7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Tom Ripley travels to Italy to visit his playboy friend Philippe Greenleaf and Philippe's new fiancé, Marge Duval. What Philippe doesn't know is that his father has paid Tom to convince his son to abandon Europe and return to his family responsibilities in San Francisco. But when Philippe's family cuts off their funding of Tom's extravagant lifestyle during his covert mission, he discovers another way to maintain his newfound standard of living.
Starring: Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Romy Schneider, Marie Laforêt, Erno CrisaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 98% |
Psychological thriller | 12% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English, German
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Rene Clement's "Plein soleil" a.k.a "Purple Noon" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc a brand new interview with Alain Delon, Dominique Maillet's documentary film "Rene Clement au coeur de la Nouvelle Vague", and a restoration demonstration. In French, with optional English or German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Perfecting the signature
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rene Clement's Purple Noon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.
The disc's main menu can be set in one of the following languages: English or German. Naturally, I assume that this exact same disc will also be sold in Germany.
The high-definition transfer has been sourced from the same new 4K restoration which we also discussed in our review of StudioCanal's French release of this classic film. Unfortunately, this isn't good news.
The same traces of problematic filtering corrections are visible throughout the entire film. Unsurprisingly, close-ups and larger panoramic shots frequently look very flat. In select indoor shots image depth is very problematic (see screencapture #14). Contrast levels are also very inconsistent. This is especially easy to see early into the film. The filtering corrections have also seriously destabilized the film's color-scheme. As it usually happens when such corrections are performed, the blacks are frequently replaced by large blocks of gray. This being said, the film looks exceptionally healthy - there are absolutely no debris, cuts, scratches, or damage marks to report in this review. All in all, I have to repeat one more time that this new presentation of Mr. Clement's classic film is indeed enormously frustrating. (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 are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English and German subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track is identical to the one found on StudioCanal's French release of Purple Noon. Depth and clarity are very good. There is also a nice range of nuanced dynamics that allow Nino Rota's terrific soundtrack to impress in all the right places. The dialog is clean, crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.
If you want the best current presentation of Rene Clement's Plein Soleil, you should try to obtain the Blu-ray release Criterion produced last year. However, I also urge you to seriously consider purchasing StudioCanal's Blu-ray release for the supplemental features. The exclusive new interview with the great Alain Delon is one of the best I've seen produced for a film of this caliber.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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