Prisioneros de la Tierra Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Prisioneros de la Tierra Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 17, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Criterion release of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 4.

Criterion is often described as the very paradigm of a "niche" collector label, and in that regard, there may be nothing Criterion has offered over the years that is more "niche" than their series of World Cinema Project offerings, all bearing the rather notable imprimatur of one Martin Scorsese. This fourth volume follows in the footsteps of the previous three collections and offers another often bracing aggregation of little or at least lesser known films, some from rather unusual places and also at times addressing subjects that are not regular fodder for big budget Hollywood extravaganzas.

Reviews of the previous three volumes in this series, all of which offer some really interesting and worthwhile films, are accessible by clicking on the following links:

Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 1 Blu-ray review

Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2 Blu-ray review

Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 3 Blu-ray review

1939 is often cited as the absolute apex of the Golden Era of Hollywood, with what some folks allege is the single greatest slate of releases in a twelve month period, which included any number of all time classics from Gone with the Wind to The Wizard of Oz . Some may feel that limiting 1939's "Greatest Year" listings to only American made films is a bit narrow minded, and for anyone wanting proof that 1939 had some undeniable classics coming out in other countries, one need look no further than Prisioneros de la tierra, a film which is regularly credited as being one of the undisputed classics of Argentine cinema, and, at least if it were somewhat better known, a global contender for one of the best films ever made, period.

If 1939 is supposedly "Hollywood's Greatest Year", I might suggest that a legendary Hollywood film which came out in 1940, namely The Grapes of Wrath, might in at least some ways be a suitably analogous production to this one, at least insofar as both films explore a social underclass displaced and oppressed. In this case, though, and kind of ironically given the film's production year but also salient with regard to its very title, there's almost a prison camp atmosphere in terms of a bunch of itinerant workers on a yerba mate plantation who are under the thumb of a martinet named Köhner (Francisco Petrone). There's a menage a trois of sorts that develops between Köhner, Andrea (Elisa Galvé), the daughter of the camp doctor, and a worker named Podeley (Ángel Magaña).

Prisioneros de la Tierra Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Prisioneros de la Tierra is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Some introductory text before the main feature provides the following information on the restoration:

Restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Proejct and Cineteca di Bologna a L'Immagine Ritrovata in association with the Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken.

Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation.

Prisioneros de la tierra was restored using the best existing elements: a first generation 35mm positive print held at La Cinémathèque française and a recently rediscovered third generation 35mm positive print preserved by the Narodni Filmovy Archiv.

For its overall completeness and photographic quality, the first generation 35mm positive print was used to restore the image, while the third generation 35mm positive print was the primary source for sound restoration.

A 16mm dupe negative, provided by the Museo del Cine, has also been studied and compared as a reference.

Color grading was supervised by Paula Félix Didier, director the Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken.

Even more detailed information is imparted in Criterion's insert booket:

Prisioneros de la tierra is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. This digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on an Arriscan film scanner from the best elements available: a first generation 35 mm print held that the C f and a recently rediscovered third generation 35 mm print preserved by the National Film Archive in Prague, which was the primary source for the sound restoration. . .The film was restored in 2018 by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata, in association with the Museu del Cine.

Kind of amazingly as the main supplement associated with this film gets into, many Argentinians were only acquainted with this film courtesy of a faded, badly damaged 16mm print which was at one point rather incredibly deemed suitable for broadcast. As outlined above, thankfully better elements were discovered, and the restoration of this feature is in my estimation undeniably remarkable, though there are still some noticeable variances in clarity and grain structure at various points. Detail levels are consistently pleasing, perhaps arguably a bit more consistently in some of the assumedly more controllable environs of indoor sets than some of the location work. Contrast is also very good to excellent, offering nice gray scale and some good black levels. There is still some age related wear and tear that can be spotted, but nothing very significant.

Prisioneros de la Tierra Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Prisioneros de la tierra features an LPCM Mono track in the original Spanish. The main supplement associated with this film gets into some of the restoration process, and one brief clip segues from a print soundtrack to what is ostensibly the "gussied up" track offered here, and while there is noticeable improvement, there's also no denying that there's a rather recurrent level of background hiss throughout this offering. Any major defects have either been removed or ameliorated, and dialogue is presented relatively cleanly and clearly, though again with some limitations in dynamic range in particular. Optional English subtitles are available.

Prisioneros de la Tierra Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Criterion has packaged Sambizanga and Prisioneros de la Tierra together on one disc. After selecting an individual film, supplements exclusive to that film are then accessible, as follows:

• Martin Scorsese Introduction (HD; 2:44)


• Restoring an Argentine Classic (HD; 20:26) features Paula Felix Didier and Andres Levinson, who actually spend a good deal of time discussing the film and its historical context before getting to the actual restoration information.

Prisioneros de la Tierra Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Prisioneros de la tierra is probably going to be one of the highlights for cineastes checking out this set, and the good news is the restoration offered here is by and large very impressive. The accompanying supplement is also enjoyable. Highly recommended.