6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Paco, and his Civil Guard father, relocate to Madrid, where an investigative reporter is determined to find the truth about Paco's involvement in the shooting of a drug dealer back in Bilbao, which lands Paco in a lot of trouble.
Starring: José Luis Manzano, Fernando Guillén, Andrea Albani, Jaume Valls, José Luis Fernández 'Pirri'Drama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Eloy de la Iglesia's Quinqui Collection.
It can be kind of interesting to trace when various genres or subgenres in film started to appear in various countries. In the United States, for
example, there was a veritable glut of so-called "juvenile delinquent" films that began showing up in the fifties in particular, though there are
probably
isolated incidents of quasi-JDs appearing considerably earlier (arguably like those seen in 1937's Dead End,
who continued on as The East Side Kids, among other appellations) . But the post-World War II era really seemed to
give
rise to this kind of film, with everything from Blackboard Jungle to
Rebel Without a Cause ensuing (both of those interestingly from the
same year of 1955). The genre may have tended more toward exploitation fare as it continued, with more overtly hyperbolic productions like
Reform School Girl, The Green-Eyed Blonde and The Party
Crashers (the last two directed by genre stalwart Bernard Girard, and the last film offering the final big screen performances from both
Frances
Farmer and Bobby Driscoll). By the time juvenile delinquents were seen singing and dancing in West Side Story, the genre may have obviously morphed pretty significantly, but in its own way, it continued
apace with any number of films throughout the sixties and beyond, including a glut of "biker gang" outings.
Perhaps due to the influence of Franco, who may not have wanted the world to think that "his" country had any problems with errant youth, Spain
didn't really start offering juvenile delinquent films until the 1970s, though, again, there are isolated examples that can be cited, like Luis
Bunuel's The Young and the Damned, which kind of
interestingly given the above data was released in 1950. The word quinqui was utilized to define this emerging late 70s - early 80s
genre (or subgenre, if you prefer) featuring Spanish JDs, and while that word may seem like it should be inherently linked etymologically
to "delinquent", the
actual facts may be a bit
different, as is discussed in one of the supplements included on this set of discs. Whatever the genesis of the term actually is, Eloy de la Iglesia is
considered one of the prime creators of quinqui films, and this collection from Severin offers a trio of often graphically disturbing works
that have a bit of a Neorealist flavor to them, albeit in the mean streets of Madrid and Bilbao rather than Rome and environs.
El Pico 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. The back cover of this release states that all three films in this collection have been "scanned in HD from the original negatives". As with its two siblings in this set, El Pico 2 looks largely very impressive in this presentation, with generally excellent fine detail levels and a nicely organic looking grain field. This, somewhat like Navajeros, could look just slightly yellow to me at times, so that, for example, reds can verge just a bit toward orange territory. Still, suffusion is generally great throughout, and as with its progenitor, close-ups of needles entering arms can offer enough detail levels to make more squeamish types squirm. I noticed no real age related wear and tear.
El Pico 2 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that offers good, solid renderings of the film's often provocative dialogue, along with realistic accountings of disparate environments like the claustrophobic prison cells or more expansive outdoor environments. Dialogue and underscore are both presented with excellent fidelity and some appealing dynamic range. Optional English subtitles are available.
El Pico 2 finds Paco struggling mightily to get clean, but those with any experience with addiction may already sense that Paco's struggle may in fact be for naught. This is another unavoidably sad film, and it's filled with a kind of rage combined with melancholy that's quite interesting. As with the two other films in this set, Manzano is a magnetic presence. Technical merits are solid, and El Pico 2 comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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1983
1980
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2000
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1980
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1978
2014
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