7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While scouting out apartments in London for her Venetian boyfriend, Carla rents an apartment that overlooks the Thames. There she meet the lesbian real estate agent Moira and Moira's ex-husband Marion.
Starring: Yuliya Mayarchuk, Jarno Berardi, Francesca Nunzi, Max Parodi, Mauro LorenzErotic | 100% |
Foreign | 90% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Tinto Brass' "Cheeky!" (2000) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the release include new program with cinematographer Massimo Di Venanzo; new audio commentary by critics Eugenio Ercolani and Nathaniel Thompson; archival program with Tinto Brass; trailers; and more. In Italian or English, with optional English subtitles for the main features. Region-Free.
Cult Epics' release of Cheeky! is 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray are Region-Free.
Please note that some of the screencaptures included 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.
Screencaptures #1-25 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #29-34 are from the 4K Blu-ray.
Cheeky! made its high-definition debut more than a decade ago with this release, also produced by Cult Epics, more than a decade ago. This release was sourced from an old master with a wide range of serious issues. Predictably, it offered a very underwhelming presentation of the film.
This release introduces a new 4K makeover that easily produces superior visuals. Delineation, clarity, depth, and even fluidity are a lot better, so not only are the visuals fresher and more attractive, there is a more to see. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. The surface of the visuals looks very healthy, too. Color reproduction is vastly superior as well. However, in this area, the previous release has a lot of serious flaws, so drawing any comparisons with it is utterly pointless. On this release, while vastly superior, color reproduction still isn't entirely convincing, and it is for the same reason the recent 4k makeover of Frivolous Lola is underwhelming. It pushes primary blue and blue nuances into turquoise, and this shift affects other primaries, like red. This time, the shift is less consequential because Cheeky! has a more contemporary appearance with contemporary color stylization, but in several areas the discrepancies are very easy to recognize. For example, in this screencapture and this screencapture the hat should be red and the curtains blue, as they are seen here and here but better saturated and healthier. On the positive side, when primary blue is not present, and especially during outdoor footage with plenty of natural light, the 4K makeover tends to produce pretty strong visuals.
I spent some time comparing the native 4K and 1080p presentations. On the 4K presentation, the HDR grade is quite nice and handles darker areas well. However, in 1080p, several areas reveal small gamma fluctuations that I suspect have something to do with the grading. In some areas, there are encoding artifacts as well. An example can be seen here. All in all, the 4K makeover clearly offers a sizeable upgrade in quality that now makes it a lot easier to enjoy Cheeky!. However, several aspects of it could have been managed better. My score is 3.75/5.00.
There are four standard audio tracks on this release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the Italian tracks.
I tend to prefer the Italian track. It is the one that I first saw Cheeky! with years ago. However, the Italian and English tracks both feature overdubbing, so you can pick the one you like better. Unlike the previous Blu-ray release of Cheeky!, this release has lossless tracks, and the two 5.1 tracks must be newly created. I used the Italian 2.0 and 5.1 tracks for various areas of the film and thought that they were wonderful. Obviously, there are no great dynamic contrasts, but the upgrade from lossy to lossless audio is pretty easy to appreciate, especially in areas where the music becomes prominent. The English translation is very good.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
I like Tinto Brass' films a lot. I think that he is the last Italian director whose films still have some of the humor and style that made the Italian sexy comedies so popular in Europe during the '70s and '80s, as well as bits of those subversive elements classic Italian exploitation films had before the genre self-destroyed itself. It is true that since 2000 Brass' films have not been as exciting, but they are still perfect to see very late at night. Cheeky! is one such film. There is nothing groundbreaking in it, but there is plenty of charm -- and, of course, beautiful women. This combo pack introduces a new 4K makeover of Cheeky! on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray that makes it a lot easier to enjoy it. However, it could have been even more convincing. RECOMMENDED.
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