7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The story of Estrella, a young girl living in northern Spain who is fascinated with the secrets of the south that are embodied in her father.
Starring: Omero Antonutti, Sonsoles Aranguren, Icíar Bollaín, Rafaela Aparicio, Aurore ClementForeign | 100% |
Drama | 83% |
Romance | 15% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Spanish: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Víctor Erice's "El Sur" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include a theatrical trailer for the film's rerelease; recorded Q&A session with Victor Erice; and audiovisual essay by Cristina Alvarez Lopez and Adrian Martin. The release also arrives with a 20-page fully illustrated booklet featuring essays by Geoff Andrew and Mar Diestro-Dópido, as well as technical credits. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Estrella
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Víctor Erice's El Sur arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.
The release has been sourced from an older master, most likely one that was used for a previous DVD release of the film. (It is not the new 2K remaster that Criterion prepared for the recent North American release). Unfortunately, it is also a very inconsistent master with some pretty obvious flaws. Indeed, it appears that some digital corrections were applied to polish the visuals and as a result depth and delineation are far from optimal (see screencaptures #1 and 3). In fact, when the camera zooms it is actually very easy to see how delineation collapses and entire ranges of nuances disappear (see screencapture #17). There is noticeable crushing throughout the entire film that flattens the image as well. Colors are stable, but on the new 2K remaster they are fresher, better balanced, and with more convincing nuances. Image stability is good. There are no large damage marks, cuts, or town frames, but a few specks can be spotted. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio is clean and stable. I am pretty sure that some sort of remixing work was done when the film was transferred in high-definition because there are absolutely no age-related anomalies. I thought that clarity was marginally better on the U.S. release, but overall this is a very solid lossless track.
If you want to have a quality release of Victor Erice's film El Sur, I encourage you to consider picking up the recent North American release from Criterion. It is sourced from a wonderful new 2K remaster that ensures a completely different experience with the film. This Region-B release from the British Film Institute has an interesting Q&A session with the Spanish director that was recorded in 2003, but it is sourced from a very inconsistent older master.
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