6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A mad scientist uses his army of mechanical monsters to control people who have Type O blood.
Starring: Eddie Constantine, Françoise Brion, Fernando Rey, Mara Laso, Dina LoyForeign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM 2.0
English: LPCM 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Jess Franco's "Attack of the Robots" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Redemption Films. The supplemental features on the disc include a remastered original French trailer for the film as well as an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the French track. Region-A "locked".
The superspy
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jess Franco's Attack of the Robots arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Redemption Films.
I have some good news, and some bad news. I will separate the two so that everything is perfectly clear.
The good news - The release is sourced from a fantastic new 2K restoration that was completed by Gaumont in France. The film looks so fresh and so healthy that I would be willing to argue that the restoration is one of the top makeovers done for a Franco film to date. Also, I would not be surprised if Gaumont prepared a DCP and did a few limited screenings of the film. The restoration is that gorgeous.
The bad news - There is visible macroblocking in all of the darker footage (examples can be seen in screencaptures #15 and 18). It is very obvious, and you will see it even if you do not have a larger screen, or project. I am very surprised by the presence of this flaw because I have 95% of Redemption's catalog on Blu-ray and I have never spotted such a serious anomaly before. It is something that should have been caught and addressed during pre-production, when the disc was authored, because it is truly impossible to miss. It is so, so disappointing because with a proper encoding optimizations this release could have been the best looking one in Redemption's catalog.
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 2.0 and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the French track.
I started viewing the film with the French track, then tried the English track, and eventually switched back to the French track. The French track is flawless -- it is very obvious that it has been fully remastered because clarity, depth, and balance are outstanding. Dynamic intensity is really good as well, which is a tad surprising for a Jess Franco film. The English dub is exotic, but in a way it actually works quite well. I would likely see the film one more time with it.
There are a lot of Eurospy cliches in Attack of the Robots, but Jess Franco gives it a lush noirish appearance that makes it look as stylish as Bernard Borderie's Poison Ivy, which introduced Eddie Constantine's famous character Lemmy Caution. I had a great time with it. Redemption's new release is sourced from a top-notch recent 2K restoration that was completed by Gaumont in France, but the technical presentation is problematic. Obviously, this is very disappointing news because the release could have been one of the year's most unexpected delights.
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