7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
The misadventures of two brash young women. Believing the world to be "spoiled," they embark on a series of pranks in which nothing—food, clothes, men, war—is taken seriously.
Starring: Ivana Karbanová, Jitka Cerhová, Marie Cesková, Jirina Myskova, Marcela BrezinováForeign | 100% |
Drama | 64% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Czech: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Vera Chytilova's "Daisies" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with film programmer Irena Kovarova; two archival documentaries; short films; and more. In Czech, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Daisies arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:
"This 4K digital restoration was undertaken at UPP and Soundsquare in Prague by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, in collaboration with Narodni filmovy archiv, Prague, and the Czech Film Fund, from the 35mm original camera negative. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the original sound negative and the original magnetic mixing tapes."
After the new 4K makeover, Daisies looks very healthy, often very pretty, too. Unfortunately, it does not look like it did in the past. I have seen Daisies theatrically and can confirm that the new 4K makeover introduces a pretty bold new color scheme that changes plenty from the film's native identity. For example, whites and yellows are adjusted to make the color temperature of the various visuals much warmer than they should be, so even though some of the color implosions and tints look quite impressive, they are not right. Also, in some areas darker nuances produce digital gray that quickly evolves into digital flatness that affects the dynamic range of the visuals. I doubt that casual viewers will notice it, especially if they do not know how the film should look, but trained eyes will spot it. The rest looks very, very good. Clarity, sharpness, and depth are usually quite impressive. Density levels are excellent as well. Obviously, the entire film has been carefully cleaned up and as a result it looks spotless now. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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 is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Czech LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I did not encounter any issues while viewing Daisies. The audio was very clear, sharp, and free of age-related imperfections. The soundtrack has chamber qualities, so do not expect to hear a wide range of dynamic nuances and contrasts. Some of the music, for instance, sounds a bit boxy, but this is how it was recorded.
Long before the perestroika, when it was still very, very dangerous to shoot films that were critical of the status quo in the former Soviet satellites, Vera Chytilova's Daisies was something of a rebellious rock star to those that were lucky to have seen it and smart enough to have understood it. Like most such films that survived, however, Daisies had to pretend to be something else. The pretending is what makes Daisies unique, but the truth is that it is not a very good film. Indeed, even if it is deconstructed as a product of its time, it is quite easy to conclude that its mocking game does not engage and excite as it could have. Nevertheless, I still think that it needs to be seen because it has a crucial spot in the Czech New Wave. Criterion's Blu-ray release is sourced from a new 4K master that was prepared after Daisies was fully restored in 4K. The film looks very beautiful now, but not as it did in the theater.
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