Import Week 2025, Day 2: The Painted Veil

Today for Import Week, we turn our attentions to Germany.  And as promised, it's a title that's DVD-only here in the US, so if you want this film at all in HD, you have to import it.  I'm talking about Der Bunte Schleier, better known as 2006's The Painted Veil.

The Painted Veil is, of course, an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel of the same name.  This is actually the third time it's been brought to the silver screen, after 1957's The Seventh Sin starring George Sanders, and probably the most famous Painted Veil, the 1937 version starring Greta Garbo.  Both of those films took a bunch of liberties though, especially The Seventh Sin, which changes the period, setting and everything; while the '37 totally cops out on the novel's poignant ending.  So this latest adaptation is the go-to choice for a vibrant, fleshed-out telling of the original story.

It's also the only one not studio bound, shot on exotic - both beautiful and disturbing - location rather than flat Hollywood sets.  With its fluid camera and naturalistic performances, this is the first to marry some reality to the author's vision.  When a young London doctor finds his high society wife cheating on him, he decides to drag her along with him into an expedition into a small Chinese village suffering from a deadly Cholera epidemic, out of spite.  So if you're expecting your usual breathy period melodrama, be prepared for how bleak and hard this story goes.  They definitely do not dial down the cruelty and smallness that run through Ed Norton's character like most movies would.  Besides him and Naomi Watts, who you see on the cover there, this stars Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones and The Avengers' Diana Rigg, all of whom are bringing their A game to this project.  Also, fun fact: Sally Hawkins (Bring Her Back, The Shape of Water) appears in the closing credits, but not the film itself.  She must've gotten cut.  If we ever do get a US blu-ray release of this film, let's hope it includes deleted scenes.

But I'm not holding my breath.  So until such a time, let's look at the options we actually do have.  Warner Bros released this as a barebones new release DVD in 2007 and... that's the whole story, at least here in the US.  But Germany came to the rescue in 2009 with a proper blu-ray release from Ascot Elite Home Entertainment.  It even has a little something by way of special features.

2007 US Warner Bros DVD top; 2009 DE Ascot Elite BD bottom.

2007 US Warner Bros DVD left; 2009 DE Ascot Elite BD right.

Warner presents The Painted Veil in 2.39:1, which Ascot tweaks to 2.41:1.  There's no extra picture either way; the image is just a pinch wider on the BD.  Honestly, I'm not sure which is correct, and wouldn't be surprised if the ideal is actually 2.40:1.  And unsurprisingly, this appears to be the same master used for both transfers.  The color timing, framing, contrast levels etc are all identical.  But the jump from SD to HD alone counts for a lot of clarity, as you can see in our 600% close-ups above.  It's like removing a sheet of wax paper off the picture to see the clear image underneath.  Of course, the difference is a lot more subtle when you're not zoomed in, but it's still enough to notice on a good sized set.  Obviously, a fresh scan would be ideal; we really don't see any film grain on either disc.  But the Ascot is still a worthwhile upgrade.

Another benefit of the blu, naturally is the lossless audio.  Warner Bros and Ascot Elite share the same 5.1 mix, but it's in DTS-HD on the blu.  The blu also includes a 5.1 German dub in DTS-HD, which is pretty immaterial, but it does lead to its one shortcoming.  The DVD includes optional English subtitles, as well as Spanish and French.  But the BD only has German subs.  Fortunately, the film does have burnt-in English subtitles for the rare bits of Chinese dialogue on both discs.

And did I mention extras?  Yes, Warner Bros has nothing but the trailer and some bonus trailers.  Ascot also has the trailer, albeit dubbed into German, and some bonus trailers.  But it also has a collection of cast and crew interviews. The four leads and the director all provide your typical EPK Q&As on location, and then there's another brief chat with Norton and Watts together at a press junket.  It's all brief, somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes total; but it's a lot nicer to have than nothing.  But that's it, though.  Ascot's release also comes with reversible artwork so you can hide the big, mandated ratings logo, which is appreciated.

So there you have it: a maybe not spectacular, but still essential foreign release of an under-appreciated American film.  Settle in for several more of those as Import Week continues...