7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
Sloven, narcisstic and brutal, Vittorio is a small time pimp whose world is thrown into crisis when his meal-ticket is sent to jail. He re-establishes his usual business model by seducing Stella, at first just another innocent peasant girl. But this time Accattone finds himself instead seduced by Stella's angelic innocence and determines to go straight.
Starring: Franco Citti, Franca Pasut, Silvana Corsini, Adriana Asti, Paola GuidiForeign | 100% |
Drama | 79% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Italian: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Screened at the Venice Film Festival, Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Accattone" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the Italian director's "Comizi d'amore" a.k.a "Love Meetings" (1964); original trailers; and audio commentary by film critic Tony Rayns. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring rare archival imagery, the words of Pasolini, and more. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The pimp
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pier Paolo Pasolini's Accattone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.
Note: Screencaptures #1-19 are from Accattone, while screencaptures #21-30 are from Comizi d'amore.
I did a few quick comparisons with my R2 DVD (from the now out of print Pier Paolo Pasolini Vol.1 box set, which Tartan Video released in the UK quite some time ago) and I could easily say that the improvements in terms of detail, depth, and especially clarity are indeed substantial. The overwhelming majority of the close-ups, for instance, convey very pleasing depth which is simply missing on the standard definition transfer (see screencapture #12). The nighttime footage also looks a lot tighter on the Blu-ray release. For example, during the party where Accattone pushes Stella into the arms of the two wealthy gentlemen there are absolutely no traces of the macroblocking that plagues the standard definition transfer. Contrast is also much more convincing. Color gradation is also a lot stronger - the whites and grays are far richer, while the blacks look solid. It needs to be said, however, that natural light plays a very important role in Accattone, which is why in a lot of sequences the blacks and whites have different complexion. There are no traces of compromising denoising/degraining corrections. Unsurprisingly, when projected the film boasts very strong organic qualities. Finally, there are no serious purely transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a competent and ultimately extremely pleasing presentation which will likely remain the definitive presentation of Accattone for years to come. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
Accattone arrives with a standard Italian LPCM 2.0 track. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles.
The audio appears to have been optimized as best as possible. The dialog has pleasing depth and crispness and there are no high-frequency distortions to report in this review. Obviously, as the action moves from one location to another there are minor fluctuations in terms of dynamic progression, but the loseless track is not to be blamed for them as they are clearly part of the film's original sound design. Lastly, there are no sync issues or audio dropouts.
Releases such as this one make me so incredibly grateful that we have Blu-ray. I am even more grateful that labels such as Eureka Entertainment, which is run by true enthusiasts, exist. I was very much looking forward to Pier Paolo Pasolini's Accattone, and suffice to say, I could not be any happier with the presentation. Now, the release is guaranteed to appear on my Top 10 list at the end of the year. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Il vangelo secondo Matteo / Masters of Cinema
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Uccellacci e uccellini / Masters of Cinema
1966
Porcile / Masters of Cinema
1969
1969
Teorema
1968
Il Conformista / Arrow Academy
1970
The Swindle / Masters of Cinema
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1952
1960
Paisan
1946
Le notti di Cabiria / Vintage World Cinema
1957
The Girlfriends / Masters of Cinema
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Otto e mezzo / Federico Fellini's 8½
1963
山椒大夫 / Sanshô dayû
1954
The Lady Without Camelias / Masters of Cinema
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Le mani sulla città / Masters of Cinema
1963
Lo sceicco bianco / Vintage World Cinema
1952
Masters of Cinema
1972