Duck Soup - The Marx Brothers

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "La guerra lampo dei fratelli Marx" or "En tosset diktator" or "Die Marx Brothers im Krieg" or "Soupe au canard")

directed by Leo McCarey
USA 1933

From my favorite Sternberg to my favorite Marx Brothers is less of a leap than it might initially appear to be, especially because both deal with national issues in abstract and rather absurdist terms. Leo McCarey’s only encounter with Chico, Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo is memorable for many other reasons: it has fewer distractions (i.e., gratuitous musical and romantic sequences) than any of the other Marx Brothers movies, more purely visual delights with links to silent cinema (above all, the sequence with multiple Grouchos), and as a wholesale ridicule of everything that leads to and justifies warfare, it has the most bite as satire as well as the most free-wheeling spirit.
Excerpt from Jonathan Rosenbaum's article "30 Great Movies on DVD" located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 17, 1933 - USA

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Universal (The Marx Brothers 6 disc - Silver Screen) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Image Entertainment (OOP) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Universal (4 disc) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL

Big thanks to Vincent Lacomme and for the Screen Caps!

(Universal (The Marx Brothers - Silver Screen Collec) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment (OOP) - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Universal - Region 2,4,5 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Universal Region 1 - NTSC	Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC	Universal Region 2,4,5 - PAL
Runtime	1:08:44	1:08:24	1:05:59 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.33 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.28 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.20 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Universal (The Marx Brothers - Silver Screen Collec)
Bitrate: Image Entertainment
Bitrate: Universal (The Marx Brothers collection)
Audio	English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono , DUB: Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 mono	English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, dubs in French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, none	English Closed Captions, none	English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Turkish and none.
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer (1.46 m) • Boxset also includes The Cocoanuts / Animal Crackers / Monkey Business / and Horse Feathers • Contains five films plus a disc of extras and an exclusive book DVD Release Date: 09/11/2004 Digipack (in the Boxset) Chapters 19	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: October 17, 2000 Snapper Case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Trailer (1:40) DVD Release Date: November 10, 2003 (UK) Keep Case Chapters 20 NOTE: There is difference in how the Marx Bros. is released - In UK a 4-DVD Box, Australia 3-DVD (Missing Monkey B.) and in Denmark, France, Germany there are only single discs.

Comments

We can see clean-up in both the new Region 1 and the PAL edition in comparison to the old Image Entertainment release which looks to have a little brightening. There is far less damage and dust, but I do see more in the PAL than in the new NTSC. Between the Silver Screen and the PAL - I don't see a lot of difference.

The NTSC might be marginally sharper and has slightly superior contrast, but neither are deal-breakers in my mind. Depending on where you buy the PAL edition (There is difference in how the Marx Bros. is released - In UK a 4-DVD Box, Australia 3-DVD (Missing Monkey Business) and in Denmark, France, Germany there are only single discs.) but in the least the NTSC set also offers "The Cocoanuts". The PAL offers, as usual, some extra DUBs - both offer a trailer and I prefer the Silver Screen edition menus.

- Gary W Tooze

DVD Menus

(Universal (The Marx Brothers - Silver Screen Collec) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Universal - Region 2,4,5 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Universal (The Marx Brothers - Silver Screen Collec) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Universal - Region 2,4,5 - PAL - BOTTOM)