7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Franz "Fox" is a working-class, carnival worker in need of cash for his weekly lottery purchase. He's picked up by an older man named Max, who introduces him to two young gay men. The next day, Fox wins 500,000 marks in the lottery, and the two young men suddenly become Fox's friends.
Starring: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Chatel, Karlheinz Böhm, Adrian Hoven, Christiane MaybachForeign | 100% |
Drama | 74% |
Romance | 14% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
German: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Fox and His Friends" a.k.a. "Faustrecht der Freiheit" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interview with actor Harry Baer; new video interview with filmmaker Ira Sachs; short segment from an episode of the French television program Pour le cinema; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring author and critic Michael Koresky's essay "Social Animals" and technical credits. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The winner
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Fox and His Friends arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"Created by The Rainer Werner Fassbinder, this new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the original camera negative at ARRI Film & TV Services in Munich, where the film was also restored. The original monaural soundtrack was restored from the 17.5mm magnetic track by the Fassbinder Foundation.
Transfer supervisor: Matteo Lepore/ARRI Film & TV Services, Munich.
Colorist: Traudl Nicholson/ARRI Film & TV Services, Munich."
The film looks exceptionally healthy and vibrant, but I think that its overall appearance is somewhat problematic. To be perfectly clear, detail, depth, and fluidity are enormously pleasing; anyone that has previously seen the film on DVD should instantly recognize the substantial improvements in these key areas. However, I find the new color grading to be quite unconvincing, and in certain segments clearly awkward. Indeed, there is an obvious shift towards a notably warm range of primaries and nuances that seem to be responsible for some pretty obvious anomalies. For example, there is a sequence in which Franz and his lover visit a chic boutique shop where a beautiful red shirt is quickly mentioned in a conversation, but the color red is practically non-existent there. Throughout the film a prominent light creamy yellowish/brownish hue also completely overwhelms even remote traces of whites and in some cases even white nuances (see screencaptures #7 and 17). Naturally, I find the overall color balance unconvincing. There are no traces of compromising denosiing or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is outstanding. (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: German LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
There are no technical issues to report in our review. Clearly, the audio has been fully restored because clarity, fluidity, and balance are outstanding, and there isn't even a whiff of the distracting anomalies that tend to pop up when older films transition to Blu-ray without cleanup and stabilization work.
Parts of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Fox and His Friends could feel quite dated now -- after all the country whose system of values it targets no longer exists -- but the film also boldly plows through all sorts of supposedly dangerous stereotypes and this makes it look surprisingly bold and fresh. Criterion's recent Blu-ray release is sourced from a new 4K restoration that was completed in Germany and offers the healthiest presentation of the film to date, but I have some minor reservations about the new color grading. RECOMMENDED.
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