7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the peasants, and to overcome his isolation.
Starring: Gian Maria Volontè, Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, Lea Massari, Irene PapasForeign | 100% |
Drama | 70% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.32:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Northern Exposure famously posited a "fish out of water" scenario where an eager doctor was thrust into an isolated rural enclave, left to foist for himself both in terms of his medical "career" but perhaps just as importantly in terms of being able to establish links to a new community which included a rather disparate and at times pretty eccentric group of people. While resolutely different in tone and style, Christ Stopped at Eboli is built around somewhat the same premise, albeit in an Italy giving way to the fascism of Mussolini. The film is based on a huge international bestseller from the 1940s which was a memoir by an Italian intellectual named Carlo Levi. Levi (played by Gian Maria Volonté in the film) has gotten himself in trouble with the powers that be (were?) in 1930s Italy, due to his antifascist activities, with the result being he's been exiled more or less to a remote region in southern Italy. What's kind of interesting about this scenario, at least in terms of any (obviously tangential) relationship to Northern Exposure, is that Levi's past as a medical student isn't immediately disclosed, and in fact at first he seems to be more of an artist and writer. There is a production side of things where Christ Stopped at Eboli and Northern Exposure have one thing in common: both properties were done for television, with Christ Stopped at Eboli airing on four nights in Italy in what might be considered one of that nation's fledgling attempts at a miniseries.
Christ Stopped at Eboli is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.32:1. Criterion only sent a check disc for purposes of this review, so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer which may be included in an insert booklet, though their website offers a "New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray" comment on the listing page for the release. As mentioned above in the main body of the review, as Michael F. Moore mentions in his comments, while Christ Stopped at Eboli did screen theatrically (where it was presumably shown in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio), this was originally produced for and broadcast on television, so one presumes that this is close to what the original television broadcast looked like in terms of framings. There are some occasional damage problems which accrue here, notably some a weird looking vertical stripe that runs through the opening scene (see screenshot 17) and, later, several pretty rough looking moments where grain is fairly chunky and yellow looking. A few isolated moments, like that seen in screenshot 18, have that quality as well as further murkiness caused by some blue grading. Those issues aside, this is a generally pleasing looking transfer that preserves nice levels of fine detail even in some dimly lit interior environments, and which tends to look very good in the many outdoor scenes (as can hopefully be made out in some of the sunnier screenshots accompanying this review). In these sections, fine detail on elements like the stonework of the village is typically excellent and the palette is beautifully warm and suffused looking. While the palette looks natural overall, it tends to skew just slightly toward either browns or a kind of blue undertone at times, something that can make blacks a little on the purplish side and can lead to occasional crush. Aside from issues like the ones mentioned above, grain resolves naturally throughout.
Christ Stopped at Eboli features an LPCM Mono track in the original Italian. This has a rather evocative sound design, at least for a perceived "made for television film", and that includes both some nicely warm sounding underscore (including strings and piano a lot of the time), as well as some nicely redolent ambient environmental sound effects, courtesy of the many outdoor scenes. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track. Optional English subtitles are available.
Christ Stopped in Eboli kind of reminded me of The Tree of Wooden Clogs in a way, at least insofar as the daily life of an isolated village or enclave is at the center of the story. Rather interestingly, at least for a "Rosi film", the political dynamic, while present, isn't thrust front and center, and instead a slower, more deliberate, set of character studies emerges. While it may have been preferable to have spread this out over two discs, especially given the length of some of the supplements, something that may have provided for some more "breathing room" which may have helped to ameliorate some of the issues noted above, technical merits are generally solid and the supplemental package is excellent. Recommended.
Il Conformista | 4K Restoration
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