All Ladies Do It 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

All Ladies Do It 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 27, 2024

Tinto Brass' "All Ladies Do It" a.k.a. "Così fan tutte" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth; arhcival program with Tinto Brass; outtakes; vintage trailer; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles.

Diana's (Claudia Koll, Cucciolo) fantasies are so intense that her husband Paolo (Paolo Lanza, P.O. Box Tinto Brass) can't get enough of them. He routinely asks her to describe to him the men she meets in her dreams, the places they visit, and how they make love. Occasionally, Diana also mentions her dreams to the other girls in the lingerie shop where she works.

During a lavish party, Diana meets Alphonse (Franco Branciaroli, Black Angel), a poet and collector, who promises to spice up her life. She flirts with him and even allows him to touch her, but remains faithful to her husband. Soon after, Paolo realizes that some of Diana's descriptions are too detailed to be only the product of her imagination. When he confronts her, Diana decides that it is time to begin enjoying life to the fullest. Eventually, they part ways, and she heads to Venice, the city of love.

Like most of Tinto Brass' erotic films, All Ladies Do It has an episodic structure. Typically, each episode culminates either with a lovemaking scene or some sort of outrageous party where people take off their clothes.

All Ladies Do It is very light and very elegant. At times, it reminds of Marshall Herskovitz's Dangerous Beauty, but its plot isn't as good as that of the American film. Diana's fantasies and experiments are used primarily as a pretext to show her wearing beautiful dresses and sexy lingerie, making love to different men. In a film like All Ladies Do It, however, this is anything but a weakness.

It has been said that the Italian title of the film was inspired by Mozart's Cosi fan tutte. This is the official information that one would typically find if one reads reviews of the film written in English. The real intent behind the title, however, is not to pay homage to the famous opera. It is a smart joke that pokes fun at conservative Italian values.

Koll, a stunningly beautiful actress, is quite impressive as Diana. As someone who had never before had a major role in a feature film, she looks remarkably relaxed and confident in front of the camera. During the second half, when she travels to Venice, she is absolutely stunning. On the other hand, Lanza, who plays her suspicious husband, is disappointingly stiff and occasionally even looks flat-out awkward.

All Ladies Do It was lensed by two different cinematographers. The majority of the footage was shot by the great cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti, who collaborated with Brass on many of his early films, including the psychedelic Attraction, the lavish Salon Kitty, the legendary Caligula, and arguably the Italian director's best film, Paprika. Brass was also assisted by Massimo Di Venanzo, who worked as a camera operator for many of the greatest post-war Italian directors, including Federico Fellini (Amarcord), Lina Wertmuller (All Screwed Up), Vittorio De Sica (Sunflower), and Michelangelo Antonioni (Identification of a Woman).

Music has a very important role in the majority of Brass' films. All Ladies Do It benefits from a terrific selection of light and appropriately playful tunes that were assembled by Pino Donaggio (Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill, Nic Roeg's Don't Look Now).

All Ladies Do It 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cult Epics' release of All Ladies Do It is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and the Blu-ray are Region-Free. The native 4K presentation can be viewed with HDR.

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-27 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #31-34 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of All Ladies Do It that was completed in Italy on behalf of Cult Epics. The entire 4K makeover is a dramatic upgrade in quality. In fact, there are such massive improvements in quality in all major areas we scrutinize in our reviews that it is a waste of time referencing previous releases. This time the film is properly framed, too.

I viewed the 4K makeover in native 4K and 1080p because I wanted to know how the film looks with and without HDR. In native 4K and 1080p, the overall quality of the visuals gravitates around very good. I did not see any traces of problematic digital corrections, so all of these visuals have very strong organic qualities. However, I think that both presentations could have been encoded better, though it is the 1080p presentation where some weaknesses of the current encode are easier to recognize in darker areas. On the other hand, there are a lot of particular lensing choices that capture light in unique ways which produce spikes and drops in grain exposure, so even with encoding optimizations the film will reveal many obvious grain fluctuations. The HDR grade is very, very gentle, so the improvements in the dynamic range of the visuals that you would observe in native 4K will not be substantial. Color balance is very good. To be honest, this is the first time I have seen this film look as I always thought it should, which is a lot like a Federico Fellini film. Image stability is excellent. I noticed a few nicks, but there are no distracting large cuts, marks, blemishes, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00.

All Ladies Do It 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Stereo), English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Mono), Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Stereo), and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Mono). English subtitles are provided for the Italian tracks.

I have seen All Ladies Do It many times in English and Italian. I think that the English Stereo track works very well. However, you need to know that both tracks feature overdubbing, which is not very impressive. There is plenty of good music that sounds very healthy now. I did not encounter any anomalies on the 4K Blu-ray or Blu-ray discs to report in our review.

All Ladies Do It 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth. The commentators provide a lot of interesting information about the overlapping of fantasy and reality that always occurs in Tinto Brass' films, the unmissable presence of light yet witty humor in these films, the evolution of Brass' work. (While recognized for his erotic films, Brass has made some very good westerns and thrillers). Also, the commentators have some interesting observations about the Brass' casting choices and specifically his work with Stefania Sandrelli.

• Trailer - a fully remastered trailer for All Ladies Do It. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for the following Cult Epics releases:
  
  1. Frivolous Lola
  2. Paprika
  3. P.O. Box Tinto Brass
  4. Istintobrass

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth. The commentators provide a lot of interesting information about the overlapping of fantasy and reality that always occurs in Tinto Brass' films, the unmissable presence of light yet witty humor in these films, the evolution of Brass' work. (While recognized for his erotic films, Brass has made some very good westerns and thrillers). Also, the commentators have some interesting observations about the Brass' casting choices and specifically his work with Stefania Sandrelli.

• Interview with Tinto Brass (2001) - in this archival program, Tinto Brass addresses numerous subjects, from his takes on erotica and pornography to the production of All Ladies Do It and the female actresses he has worked with and their attitude toward him. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Outtakes - presented here are several outtakes that were included on Cult Epics' DVD release of All Ladies Do It. Some of the outtakes are now included in the newly restored in 4K Director's Cut of All Ladies Do It. (10 min).

• Photo Gallery - a collection of still from All Ladies Do It. In color.

• Trailer - a fully remastered trailer for All Ladies Do It. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for the following Cult Epics releases:
  
  1. Frivolous Lola
  2. Paprika
  3. P.O. Box Tinto Brass
  4. Istintobrass

• Booklet - 20-page illustrated booklet featuring Eugenio Ercolani and Domenico Monetti's essay "From Demon to Saint: The Career of Claudia Koll" and credits.

• Cover - reversible cover with original Italian poster art for All Ladies Do It.

• Cards - four collective lobby cards for All Ladies Do It.

All Ladies Do It 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tinto Brass and Federico Fellini shared an identical appreciation of female beauty, which is why both were very fond of each other. (Did you know this?) But Brass showed a lot more in his films than what Fellini loved to only suggest in his films, and this is why for a long time the former was dismissed as a pornographer. Brass was never as good as Fellini. However, for several decades he shot the most stylish and witty erotic films on both sides of the Atlantic. Cult Epics introduces a new 4K restoration of All Ladies Do It with Claudia Koll, one of the most beautiful female stars that Brass worked with. I think that the 4K makeover is gorgeous, so hopefully it will not be too long before Paprika is revisited and given a similar treatment as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.