Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

P.O. Box Tinto Brass Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 17, 2020

Tinto Brass' "P.O. Box Tinto Brass" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the release include numerous promotional materials; archival program with the director; Massimiliano Zanin's documentary "Istintobrass"; and more. The release also arrives with a 48-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Ranjit Sandhu and very large collection of stills. In Italian and English, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Better than the movies

The difference between Tinto Brass and Federico Fellini is roughly sixty seconds long. Paprika and Miranda for instance work for the exact same reason Amarcord and City of Women do -- they all have a great sense of humor. However, in the first two films the viewer sees everything that in the other two films he must imagine. The same is true about Brass and Fellini’s most ‘outrageous’ films. Take Salon Kitty and Caligula and compare them to Fellini Satyricon and Fellini's Casanova. They play with the exact same risqué material, but once again Brass lets the viewer see all of the ‘controversial’ kitsch that remains hidden in Fellini’s films. The sense of humor? It is still there, behind the kitsch, producing the type of memorable contrasts ‘professional’ critics can recognize only in Fellini’s films. Of course, Fellini has a bigger and much more diverse body of work, featuring films that tackle a broader range of ideas, but he and Brass share the exact same euphoric appreciation of life in all of its variations, from its most beautiful to its oddest moments.

P.O Box Tinto Brass pokes fun at the creator’s reputation as Italy’s Maestro of Erotic Cinema. Over the course of approximately ninety minutes Brass plays himself and reads supposedly authentic personal letters from female fans confessing their love for his work. (Mail from the other sex is of course promptly discarded by his flirty assistant because it is always one-dimensional). The visibly pleased director then visualizes their stories in his mind while allowing his creative instincts to transform them into arousing masterpieces. At the end of the reading session, while forcing a confession from his assistant, the director meets his fans in her story.

The film’s episodic structure is essentially an updated take on the popular European omnibus projects from the ‘60s. For example, Bambole! has four episodes directed by Dino Risi, Mauro Bolognini, Franco Rossi, and Luigi Comencini in which beautiful young women have more or less the same experiences Brass’ fans describe in their letters. Brass reveals slightly more, but the humor that makes the episodes from his film entertaining is again produced by the insecurities of the two sexes and the colorful excuses they usually produce while trying to hide them. Another very similar film from the ‘60s is Lucio Fulci’s The Maniacs, which also has an episodic structure and entertains with sexual adventures that mimic the ones from Brass’ film. Fulci actually has an even wilder imagination which makes portions of his film a lot more subversive, but once again his camera does not show what Brass is comfortable revealing.

Each episode has a different stylistic identity and looks good, but cinematographer Dante Dalla Torre can’t match the quality of the work Brass did with Silvano Ippoliti. Only during the clueless husband’s trip to the brothel where his meets his hard-working wife the management of light and colors produces some of the lush atmosphere Brass’ best films are known for. Quite perceptibly, however, Riz Ortolani’s (Il Sorpasso, Don't Torture a Duckling) soundtrack floods the film with typically great jazzy tunes which create the impression that it was a much bigger and more ambitious project.

***

This release also features a bonus disc with Massimiliano Zanin's outstanding documentary Istintobrass (2013), which examines Brass' fascinating career and legacy. Included in it are clips from exclusive interviews with many of Brass' most illustrious collaborators, including Helen Mirren, Franco Nero, Adriana Asti, and Ken Adam

P.O. Box Tinto Brass Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, P.O. Box Tinto Brass arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics.

Most of Tinto Brass' big films are already out on Blu-ray, but this is the first release I have seen that actually delivers the type of quality they deserve. It is not only because it is sourced from a recent 4K master; the film is also graded properly and has that lush appearance the director's work is known for. (Ironically, P.O. Box Tinto Brass is one of his smaller films, so proper 4K masters of Paprika, Caligula, and Salon Kitty should be even more impressive). Because the individual episodes have different stylistic identities some minor variations in terms of clarity and delineation can be observed, but they all have a very solid and consistent organic appearance which ultimately makes that meaningful difference in quality. (While some of the other releases can look quite nice, they just don't quite have the same appearance). Colors look wonderful as well. I spotted some minor gamma inconsistencies, mostly during the office footage, but it would appear that they are on the master. Image stability is excellent. My one and only criticism is that the film could have been placed on dual-layer disc and given an even stronger encode, but on my system it still look mightily impressive. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).

P.O. Box Tinto Brass Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Stereo), Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono), and English: Dolby Digital 2.0. There are imposed -- impossible to turn off -- English subtitles when the Italian track is selected.

The Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is quite nice, especially in areas where Riz Ortolani's score has an important role to play, but I have to say that it is one of the obvious signs that the film was shot with a modest budget. It has some dynamic unevenness and I even think that it features overdubbing as well. Overall, however, it is very healthy. The English dub track comes from an old DVD release of the film and is quite funny, but it misses a few tiny parts that were not ovrdubbed in English. In these parts you get Italian audio with English subtitles.

P.O. Box Tinto Brass Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Trailer - a fully remastered trailer for P.O. Box Tinto Brass. Music only. (2 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Tinto Brass - in this archival program, Tinto Brass discusses his passion for cinema, his work at the Venice Film Festival where he made his first contacts, his work as an editor for Roberto Rossellini, his obsession with 'female forms', the difference between erotica and pornography and its relationship to culture, the conception of P.O. Box Tinto Brass, etc. The director also shares a particularly funny experience he had with Lotte Eisner (Cinémathèque Française) as a young man. The program was produced for Italian label Ripley's Film in 2003. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (16 min, 1080p).

• Poster and Photo Gallery - a collection of promotional and production materials for P.O. Box Tinto Brass. With music. (2 min, 1080p).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Istintobrass (2013) - this documentary produced by Massimiliano Zanin examines Tinto Brass' fascinating career and cinematic legacy. Included in it are clips from exclusive interviews with many of the director's most illustrious collaborators, including Helen Mirren, Franco Nero, Adriana Asti, and Ken Adam. The documentary was recently remastered in 2K. In Italian and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. Dolby Digital 2.0. (94 min, 1080p).

• My Life with Tinto Brass - in this program, writer/produced/director Massimiliano Zanin discusses his professional relationship with Tinto Brass -- the two men worked together on Private, Cheeky! and Monamour -- and how Istintobrass came to exist. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (19 min, 1080p).

• Praise - in this short piece, some of Tinto Brass' collaborators -- one of them being Italian star Serena Grandi (Miranda) -- quickly recall their work with the director. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - original trailer for Istintobrass. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Teaser Trailer - original teaser trailer for Istintobrass. Music only. (2 min, 1080p).

• Photo Gallery - a collection of stills from many of Tinto Brass' most famous films. With music. (3 min, 1080p).

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Reversible cover - with original poster art for Istintobrass.

• Booklet - 48-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Ranjit Sandhu and very large collection of photographs from many of Tinto Brass' films.

P.O. Box Tinto Brass Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This two-disc set from Cult Epics is an all-around winner. It features the best technical presentation of a Tinto Brass film that I have seen to date and offers Massimiliano Zanin's excellent documentary Istintobrass as a bonus feature. Even though we are in the middle of the summer, which means that in the months ahead there will likely be many more great releases to be excited about, I can say right now that P.O. Box Tinto Brass will appear on my Top Ten list at the end of the year. Let's hope that Brass' bigger projects, like Salon Kitty, Paprika, and Caligula, and perhaps some of his little seen early work, like Yankee with Philippe Leroy and Adolfo Celi, will be redone in 4K and eventually reintroduced on Blu-ray. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.