“the Bear” And “two Brothers” In Amazon Fr

[donaldheil]

For those who are interested (or familiar with this movies), Jean Jacques Annaud’s “The bear” (L’Ours) and “Two Brothers” (Deux Frères) are available in BLU RAY from www.amazon.fr

Both discs are REGION FREE (or rather "Regions A B C"), so the main feature can be enjoyed on Region A players. And unlike the French Pathè release of INTO THE WILD, in the case of BEAR and BROTHERS (also from Pathè Studios) the movie can be watched with English audio (the ORIGINAL audio of these movies) with NO forced French subtitles (the French subtitles –the only ones included- are removable, and also there is a French audio track included).

In the case of THE BEAR, the extras might play, but since they are PAL encoded (no HD) region A players won’t run the image properly. Most of the extras are in French with no subtitles anyway. In the case of TWO BROTHERS, the only extra included, an extensive “Making of” documentary, will play correctly, but it’s in French, with no subtitles.

The music in both movies is very beautiful, and worth paying attention too. Both features, being widescreen, with the landscapes that they have, and with the main presence of animals in the wild, is an obvious choice to watch in Blu Ray. They somehow work like chapters of Planet Earth with a dramatic story. And anyone who have watched Planet Earth knows that you haven’t watched it until you watch it in Blu Ray.

THE BEAR

I’ve learnt that no widescreen release has been available on DVD in the USA for a long time, so the Blu Ray release, in its original aspect ratio, is very good news.

The bad news for some will be:

-The image is a litlle jittery, meaning, it has slight unnatural movement from side to side, more noticeable in still shots. It’s present throughout the entire movie.

-Noise reduction has been applied, so there’s no grain, and the filmlike quality is absent. Instead, some images, if watched too closely, look like an oil paint.

Since I have a 40’ inch TV, I can say that from my normal distance, I was not bothered by the noise reduction, and got used to the jittery picture after a while, not being distracted as to not enjoy the movie. But something very different might happen to those with bigger sets.

The DTS English track is satisfactory, although it looks like it has been manipulated too. I would have preferred less treble and more bass. But it all might be the product of being a relatively old movie (1988).

TWO BROTHERS

The image of this one has been left alone. Grain is present, for more detail and naturalistic look. In fact, the picture quality is astonishing. Obviously, being a more recent movie (2004), this one didn’t need any kind of restoration (or manipulation, if you will) to look good.

The DTS English track is very good.

This is a more Disney-esque movie, more family oriented. There is more human participation and dialogues. Still, it doesn’t resort to the occasional silliness that can be found in some Disney movies, and it can be perfectly enjoyed by adults.

For more information (especially for those who don's know this movies) you can visit:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095800/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338512/

[Moviefan1203]

The Bear is a great film, and I will for sure be importing it and adding it to my blu-ray library.

Is this what the cover looks like donaldheil?

http://www.amazon.fr/Lours-Blu-ray-T...ref=pd_sbs_d_3

[donaldheil]

That's right. That's exactly the cover.

[ambientcafe]

Indeed, 'The Bear' has been available in anamorphic widescreen SDDVD (2.35 AR) with DD5.1 audio from Columbia/Tristar in N. America since 1999 -- I should know -- I've owned it for many years. But yes, the prospect of seeing this beautifully-shot feature is Blu is alluring....

[donaldheil]

Originally Posted by ambientcafe

Indeed, 'The Bear' has been available in anamorphic widescreen SDDVD (2.35 AR) with DD5.1 audio from Columbia/Tristar in N. America since 1999 -- I should know -- I've owned it for many years. But yes, the prospect of seeing this beautifully-shot feature is Blu is alluring....

You are right. There WAS a widescreen anamorphic version for THE BEAR on DVD. But according to one user in AMAZON ( http://www.amazon.com/review/product...R39TRW2LH5MTPU ) that version was substituted by a 2000 sony release (Full frame only -which is how the aspect ratio is stated in amazon.com), so it looks like the dual dvd (full frame/widescreen) has been out of print for quite a while. To make matters worse (according to that user) both releases have the same cover art.

I think SONY should release this movie on Blu Ray, to make up for the mess. Hopefully, it won't have the flaws of the french release.

[pwdenton]

I found this old thread and am in need of some relevant help;
one of my favorite movies is 'The Bear' (1988). I desperately want this blu-ray, and it's only slightly less spectacular follow up from the same director, 'Two Brothers'. There's a combo blu-ray of the two that's only available in French release-- and as far as I can tell-- only in Europe.
The bottom line is, I've tried to figure out how to get it from several online French vendors and, not being bilingual, I have no idea how to do it. Anyone know of an online vendor where this disc might be available, or a French or European vendor I could communicate with in English? Or any other way I can buy this thing? Thank you in advance for any help.

[zardoz]

amazon.fr has exactly the same interface as amazon.com

There's probably a way to even use it with google translate if you don't mind broken english