6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 2.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress out of retirement.
Starring: William Holden, Marthe Keller, Hildegard Knef, José Ferrer, Frances SternhagenDrama | 100% |
Romance | 49% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
French: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Billy Wilder's "Fedora" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Carlotta Films. The supplemental features on the disc include the documentary film "Swan Song: The Story of Billy Wilder"; production and archival stills; restoration trailer; and restoration comparison. In English, with imposed French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Inside the villa
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Billy Wilder's Fedora arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Carlotta Films.
The release uses as a foundation Bavaria Media/CinePostproduction's recent 2K restoration of Fedora, which was introduced in the Classics section of last year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
The film looks very beautiful in high-definition. There is a great variety of fresh and very healthy warm colors that beautifully enhance the film's dreamy atmosphere. The daylight footage from Corfu, in particular, looks fantastic. Many of the daylight close-ups also have that beautiful white glow that would have been absolutely impossible to accurately replicate on DVD (see screencapture #19). The darker panoramic shots boast wonderful depth, making it exceptionally easy to spot even extremely small details (see screencapture #14). There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Sharpening adjustment also have not been applied. Unsurprisingly, from start to finish the film has a very solid and very convincing organic look. Overall image stability is outstanding. During the restoration debris, scratches, cuts, splices, and damage marks have been removed as best as possible. To sum it all up, this is an outstanding restoration of Fedora which has transitioned to Blu-ray in spectacular fashion. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. For the record, Carlotta Films have provided imposed French subtitles for the main feature. (They cannot be turned off from the main menu or with the remote control).
The audio presentation is just as impressive as the video presentation. The lossless English track has excellent depth and clarity is terrific throughout the entire film. Also, Miklos Rozsa's score is beautifully balanced with the dialog. There is no problematic background hiss, pops, crackle, distortions, or audio dropouts to report in this review.
I was eagerly awaiting Bavaria Media/CinePostproduction's recent 2K restoration of Billy Wilder's Fedora and I am happy to report now that it is simply spectacular. The film itself is strange but indescribably beautiful, frequently funny yet thought-provoking. I have a good feeling that once it reaches these shores a lot of people will be quite surprised that it has taken such a long time to see a proper home video release of it. Carlotta Films' Blu-ray release also comes with a terrific documentary film produced by Fiction Factory. (Please be aware that the French subtitles on the main feature are imposed). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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