7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Starring: Wallace Shawn, André Gregory, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler (II)Drama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Louis Malle's "My Dinner with Andre" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon/Artificial Eye. There are no bonus features on the disc. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Wally
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon/Artificial Eye.
The release is sourced from a recent remaster that was apparently prepared by Gaumont in France. Whether the actual technical work was performed in France, however, I do not know at the moment. Either way, when compared to the master that Criterion used in 2015 to produce the North American release of My Dinner with Andre, the technical presentation is entirely different. Frankly, it is so 'different' that I have to, once again, wonder if any references were used to confirm how the film should look when it transitions to Blu-ray. Aside from the different aspect ratio -- which I find to be an odd choice to say the least, but in an equally odd sort of way not surprising because when Gaumont restored Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows the folks there again opted for the 1.37:1 ratio and I have never seen a theatrical presentation of it in that ratio; the 1.66:1 ratio was the standard -- the entire film is very awkwardly graded, boasting a variety of wild primaries with equally puzzling nuances. The gamma levels are also off and as a result the film's entire dynamic range collapses. This, I must say, is not a surprising occurrence as I have lost track of the various remasters that Gaumont, as well as some well-known Italian labs, have produced with the same type of anomalies, but the end result here is so obviously flawed that it is hard to believe that someone was actually looking for accuracy. (For reference, there are large portions of the film with the type of anomalies that you would see in StudioCanal's equally disappointing 4K restoration of Purple Noon -- a blanket yellow font with a clear digital origin produced by inaccurate LUTs with digital flatness wiping out existing detail and compromising depth, clarity, etc). So while clearly looking fresh, the film's basic qualities are so compromised that it is just painfully obvious that it does not look as its creator envisioned it. Very disappointing remaster. (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 is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.
I did not detect any technical anomalies to report in our review. The exchanges between Wally and Andre are very clean, sharp, and easy to follow. Balance is excellent. There are no audio dropouts, background hiss, pops, or digital distortions to report.
Unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this Blu-ray release.
This recent release of Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre is sourced from a new remaster that was apparently finalized by Gaumont in France. I think that the end result is extremely disappointing because in addition to the unusual aspect ratio that was chosen there are all sort of serious technical anomalies. So, if you are interested in adding My Dinner with Andre to your collection, consider the North American release, which is also available as part of this three-disc box set.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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