La Bohème

Giacomo Puccini La Bohème opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. This is a motion picture version of the opera directed by Robert Dornhelm. Stars Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Nicole Cabell, George von Bergen (voice by Boaz Daniel), Adrian Eröd (voice by Stéphane Degout), and Vitaly Kovalyou. Bertrand de Billy conducts the Baravian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Chorus of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, and the Children's Chorus of the Staatstheatre am Gärtnerplatz, Munich. Released in 2009, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This title is being sold all over the world. But as best we can tell, it is restricted to Blu-ray Region A, which is certain Asian nations and the Americas (Pacific rim nations). So this is a safe purchase only for those who have players set for Region A. (If you are in Europe, buy the region-free Axiom version of this title described below. Released 2008, disc has Dolby 5.1 sound.  Grade: B+

Here we have Kultur's release of Dornhelm's movie.  Earlier this year Axiom released their own version, region free but not sold in the U.S. For general information about the movie, please read our our mini-review of the Axion disc. Here I compare the disc authorship of the Kultur and the Axions products.

While Kultur has not released a bad product, the Axiom disc is better in nearly every aspect. Neither the video nor sound on the Kultur release are up to the standard of the Axiom version. The resolution is sub par for the Kultur disc, as the picture is less detailed, more washed out, more faded. For the average movie watcher, this difference might be minute. But we played the Kultur disc in a typical home theater and in a reference-level theater at John Fort Audio-Video. On the better playback equipment, the weakness in the Kultur picture becomes much more obvious. So for those interested in the best quality, Kultur doesn't deliver.

As to sound, I say again that the Kultur disc isn't a bad product. But it lacks the same degree of clarity and resonance of sound I hear on the Axiom disc. The difference is the most pronounced when multiple singers converge; on the Kultur disc, the vocals tend to get more muddled than they should. This difference probably lies in the fact that Kultur uses older Dolby Digital 5.1 technology. Axiom springs for lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1.

Other, less important differences also play against the Kultur release. Both Axiom and Kultur use the same English only subtitle track, but Kultur presents theirs with a chunkier subtitle font reminiscent of poor DVD subtitling. Axiom's subtitles are much cleaner and visually appealing. In addition Kultur places their subtitles higher up than Axiom's. Letterboxed on widescreen television, this higher placement has Kultur's subtitles consistently on the picture, instead of on the lower black bar as Axiom's does. Axiom provides a nice keep box booklet; Kultur gives you only a single sheet with a list of chapters.

The one benefit that the Kultur disc has over Axiom's is that it has more chapter breaks, allowing for quicker access to your favorite scenes.

Your choice is clear - the Axiom disc is superior. However, the Kultur disc is cheaper and is the only one that readily available in the US.  If you want the best, I think the Axiom is worth the extra money. But if the cheaper price attracts you, the Kultur disc is a decent option for those who can play it.