7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Six episodes set across Italy during the country's liberation at the end of World War II examine the struggles of different cultures to communicate and of people to live their everyday lives.
Starring: Carmela Sazio, Robert Van Loon, Benjamin Emanuel, Raymond Campbell (I), Harold WagnerForeign | 100% |
Drama | 93% |
War | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Italian: LPCM 2.0
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Roberto Rossellini's "Paisan" (1946) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The only bonus feature on disc is a visual essay from scholar Tag Gallagher. Also included in the box set is a 36-page fully illustrated booklet featuring writings on the film and full film credits. In Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roberto Rossellini's Paisan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.
The release is sourced from the restoration of Paisan that was completed by Cineteca di Bologna and CSC - Cineteca Nazionale at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in 2013. (It is reportedly a 4K scan and 2K restoration work). The same master was also used by Criterion for the recent North American release of the film. I could not see any dramatic discrepancies between the two presentations. It is possible that some additional minor imperfections (specks and scratches) were removed on the Criterion release, but given the nature of the surviving materials the overall quality of the images is essentially identical. So I think that the important thing to point out is that the restored master is free of digital anomalies, and that the end result has strong and convincing organic qualities. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian LPCM 2.0 (with small portions of English). Optional English and English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio has remastered, cleaned up and stabilized. Some unevenness remains, with the mid/high frequencies showing the most obvious traces of aging, but none of the minor inherited source limitations will negatively affect your viewing experience.
The second film in Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy, Paisan, chronicles the arrival of the Allies in Calabria and then the gradual liberation of Italy as they moved up north. However, the film actually focuses on the difficult communication between the liberators, the partisans and ordinary Italians, rather than the dynamics of the many battles that were fought along the way. Paisan has been recently restored and looks great in high-definition. It is included in the BFI's Roberto Rossellini: The War Trilogy, though I should mention that there is a brand new edition coming in about two weeks.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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