6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
New inmate Marie arrives at an island prison in the women's sector and receives the number 99. The inmates are controlled by the sadistic lesbian warden Thelma Diaz and Governor Santos and submitted to torture, rape and lesbianism.
Starring: Maria Schell, Herbert Lom, Mercedes McCambridge, Luciana Paluzzi, Maria RohmHorror | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD, 1 CD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Jess Franco's "99 Women" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film; deleted scenes; archival featurette with the Spanish director; new featurette with film historian Stephen Thrower; original promotional materials compiled by Gregory Chick; and more. Also included with this release is a CD with Bruno Nicolai's original soundtrack for the film and 20-page illustrated booklet with writings on the film and and technical credits. In English, with optional English, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
The prisoners
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's 99 Women arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.
The release is sourced from what appears to be an outstanding 4K restoration and reconstruction of the film, but the end result is very disappointing. Indeed, the entire film has been filtered with digital tools and detail and depth are seriously compromised. (For the record, I do not refer to the opening credits, which come from a secondary source. The right thing was done there and I have zero problems with the fact that they convey inherited softness). A lot of the wider panoramic shots, in particular, look very weak, as depth is severely lacking and a lot of, and in some cases nearly all, background details are lost (see screencaptures #11, 12, and 14). There are sporadic close-ups where the effects of the filtering are not as distracting, but the only reason why the quality is better there is actually the strength of the 4K restoration. In other words, you can begin to see what the end result could have been if the filtering adjustments had been avoided (see an example in screencapture #4). Still, during footage where light is restricted the type of artificial flatness that these digital adjustments introduce immediately becomes obvious (see screencapture #3). The color grading is very good, but the filter has also wiped out some gentle nuances (typically by expanding blacks and grays). Image stability is very good. A few tiny flecks remain, but there are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn/warped frames to report. (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).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional yellow English, French, and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Depth and clarity are very good throughout the entire film. Because the film was later on officially overdubbed some mild unevenness occasionally can be heard, but the effects are never distracting. The music is well rounded and easily adds the type of dramatic enhancements that the film demands from it. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.
I have to speculate at this point that perhaps the top people at Blue Underground are not aware that they are not getting the optimal product that they are paying for. It is very clear to me that the label is trying to create the definitive editions for many popular cult titles -- it is why the label is paying for brand new 4K restorations/remasters and in some cases is even going the extra mile to include the original soundtracks of these films on a separate CD. There are people at the label that care, and it shows. However, either someone isn't paying attention when the final master is delivered or a technician somewhere is carelessly making adjustments that are ultimately destroying the restorations/remasters that are commissioned. This is the one and only scenario that explains the massive gap in quality between the outstanding presentations of Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence -- both releases sourced from 4K remasters -- and 99 Women, Eugenie, and The Girl From Rio. The first two are prime examples of how 4K restorations and remasters should transition to Blu-ray -- unfiltered, with very strong organic qualities. The last three are digital interpretations by someone, almost certainly a technician/digital artist in a lab, that have absolutely nothing to do with the original vision of the people that directed the films. I don't know if I can make it any clearer. Hopefully, someone at the label will make the necessary changes now because the type of quality that we currently see on its Blu-ray releases simply isn't good enough.
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