7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Reckless playboy Bob Merrick crashes his speedboat, requiring emergency attention from the town's only resuscitator—at the very moment that a beloved local doctor has a heart attack and dies waiting for the lifesaving device.
Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Otto Kruger, Barbara RushDrama | 100% |
Romance | 75% |
Melodrama | 6% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Douglas Sirk's "Magnificent Obsession" (1954) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of General Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and and vintage Italian documentary. In English, with optional Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVCand granted a 1080p transfer, Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of General Video.
I am quite certain that this older Italian release of Magnificent Obsession is sourced from the same master that the folks at Criterion worked with to prepare this upcoming North American release. Its back cover even notes that it is distributed on behalf of Universal Pictures International. The important point that needs to be underscored is that obviously this is the best master in circulation, and it is neither ancient nor poor (as some old reviews have argued). As I mentioned in our review of the Criterion release, it is pretty obvious that it has inherited source limitations -- likely from an interpositive -- so areas that may appear problematic are not damaged by questionable digital tweaking. There is additional work done on the Criterion release that removes some blemishes, nicks, and marks. Also, in some areas grain is slightly better exposed and resolved. But overall depth, density, clarity, and fluidity are more or less the same. My score if 3.25/5.00. (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 are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0 and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional Italian SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The lossy English track is very good. To be honest, however, I am not surprised because I think that when the current master was created the audio was cleaned up and optimized as well. The only minor discrepancy that I could spot was in the mid-/upper registers where if I turn up the volume a lot the lossless track on the Criterion release sounds a tad healthier to me. The overall quality of the lossy track, however, is quite nice.
I purchased this Italian release of Magnificent Obsession in 2012 because I wanted to have a decent copy of the film in my library. I don't think of it as one of Douglas Sirk's masterpieces, but from time to time I revisit it because it has that old and very classy Hollywood look that I adore. I think that Criterion's upcoming release is the one to own not only because of its slightly better technical presentation of Sirk's film, but because it also has a brand new digital restoration of John Stahl's 1935 film, which is quite wonderful. Obviously, if you reside in a Region-B territory, this Italian release should be on your radar. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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