Barbet Schroeder's darkly witty meditation on sadomasochism comes to DVD in a typically well-crafted edition from The Criterion Collection. Maitresse has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1, which has also been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The transfer (which was approved by Schroeder himself) is rich and colorful, and honors the subtle brilliance of Néstor Almendros' cinematography. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono; the dialogue is in French, with optional English subtitles. By Criterion's standards, this disc is a bit short on bonus materials, adding only an interview with Barbet Schroeder (albeit a witty and revealing one) and a liner essay from Elliot Stein, but this film isn't likely to ever look or sound better on home video than it does in this release.
