6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Sent to Brasil to retrieve a microfilm containing the names of Frenchmen who assisted the Nazi regime, OSS 117 joins forces with sexy lieutenant Dolores to track down an underground group of escaped Nazis.
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot, Rüdiger Vogler, Reem Kherici, Serge HazanaviciusForeign | 100% |
Adventure | 63% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Music Box Films'
OSS 117 release.
Bath. Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath.
Yeah, that probably doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Bond, James Bond", but for those who might think that the OSS 117
"franchise" in all of its many forms was a blatant rip off of Ian Fleming's work, here's a little disabusing of that notion: French writer Jean Bruce's
first
novel featuring French spy Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, AKA OSS 117, actually pre-dates Fleming's premiere tale featuring 007, Casino Royale, by several years! It may beg credulity to
think
that Fleming didn't know of 117 when he "demoted" the ones to zeroes for his spy, but in a way it kind of doesn't matter who came first
with regard to the reboots under discussion, since they're intentionally seemingly ersatz from the get go, trying perhaps fitfully to mimic
the
plethora of spy spoofs that came out in the wake of Dr. No and the
other early-ish Sean Connery classics. In that regard, it's kind of interesting that the first batch of OSS 117 films evidently
played
it much, much straighter. As with the release timings of Bruce's and Fleming's book versions, the debut OSS 117 film, OSS 117 n'est
pas mort, came out in 1957, several years before the first Connery effort hit the big screen. One way or the other, though, the creatives
behind
these "newer" OSS 117 films decided to make Bath a Get Smart-esque
buffoon a la Maxwell Smart, to arguably inconsistent comedic effect.
OSS 117: Lost in Rio is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Music Box Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. As with OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, this was shot on 35mm and I'm assuming it had a 2K DI. As I mentioned in my review of the first film, while technical merits are quite commendable for both films, I found the color timing just a little odd. As with the first film, OSS 117: Lost in Rio can have a somewhat brightened, yellowish quality, though I have to say this outing probably has an overall more "natural" look in its outdoor scenes in particular. Things warm up noticeably somewhat later in the story after a calamitous plane crash. Again as with the first film, there's a riot of midcentury modern production design on display (this time more appropriately "sixties" in style than the first film, which was ostensibly set in the fifties). Detail levels on props and costumes is typically excellent. As can be seen in screenshot 8, some presentational artifices that mimic efforts like The Thomas Crown Affair, with several "pictures in picture" moments. I'm assuming that more modern compositing methods led to the lack of increased grain for these moments. In that regard, grain throughout the presentation resolves without any issues.
As with the first film, OSS 117: Lost in Rio offers either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options in the original French. The surround track is nicely immersive in any number of outdoor locations, where the sounds of Rio's bustling urban environment nicely populate the side and rear channels. Ludovic Bource contributes another breezy score that is also nicely placed throughout the soundstage, offering enveloping support for several scenes. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available
I was frankly hoping I would like these OSS 117 films more than I ended up doing, but this one offers some really great location work in Brasil, even if its plot is ultimately pretty similar in more than one way to the first film. I kind of surprisingly found Dujardin rather off putting in both of these features, though arguably maybe a little less in this particular outing. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements enjoyable for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
OSS 117: Le Caire nid d'espions
2006
Les tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine
1965
Fantômas
1964
Fantômas contre Scotland Yard
1967
The Day The Earth Froze / Slipcover in Original Pressing
1959
Cesta do pravěku
1955
Jade Crystal / Moh fei chui / Mó fěi cuì / 魔翡翠
1986
Birds of a Feather
1978
Extended Version
1967
Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann
2013
1998
Tai Jiong / Thailand List
2012
Ulisse
1954
Das indische Grabmal
1959
Wu lin sheng huo ling / Mou lam sing foh ling / 武林聖火令
1983
1980
大兵小將 / 大兵小将 / Dà Bīng Xiǎo Jiàng
2010
蛇娘と白髪魔 / Hebimusume to Hakuhatsuma
1968
Slipcover in Original Pressing
1984
Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto
1974