The Wide Blue Road R1 DVD ADDED

[Rafael_Kuehn]

I thought I'd add the data for Gillo Pontecorvo's great debut feature "La grande strada azzurra". The US release I own is slightly problematic, with the format not quite corresponding to the 2.00:1 aspect ratio given by imdb, and the picture quality being very poor (I've seen it on TV twice, and in both cases contrast and colours were far superior to what's on the DVD). Note that the below release appears to be OOP. There is an Italian DVD, apparently also OOP; amazon.it shows it as being in 4:3 and with a suspicious run-time of 93 min PAL. Maybe someone who owns it can provide details.

Title: The Wide Blue Road (La grande strada azzurra)
Country: USA
Region: 0
Releasing Studio: The Milestone Collection
Case Type: Amaray
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (the cover sleeve incorrectly gives it as 1.66:1)
Anamorphic?: no
PAL or NTSC?: NTSC
Soundtracks: Italian Dolby Digital Mono
English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles (are they optional?): English, optional
Cuts: 99:06 min
Commentaries: none
Extras:
trailer (03:58)
poster and lobby card gallery (01:01)
DVD-ROM press kit
Notes: The picture quality is pretty poor, with slight blurring and highly desaturated colours, where the original print has strong, natural colours.
Easter Eggs: none
Amazon ASIN (UK, French, German, USA releases only): B00007ELEH
Source:* I own it.

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Soundtracks: Italian Dolby Digital Mono
English Dolby Digital Mono

Are these 1.0 or 2.0 tracks?

[Rafael_Kuehn]

Soundtracks: Italian Dolby Digital Mono
English Dolby Digital Mono

Are these 1.0 or 2.0 tracks?

2.0.

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

Thanks. Added it.

The distributor of the US DVD is "Image Entertainment" by the way.
Also added that the rear cover also states the picture is anamorphic, though as you stated it is non-anamorphic 1.78:1.

[Rafael_Kuehn]

Thanks. Added it.

The distributor of the US DVD is "Image Entertainment" by the way.
Also added that the rear cover also states the picture is anamorphic, though as you stated it is non-anamorphic 1.78:1.

Correct on the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, I measured it myself. The rear cover only states that the picture is "enhanced for 16:9 TVs", which I didn't take to mean the same as anamorphic. As far as info on anamorphic or non-anamorphic is concerned I have to rely on the data provided by the DVD covers, as I don't own a widescreen television. So if 16:9 enhanced means anamorphic, I guess it will be anamorphic after all.

[James-Masaki_Ryan]

I went ahead and changed it to "anamorphic" due to a review I found saying it was.

If you have a 4:3 square television, there are ways to check if anamorphic or not:
I assume you have your BD/DVD player set to 4:3. If you set your player's settings to 16:9, the 1.78:1 image should fill the entire screen and faces would be stretched taller. If the picture is "non-anamporphic" still have black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.