7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A burglar becomes a circus trapeze flier to escape the police, but still can't resist an occasional burglary. When one last caper turns him into an angel, he gets involved in the dreams and adventures of the people he meets.
Director: Albert LamorisseForeign | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
French: LPCM Mono
English: Dolby Digital Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Albert Lamorisse's "Circus Angel" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The only bonus feature on the release is Chloe Scialom's documentary "My Father Was a Red Balloon". In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
At work
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Circus Angel arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The release is sourced from a recent 2K master. I thought that the overall quality of the visuals was rather good, but I must immediately mention that it could and should have been outstanding. Why? This master reveals traces of filtering corrections that cause minor yet annoying anomalies. Indeed, in several sequences darker areas have a compromised dynamic range, and while not distracting, this is an anomaly that was incredibly easy to avoid. You can see an example here. Select close-ups can appear somewhat flat as well. The rest is either very good or excellent. Image stability, for instance, is outstanding. The grayscale is good, but the anomaly I mentioned above does affect balance in some areas with darker nuances. The surface of the visuals is very clean. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0 and English Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I viewed the entire film with the original French audio track, which is very healthy. However, as it is usually the case with Albert Lamorisse's films, there aren't any meaningful dynamic contrasts. The sound design is very basic and enthusiastically welcomes many different organic sounds and noises. The English translation is excellent.
In the past, opportunities to see Albert Lamorisse's Circus Angel were extremely rare. I recall trying to track it down and giving up because only a few bootleggers that I did not want to reward had it. This was a long time ago, too, so I had forgotten about it. It is a gem that solidifies my theory that Lamorisse's films have been very influential without many people realizing it. You can find it in Criterion's The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse, a two-disc set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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