7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A French author's neighbor becomes his lover in a spy-novel fantasy.
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacqueline Bisset, Vittorio Caprioli, Monique Tarbès, Mario DavidForeign | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Philippe de Broca's "Le Magnifique" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson, as well a vintage trailer. In French or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Superagent Bob
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.661:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Le Magnifique arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by StudioCanal. Unfortunately, this master is problematic. I was hoping that it would be as attractive as the older masters that were used for the recent releases of The Professional and The Outsider, but there are some very obvious traces of digital corrections on it that give Le Magnefique are very smeary digital appearance. Many backgrounds with darker nuances, for instance, are missing plenty of information, and in areas where light is significantly restricted instead of proper detail(s) there are basically large chunks of blacks. Grain is completely eliminated and in certain areas there is actually foreign electronic noise that produces plenty of harshness. This mix of harshness and smearing can be quite annoying, and on a larger screen it can be seriously distracting as well. You can see examples in screencapture #10 and 11. The color grading job is good. In fact, without the digital anomalies that are described above, this master would have offered a great example how Philippe de Broca's films ought to look in high-definition. (You can see how they should not look in high-definition if you test the restored That Man from Rio). Image stability is very good. The entire film looks clean as well. My score is 2.25/5.00. (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 are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the French track.
I viewed the film with the French audio track. Clarity and sharpness were very good. Balance was convincing as well. Dynamic intensity was very good as well. However, I think that there are a few areas where the action footage could have a bit more depth. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.
Le Magnifique is a perfect summer film. It's got all the exotic action and humor you might require to be entertained the right way, plus a decent dose of romance for your partner as well. Unfortunately, this Blu-ray release is sourced from an old and quite problematic master that gives the film a very unattractive digital appearance. I expected this master to be comparable to the ones StudioCanal supplied for The Professional and The Outsider, but sadly it isn't. If you really want to have Le Magnifique in your library, you should try to get yourself a copy when the release is heavily discounted.
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