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So how about that Japanese edition, huh? No, I didn't think anyone would be rushing out to pick up a copy. In addition to having all instances of pubic hair and/or genitalia optically censored in the crudest possible way, it's an atrocious-looking transfer on every level: non-anamorphic, standards converted, soft, smudgy, overly dark and with an annoying blue tint. During the more darkly lit scenes, the problems become so bad as to make the visuals nigh on incomprehensible.

It astounds me that a large company like Pioneer could put out such a disastrous disc while two considerably smaller companies have completely trounced them. In comparison, the Italian release by Raro Video looks pretty damn good, though it appears a bit soft when stacked up against the North American release from Mondo Vision. Again, we have an example of the same master being treated differently for two separate releases, and the Mondo Vision comes out on top with its superior clarity, grain reproduction and compression.

The Mondo Vision disc is the clear winner in terms of extras, although Italian speakers should note that the two interviews on the Raro Video release, one with cinematographer Jean-François Robin and another an analysis by Massimo Fusillo, are unique to that version. (The Mondo Vision release contains another, DIFFERENT interview with Robin.)

For English speakers especially, there's no real competition: if you want to actually UNDERSTAND the film (well, as much as L'AMOUR BRAQUE can be understood), you'll need to go for the Mondo Vision release. That it contains the best presentation of the film AND the most plentiful extras is, of course, the icing on the cake.