7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
She's sexy, shameless and loves taking people to their limit. She's a dangerous young woman who dreams about a jaguar that licks her naked body and sleeps by her side. Her past is bathed in blood and weird passions. Now she's met the man of her wildest dreams. He's dark, tough and mysterious. He likes robbing banks, trafficking in corpses and spicing it all with voodoo rituals. Together, the duo sets off toward Mexico destined to become the most feared outlaws in the continent. With a pair of teenage hostages, this non-stop murderous road trip will take you on a bullet-riddled ride of sex, violence and high-octane evil.
Starring: Rosie Pérez, Javier Bardem, Harley Cross, Aimee Graham, James GandolfiniHorror | 100% |
Foreign | 89% |
Erotic | 30% |
Dark humor | 5% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
There’s a rather interesting and perhaps potentially humorous disclaimer that is offered at the beginning of a short but fascinating overview of the apparently real events underlying Perdita Durango which is offered on this Blu-ray disc as a supplement. At the beginning of Narcosatanicos: ‘Perdita Durango’ and the Matamoros Cult viewers are cautioned that some nefarious types have twisted religious beliefs (in this case relating to Santeria) to their own villainous ends, and that other, more righteous, believers have followed these traditions without things like, you know, human sacrifices and the like resulting. If that reprehensible behavior isn’t part of mainstream worship circles (at least in anything other than vestigial ways, a la the Bible story of Abraham and Isaac), it would be very easy to generalize the warning to reflect various objectionable “interpretations” of religious tenets by all sorts of people. If the title and woman’s name of Perdita Durango may strike some as a bit familiar, it may because they’ve seen Isabella Rosselini’s relatively brief but memorable turn as the character in Wild at Heart. That film, like this one, was culled from a novel by Barry Gifford, though, as evidenced by the title of Narcosatanicos above, a title which is itself in a Spanish language version that of a non-fiction book by Jim Schutze, there are elements of Perdita Durango that are at least a bit reflective of actual events. In 1989, a Texas university student named Mark Kilroy was kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico and was ultimately tortured and killed in a human sacrifice ritual. Completing this virtual round robin of interdisciplinary influences, a number of elements of this true life criminal horror story were evidently influenced at least in part by John Schlesinger’s 1987 film The Believers, and there are certainly elements in both that outing and Perdita Durango that kind of refract off of each other.
Perdita Durango is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. There are a few more variances in this presentation than are seen in The Day of the Beast, which are arguably a bit more noticeable in Severin's 4K UHD version than here. There are fluctuations in saturation that can be spotted, but on the whole this transfer offers a really nice accounting of the film's almost lurid color schemes. Reds and yellows in particular are quite striking throughout, and the most brightly lit outdoor scenes pop with very commendable vividness. Grain can occasionally have a slightly yellowish, clumping quality, but on the whole resolves in a nicely organic way throughout.
Both the 4K UHD and 1080 presentations of Perdita Durango feature nicely rendered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks in English or Spanish. I toggled back and forth between these, but admittedly spent most of my time on the English language track. I didn't notice any huge differences in amplitude or general mix levels between the two languages. The frequent use of source cues and underscore tends to provide a nice consistent bed of surround activity, and the many noisy scenes, including some of the ritualistic aspects, offer smart channelization of individual effects. Some of the more calamitous events as things spiral out of control also present good opportunities for sound effects like gunfire. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Perdita Durango , though evidenty based at least in part on real events, is an increasingly more surreal viewing experience, though it's an often completely visceral one. This film perhaps unavoidably reminded me of Wild at Heart, but some of its more gonzo presentational aspects also brought to mind over the top films about murderous couples like Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Bardem and Perez are unforgettable, and fans of either or both of these performers who haven't seen this film are in for a (disturbing?) treat. Severin is offering a release with secure technical merits and the 1080 disc has some nice supplements. Recommended.
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