7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Two very different men are cell mates in a Brasilian prison; Luis Molina is a gay window-dresser jailed on a morals charge, while Valentin is a left-wing journalist accused of subversive revolutionary activities. To escape reality, Molina re-enacts a melodramatic film, impersonating its glamorous, but politically dubious heroine. Valentin's machismo and political convictions at first make him suspicious of Molina, but he gradually succumbs to his cell mate's kindness, and the two men develop a bond of friendship and respect for their sexual and social differences.
Starring: William Hurt, Raul Juliá, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy, Nuno Leal MaiaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 40% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0
French: LPCM 2.0
French
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Hector Babenco's "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Carlotta Films. The supplemental features on this release include the film's original theatrical trailer, gallery of stills, short featurette about writer Manuel Puig, and a very informative documentary film. In English, with optional French subtitles. Region-Free.
Luis
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Carlotta Films.
I like the high-definition transfer quite a lot. It is not a recent one -- it was certainly not struck during the last 12-18 months -- but its basics are solid. Detail is consistently good, even during the prison sequences where light is often restricted, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels stable. The color scheme also does not disappoint -- the variety of browns, yellows, blues, and grays are well saturated but natural. Obviously, during the fantasy sequences detail, clarity, contrast, and color reproduction differ as these sequences are intended to look much softer (compare screencaptures #7 and 11 to the rest of the screencaptures we have included with the review). Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic denoising or post-production sharpening. Naturally, there is plenty of well resolved light grain throughout the entire film. This said, there are a few tiny flecks that occasionally pop up here and there that should have been removed. But I did not find them distracting at all. To sum it all up, this a solid presentation of Hector Babenco's film that should please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).
There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0, and French LPCM 2.0. For the record, Carlotta Films have provided optional French subtitles for the main feature.
The presence of the two loseless English tracks is a good enough reason to strongly recommend this French release and avoid the very pricy Region-A release of Kiss of the Spider Woman. I personally no longer have the Region-A release in my library precisely because I found the audio to be enormously disappointing.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track opens up the film very well. Nando Carneiro and John Neschling's music score benefits the most as now the singing and the string solos are far clearer and richer. The dialog is also crisper. However, occasionally some extremely mild background hiss still pops up here and there. Nevertheless, the upgrade in quality here is substantial.
Blu-ray
If you are interested in owning a copy of Hector Babenco's beautiful Kiss of the Spider Woman, I strongly encourage you to consider getting this French Blu-ray release produced by Carlotta Films. It is clearly superior to the U.S. release and, more importantly, Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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