6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
It deals with a duo of inseparable friends turned delinquents named Paco and Urko, together they share drugs. They are forced into street hustling and ever-expanding life of crime. Paco is son of a stiff Guardia Civil Commandant and Urko of an Aberzale Congressman. The protagonists choose to live dangerously and they are forced to take a life of crime to survive and attempt to flee the suburbs of Bilbao.
Starring: José Luis Manzano, Javier García, José Manuel Cervino, Luis Iriondo, Enrique San FranciscoForeign | 100% |
Drama | 32% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
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 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. The back cover of this release states that all three films in this collection have been "scanned in HD from the original negatives". There are some occasional very slight variances in clarity in this presentation, along with a few minor distractions like a bit of wobble during credits, but otherwise this is a strong and very appealing looking transfer. Colors are natural and nicely suffused throughout, and fine detail is excellent (and often quite disturbing, as in some close-ups of needles entering arms). I mentioned in our Navajeros Blu-ray review how there were some passing instances of a slightly yellowish quality, and similarly there are just touches of blue undertones at times here, though nothing that really skews the palette very artificially. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation and I noticed no major age related wear and tear of any kind.
El Pico features an expressive DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that offers a good deal of energy in some of its effects and scoring choices. Good accountings of ambient environmental effects are offered in outdoor scenes, and dialogue is rendered without any issues. Optional English subtitles are available.
There's a feeling of hurtling toward unavoidable tragedy suffusing El Pico, and its documentation of very worried parents on opposite sides of the political aisle gives this film a very interesting perspective. Technical merits are solid, and El Pico comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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