Roman Polanski on Blu-ray

[James Luckard]

US releases





IMPORTANT NOTES
The US BD of FRANTIC has been OOP for many years. In addition, there are two identical pressings. The 2010 pressing has an audio error. The 2011 pressing has audio that I got corrected by contacting Mr. Polanski. There is no way to tell used copies apart except by playing them. You can tell wrapped new copies apart by the sticker over the barcode on the back.

The OOP US BD of BITTER MOON is incorrectly pitched. KL stated that they received a 25fps HD master from StudioCanal. They slowed it down to 24fps, but then they mistakenly thought the 25fps master had been pitch corrected, and RAISED the pitch on their new 24fps master to match the original 25fps version. Foreign BDs of the film do not have this flaw.

The US BD of DEATH AND THE MAIDEN was a Shout website exclusive, with only 1620 copies issued. (I have no idea how they chose that strange number).

The US BD of THE GHOST WRITER has all the cursing ineptly redubbed. The Canadian disc is the exact same disc, my player thought it was the identical disc and restarted from the same spot, but it does not have the atrocious redubbing.

Only available on foreign BD




IMPORTANT NOTES
I believe the OOP UK BD of KNIFE IN THE WATER is the only one with English subs, other than the Spanish one, which is a bootleg in most countries outside Spain.

The German Plaion edition of The Fearless Vampire Killers was released with 3 or 4 alternate retailer-exclusive covers. It corrects the two day-for-night scenes where WC left off the blue filter. It also includes the US theatrical version of the film (re-edited by the studio without Polanski's involvement) in SD.

PIRATES is a very confusing one. DO NOT BUY the OOP French steelbook. It was from that period when many French BDs rotted. Mine rotted. Also do not buy the 2014 Italian disc, it's apparently 1080i/50 25fps. The two Spanish Resen BDs are bootlegs outside Spain, but they're region free. The 2016 Spanish disc just has the film. The 2023 Spanish disc adds the 50-minute making-of doc. Warning, my 2016 Resen disc also rotted. The two recent Eagle Pictures Italian discs are the best bet, but beware, they're region locked. They play on Panasonic machines with the STOP-TOP MENU-TOP MENU trick.

The UK Harrison Ford set is the only way to get the corrected disc of FRANTIC in the US at the moment, though there are apparently new Scandinavian standalone releases too.

Buy a foreign disc of BITTER MOON, in order to get properly pitched audio.

Buy a foreign disc of THE GHOST WRITER, in order to get the original audio track, with cursing present.

VENUS IN FUR was only released on DVD in the US. Only the UK and Hong Kong BDs had English subs. Both are OOP.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY was never released theatrically or on home video in the US. Sony Classics chose not to exercise their US rights. The Spanish and Hong Kong BDs had English subs. Both are OOP.

J'ACCUSE (AN OFFICER AND A SPY) has not been released anywhere in the world with English subtitles. The French BD is considered the best, I believe.

UHD


IMPORTANT NOTES
The first pressings of Rosemary's Baby were faulty. They contain two audio errors:

1:57:25 - When Dr. Saperstein is supposed to have the line "We happen to be in labor here," his line is muted on the UHD, except for the final word, "here". His hands are onscreen, but his face isn't.

0:52:22 - as the nurse draws Rosemary's blood, Rosemary says to Charles Grodin "We went to see The Fantasticks." However, on the UHD, a creaking floorboard has been muted at the end of her line and the last syllable of her line is lost. She says "The Fantastic" instead of "The Fantasticks" plural.

Paramount fixed the first flaw and offered replacement discs. They did not fix the second flaw.

BOX SETS

This ULTRA-rare Polish box set is the only release anywhere in the world of Polanski's segment of the film THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL SWINDLERS. All other home video releases of that film, everywhere in the world, have Polanski's segment removed, at his express request, for reasons unknown. The box set also has his early short films remastered.


This long-OOP boxset included the only-ever US release of Knife in the Water on BD.


This Australian boxset includes his 3 1990s films - Bitter Moon, Death and the Maiden and The Ninth Gate, along with the doc Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. It also has a decent amount of exclusive bonus features.

MISC

Written by Polanski.

[IntheMoodforTark]

Thank you for your effort. You can add the Polish Polanski box set to the list because I'm pretty sure that's the only way you can get the restored versions of his early shorts (including his missing segment from The World’s Most Beautiful Swindlers) and the new restoration of Knife in the Water.

[dumb_dutchman]

There is/was an English friendly (Region B) version of Knife in the Water available in the Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, Volume 3. But, the box set was very limited and it has not been available for some time now.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by IntheMoodforTark

Thank you for your effort. You can add the Polish Polanski box set to the list because I'm pretty sure that's the only way you can get the restored versions of his early shorts (including his missing segment from The World’s Most Beautiful Swindlers) and the new restoration of Knife in the Water.

Thanks! I almost bought it when it came out, but it was insanely expensive, and I had all his films already, so I'd have been buying it just for the shorts. I still kind of regret not doing that though.

[Doomhunter]

Would really like to see a Ninth Gate 4k get released

[Infallible Presence]

Originally Posted by Doomhunter

Would really like to see a Ninth Gate 4k get released

After my Lions Gate BD started having playback issues I contacted Arrow Video and requested them to do a release in the UK. Where Universal holds the rights. They claimed to have sent it through to who makes those decisions. However, the more people that go request them to release it, the better the chances become. At least in theory.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Doomhunter

Would really like to see a Ninth Gate 4k get released

I doubt a 4K master exists, they'd probably have to remaster it from the negative. I'm not sure who actually owns the film. I think Artisan (now called Lionsgate) only had US distribution, I think it was financed by one of the European companies involved. It might be a Studiocanal title now.

[Rayjg]

I have an Italian Blu-ray of Pirates without forced subs but they apparently screwed up the frame rate or something. Kept the French steelbook for the documentary. Haven’t watch it in who knows how long so it’s probably rotted. Blows my mind that An Officer and a Spy has no English friendly release.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

I have an Italian Blu-ray of Pirates without forced subs but they apparently screwed up the frame rate or something. Kept the French steelbook for the documentary. Haven’t watch it in who knows how long so it’s probably rotted. Blows my mind that An Officer and a Spy has no English friendly release.

Which Italian BD do you have?

Do you mean it's a 25fps PAL HD master? That happens a lot in Europe.

I think the latest Italian BD has the doc, but I only have the rotted French disc and replaced it with the Spanish bootleg, which just has the movie.

It's bizarre that Gaumont hasn't given in and allowed the film to go for cheap to some boutique outlet in the US or the UK. Maybe they're waiting to see if they can drum up interest in the film after his new film premieres at Venice next month.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Which Italian BD do you have?

Do you mean it's a 25fps PAL HD master? That happens a lot in Europe.

I think the latest Italian BD has the doc, but I only have the rotted French disc and replaced it with the Spanish bootleg, which just has the movie.

It's bizarre that Gaumont hasn't given in and allowed the film to go for cheap to some boutique outlet in the US or the UK. Maybe they're waiting to see if they can drum up interest in the film after his new film premieres at Venice next month.

Looks like I have the one that came out back in 2014. It's a really fun, very well made movie. Polanski was going for a certain tone and I think he nailed it. Reminds of a Gilliam movie.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by Doomhunter

Would really like to see a Ninth Gate 4k get released

This is one of my favorite Polanski films so I’d definitely buy a 4K of it.

[drush9999]

I have all his movies on BD up to The Pianist and Oliver Twist. Got Rosemary's Baby 4K on pre-order.
Thanks for the info on The Ghost Writer didn't realise it had dubbed audio on the US releases. I need to complete my collection for his most recent movies.

[Cremildo]

Can't wait for a UK release of Bitter Moon with the correct audio pitch.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by drush9999

I have all his movies on BD up to The Pianist and Oliver Twist. Got Rosemary's Baby 4K on pre-order.
Thanks for the info on The Ghost Writer didn't realise it had dubbed audio on the US releases. I need to complete my collection for his most recent movies.

The UK BD of The Ghost Writer uses the alternate British title of The Ghost in the credits, not sure if that matters to you.

The redubbing for the US release of the film was godawful. Polanski likes to shoot actors SUPER close to the camera, with wide lenses. This means their lip movements are EXTREMELY clear, so the redubbing of all the cursing, which was done to get a PG-13 in the US, is ASTOUNDINGLY obvious and unintentionally comical.

The US BD of The Ghost Writer should be avoided at ALL costs.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Can't wait for a UK release of Bitter Moon with the correct audio pitch.

All the overseas BITTER MOON BDs have the correct pitch, as far as I know.

I own:
German BD - correct pitch
Japanese BD - correct pitch
US BD - incorrect pitch

They're all the same video transfer, I believe.

There's also an Italian BD, which I don't own.

There's a Spanish disc, but based on the packaging it appears to be unlicensed and a bootleg outside Spain. The packaging also says it's PAL. If that's not a typo, then the BD could be a 1080i/50 HD master at 25fps.

I just looked, and it appears the US Kino Lorber BITTER MOON BD has gone OOP.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by drush9999

Thanks for the info on The Ghost Writer didn't realise it had dubbed audio on the US releases. I need to complete my collection for his most recent movies.

I should add, I doubt Polanski was involved in the atrocious redubbing of THE GHOST WRITER for its US release. The theatrical release of the film came during his house arrest in Switzerland.

In other films of his with multiple dubs that he oversaw, like THE TENANT and FRANTIC, he made sure to stage the actors onscreen so that their lip movements are less visible in dialogue scenes that he knew would be dubbed multiple ways.

[Hammerlover]

REPULSION on 4K, please!

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Hammerlover

REPULSION on 4K, please!

I think we'll have to hope for an overseas UHD of that film. I can't see Criterion ever releasing another Polanski film on any format, and they hold the US rights.

[JasonMichael]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I think we'll have to hope for an overseas UHD of that film. I can't see Criterion ever releasing another Polanski film on any format, and they hold the US rights.

Then they should let the rights lapse.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by JasonMichael

Then they should let the rights lapse.

I agree, completely. Don't think they will, however.