if he wanted it to be like this. Either way, this is the job Alliance should be doing and I'm very happy with the disc. Finally more people can see why I'm such a huge fan of the lead actress.
Jason
------------------

AWESOME Movie Of The Moment (Maelstrom - Now Available On DVD)
Click Link Removed To Download The Trailer (in french)!
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)
Film Critic, Link Removed

 

[Jason Whyte]

Another gripe: the end song that plays during the credits, oddly enough, is also subtitled but in its original language. This did not occur on the theatrical prints. Oh well, still a great disc.
Jason

 

[Marc Colella]

Thanks for the info Jason.
I'll be picking this one up during my lunch break on Tuesday.

 

[Pieter_L]

for us in the U.S. - what would be the best source to get this DVD?
it does not show up on dvdpricesearch.com at all.
also, not all Canadian online vendors ship to U.S.
thks!

 

[Marc Colella]

Pieter,
You can use Chapters.ca or HMV.com - they ship to the US.

 

[Jason Whyte]

Good, we're getting SOME attention on this. I know Matt Chmiel also wants a copy and I may set him up with one. I can't even remember the name of the distributor that has this film in the US right now, but it's one of those no name ones that probably don't even have a home video deparment.
Don't know if CNL ships to the US but give them a look as well. They have it in stock with a "Hurry! Only a few left" on their stock status.
Jason
------------------

AWESOME Movie Of The Moment (Maelstrom - Now Available On DVD)
Click Link Removed To Download The Trailer (in french)!
[email protected] ICQ: 16733922 I Am Jack's DVD List
"We're not after your money, all we want is some food!" Trailer Park Boys (on Showcase)
Film Critic, Link Removed

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

quote: I know Matt Chmiel also wants a copy and I may set him up with one.[/quote]
No Jason, if I don't get a copy, you'd kill me for not getting a copy. Just kidding. Yes, I do want to see this film (the film has a talking fish, that's a good reason for me to see it

) and I just bought a copy of it on eBay for $26 (compared to the $24 I would've paid on http://www.cnl.com
Link Removed - DVD Reviewer
Link Removed / AOL IM: MrMatthew / ICQ: 96444542

 

[Jason Whyte]

Again, good work Matt...you americans getting this disc from us, power to all of you. Let's hope it catches on.
Jason