Down With Love (2003)

[James Luckard]

This is one of my favorite films of the 2000s.

It's an absolutely brilliant parody of/homage to the Doris Day/Rock Hudson romcoms of the 1960s. It had the bad luck to be released only a couple of years before the 60s-retro fad that swept the culture when "Mad Men" came on TV.

I only just found out that this was released on Sept 19, 2019. I've ordered the disc and will report in as soon as I've had a look at it.

[PowellPressburger]

I could have sworn there was a thread for this one. Maybe someone mentioned it on a wish list thread.

From the specs on this site, I know I passed on importing it because of the audio

Audio
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Not sure why the English Track is that compressed DVD quality audio.

Really would love to see this one again. Especially if they could do a new HD master.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

Really would love to see this one again. Especially if they could do a new HD master.

This is a super obscure film, which was a massive financial disaster when it was released, nearly 20 years ago. Additionally, it's now tied up in the Disney takeover of Fox.

I suspect this may be the only BD we ever see of this anywhere in the world.

I'd be thrilled to be proven wrong, I think it's a minor masterpiece, but I'm not holding my breath for a superior release. I'm just grateful we have this one, and I hope it's all English-friendly. I was heartbroken when the German BD of the charming Julia Ormond/Harrison Ford SABRINA remake had only German audio.

[James Luckard]

Just got the disc in the mail today.

VERY bad news.

It's not 1080p, it's 1080/50i and it's from a PAL-spedup broadcast master.

There's an opening logo, which is 1080/50i, then the menu is 1080/50i, and then the feature is as well.

Absolutely none of them would play on my American player, I had to use my regionless to see any of it. The disc itself played, it's not region-locked, it's the video content that's the issue.

The film at its normal speed runs 1:41:30 on DVD, but this BD runs only 1:37:23.

For those out there who don't mind PAL, and will complain that I do, go ahead and enjoy this disc.

For those, like me, who find the pitch change and sped-up movement of PAL a deal breaker, this disc is sadly just a coaster. That's especially true with a film like this, filled with songs, which all sound weirdly off-pitch.

[James Luckard]

The worst part is that it looks like they ported over all the extras from the DVD. Shame they got stuck with an inferior master of the film.

[UnionJackMix]

Are you saying the image is basically the same as the dvd too?
I have the Italian DVD. Shame this movie is so unknown, I love it and it looks a dream.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Are you saying the image is basically the same as the dvd too?
I have the Italian DVD. Shame this movie is so unknown, I love it and it looks a dream.

Nope, it's full HD, for what it's worth, and looks decent. It's an old master though, and a PAL master, so it has 4% speedup, which makes it unwatchable to me.

[UnionJackMix]

Can you really see the difference in speed?
Also, I don't think I get it, would this be the same higher speed if you watched a PAL VHS and an NTSC VHS?

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Can you really see the difference in speed?
Also, I don't think I get it, would this be the same higher speed if you watched a PAL VHS and an NTSC VHS?

I'm not entirely sure I follow the question. Are you located in Europe or the US?

I'm in the US, and only ever watched NTSC home videos of films until the last ten years or so, when I started buying more overseas DVDS, etc, so the 4% PAL speedup is extremely distracting to me.

However, I've chatted with multiple Europeans who say that because they grew up watching PAL, with every film they ever saw on television and VHS and DVD run with 4% speedup, it's not such an issue to them. They're used to it and don't find it distracting, many of them say.

I've also even heard from some Americans who claim not to notice it.

All I can say is that it is definitely present, but not everyone notices it.

The issue of PAL speedup to 25fps of movies should have largely died in the era of HD, since 1080p 24fps video can be played anywhere in the world. However, many European home video distributors (especially in France, I've found) lazily create their Blu-Rays using HD masters intended for PAL television broadcast, which are not 1080p but 1080i/50 and have 4% speedup.

That's what happened with this BD.

[knifethrower]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The issue of PAL speedup to 25fps of movies should have largely died in the era of HD, since 1080p 24fps video can be played anywhere in the world. However, many European home video distributors (especially in France, I've found) lazily create their Blu-Rays using HD masters intended for PAL television broadcast, which are not 1080p but 1080i/50 and have 4% speedup.

That's what happened with this BD.

Another issue that arises, particularly for TV content, is if the local dub was recorded against a PAL master. Per ofdb DWL got a theatrical release in Germany so I would assume the dub was timed for 24 fps but I could totally see a German distributor creating a 1080i 25 fps version of a 1080p master just to match the precious "synchro" better.

[Marionette]

I was heartbroken to see the poor quality of the only Blu-ray release too. I still got a copy because I also think it's the only one we'll get.

I hope one of the boutique labels get it one day and release it properly. It's such a good and unique film, and the cast has only become more popular since, so it should still have some cache despite not being commercially successful in its time.