7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A preteen runaway escapes a nightmarish juvenile detention center only to descend into a life of increasingly violent crime alongside a makeshift family of fellow outcasts.
Starring: Fernando Ramos da Silva, Jorge JuliãoForeign | 100% |
Drama | 70% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Portuguese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Note: This film is available as a part of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 3.
Martin Scorsese has been curating the World Cinema Project for around thirteen years now, and the result has been a veritable cornucopia of
international films that in some cases Scorsese’s efforts have helped save from the ravages of time (and vinegar syndrome). As of the writing of this
review, the World Cinema Project is closing in on fifty restorations that they’ve undertaken, allowing fans to view films that, as even Scorsese himself
states in some of the introductions included in this set, have been woefully underappreciated and rarely seen (even a cineaste of Scorsese’s reputation
mentions that some of these films were “new” to him courtesy of the World Cinema Project). This third volume of films aggregates six interesting
offerings that have at least some subtextual cross connections at times, but which serve as yet another example of what an incredible job the World
Cinema Project does in bringing films of undeniable merit to a wider audience.
Pixote is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Some opening text cards offer the following verbiage on the transfer:
Restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata in association with H Filmes, Cinemateca Brasileira and JLC Facilitacoes Sonoras.Probably due at least in part to its more recent provenance, Pixote is one of the better, more consistent, looking presentations in this volume of World Cinema Project films. While the grain field is often quite heavy and gritty looking, that adds to the vérité sensibility Babenco is obviously aiming for, though that said, the grain field does spike rather strongly at various moments for reasons not entirely related to things like the amount of light (contrast screenshot 15, which is in at least relatively good lighting, with screenshot 7, which is in almost complete darkness, and you'll see what I'm talking about). There is a slight blue tint at times, though for the most part the palette looks natural. Fine detail is typically excellent, especially in close-ups (where it can be a little gut wrenching at times due to some injuries which are shown). There's no major damage of any kind to report.
Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation.
Pixote was restored using the original camera negative and a first generation internegative preserved at the Cinemateca Brasileira.
In order to minimize the overall presence of mold, particularly invasive in reels 3, 5 and 6, the camera negative was wet-gate scanned at 4K resolution. Missing frames in three different shots of reel 3 were replaced using the internegative.
The recently rediscovered original magnetic soundtrack, also affected by mold, with the oxide peeling off the base, was carefully repaired by Beto Ferraz, then digitised and restored by José Luiz Sasso (ABC), re-recording mixer for Héctor Babenco in 1981.
Final color grading was supervised bby cinematographer Rodolfo Sánchez (ABC) using a first generation 35 mm print as reference.
Pixote features an LPCM Mono track in the original Portuguese. This is a bustling soundtrack that offers a glut of elements, including crowd noises, urban soundscapes, some calmer and more soothing beach moments, and music by John Neschling. The clamor of the reform school is well represented, and some of the outdoor material has good ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout.
Pixote is a devastating indictment of the way Brazilian criminals enlist minors, who, due to the vagaries of Brazilian law aren't able to be charged with a major crime before reaching the age of 18. The film is highlighted by a captivating but distressing performance by Fernando Ramos da Silva, who seems to arrive at his characterization from personal experience. Pixote is not an "easy" watch, but it's an essential one. Technical merits are solid and Pixote comes Highly recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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