2 - I, a Woman, Part II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

2 - I, a Woman, Part II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 16, 2018

Mac Ahlberg's "I, a Woman – Part II" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Media. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film; new audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas; outtakes; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring Tim Lucas' essay "The I, a Woman Phenomenon". In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

A special night

I feel that it is necessary to begin this article with a couple of clarifications. First, I, a Woman – Part II is one of two films directed by Swedish helmer and cinematographer Mac Ahlberg that are included in this brand new release from Film Media. The other film in the set is The Daughter: I, a Woman Part III. Ahlberg completed these films in 1968 and 1970, respectively, after reportedly creating some serious ripple effects with I, a Woman in 1965. I was unfamiliar with all three and when the release was officially announced my instinctive reaction was to immediately conclude that at least some familiarity with the first film is needed to understand what takes place in the sequels. However, now that I have viewed both I don’t believe this to be the case. Indeed, in terms of tone and atmosphere the first film is almost certainly relevant, but I think that the sequels are essentially independent films that were only inspired by the success of the original. Finally, when I read the descriptions of Ahlberg’s films, I immediately thought of two other Swedish films from the same era: Vilgot Sjöman’s I Am Curious - Yellow and I Am Curious - Blue. I guessed that Ahlberg’s films were part of the same trend that made Sjöman’s films famous, and even though they have different personalities and style, I believe that I was right. I will explain why later on.

Middle-aged housewife Siv (Gio Petre) is growing increasingly frustrated with her husband Hans (Lars Lunoe) because he controls all of their finances but refuses to pay what they owe to various businesses in their neighborhood. And it is not because they are struggling. Hans is actually a very wealthy antique dealer and can easily acquire his creditors if he wanted, but he enjoys toying with them and does it as often as he can.

On a chilly night, Siv receives a surprising gift from Hans, a very sexy outfit, and then discovers that they will welcome an important guest for dinner. Soon after, the sophisticated Mr. Svendsen (Bertel Lauring) appears and food and drinks are promptly served. After some routine pleasantries, the dinner ends with a surprising twist -- the guest seduces Siv right in front of the unusually calm and completely sober Hans. Stunned but also emboldened by the experience Siv then begins ‘experimenting’ with other men, but along the way discovers that Hans' open-mindedness is actually a facade hiding a dark and very disturbing secret.

The plot is hardly original and the ‘shocking’ revelation at the end is actually the weakest part of it, but this is largely irrelevant. Indeed, much like Sjöman’s better known films here the main goal is to promote the idea that women also have intense sexual fantasies and in the right environment they would be willing to turn many or all into reality. So once Siv becomes ‘liberated’ Ahlberg adds a decent amount of erotic, but not graphic, footage to the narrative.

However, while Ahlberg and Sjöman’s films are clearly part of the same trend, this sequel is actually a lot easier to compare to some of Radley Metzger’s early work. Obviously, Metzger was a much better stylist who had an incredible eye for authentic period detail, but a direct comparison between his The Lickerish Quartet and this sequel for instance immediately reveals a wide range of stylistic similarities.

Folks that have a soft spot for European genre films from the ‘60s and ‘70s will probably recognize the name of the man that assisted Ahlberg behind the camera, Andreas Bellis, who just a couple of years later will go on to work with Bo Arne Vibenius on the controversial Thriller: A Cruel Picture.

*Metzger apparently struck gold when he secured the distribution rights to Ahlberg's original film in the late '60s and began promoting it. However, what is really interesting, and quite clear now, is that he also refined his style while carefully studying Ahlberg's work.

2 - I, a Woman, Part II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mac Ahlberg's I, a Woman – Part II arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Media.

The release is sourced from a fresh remaster, though it would appear that the film was essentially transferred from a good element and then properly color-graded. Naturally, some specks, flecks, tiny scratches, and even a few larger damage marks remain. Despite the obvious source limitations, however, the entire film has a pretty decent organic appearance. In fact, a stronger encode would have made quite a difference and the end result actually would have been very strong. Clarity and detail typically range from decent to good, and despite some fluctuations depth is also mostly pleasing. The most obvious flatness that emerges is clearly source related, though as mentioned above some optimizations could have been made and some of it would have been minimized. The best news here is that there are no traces of digital corrections, so there is no harsh sharpening or compromising denoising that give the film an artificial appearance. Image stability is very good. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

2 - I, a Woman, Part II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The majority of the actors are clearly uttering their lines in English, but is easy to tell that they were overdubbed. My guess is that this was done so that the film can be easier to promote worldwide. So, while I would have preferred a lossless track the current lossy track is in fact very nice -- it is clean, stable, and with enough depth. For these types of European productions, however, I think it is best to have modest expectations because when they were overdubbed usually dynamic intensity was fairly modest.

2 - I, a Woman, Part II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - in this new audio commentary, critic Tim Lucas discusses the production and distribution history of the original I, a Woman film, the sequel's history, some of the key themes in the film, Mac Ahlberg's work (as a director and cinematographer), etc.

• Trailer - vintage trailer for the film. (2 min, 1080p).

• I, a Woman Outtake Reel - additional content. In English. (8 min).

• Promo Reels - promotional trailers for Film Media's Racy Reels Collection.

• Booklet - 8-page illustrated booklet featuring Tim Lucas' essay "The I, a Woman Phenomenon".

2 - I, a Woman, Part II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Radley Metzger's acquisition of Mac Ahlberg's directorial debut I, a Woman apparently turned out to be an incredibly smart investment and he greatly benefited from it. However, I also think that the original film as well as Ahlberg's sequels that are included in this release actually had a profound impact on Metzger's own style because so much of what defines it is incredibly easy to recognize in them. I am a big fan of Metzger's films from the '70s and this was a rather surprising discovery for me. If you are intrigued now but are concerned that Ahlberg's original film is not yet available on Blu-ray, don't be. The sequels are essentially independent films that can be enjoyed without any familiarity with the original film. Well done, Film Media. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.