Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Salon Kitty Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 12, 2011

Italian director Tinto Brass' "Salon Kitty" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Argent Films. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; video interview with director Tinto Brass; and trailers for other Argent Films releases. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free. Please be advised that the film contains explicit footage that is not appropriate for minors!

The girls

Berlin,1939. Gestapo decide to take over a famous brothel and transform it into a spying agency. The top secret operation is headed by Helmut Wallenberg (Helmut Berger, The Romantic Englishwoman, Ludwig), a power-hungry officer who must report directly to Heinrich Himmler.

Wallenberg personally selects the young girls that will replace the prostitutes at the brothel. Needless to say, all of them are loyal to the National Socialist Party. After a series of incredibly disturbing tests, he introduces the best ones to the brothel’s owner, Madame Kitty (Ingrid Thulin, Wild Strawberries,Cries and Whispers, who fears that the inexperienced girls will damage her reputation.

But precisely the opposite happens - the girls attract hordes of horny Nazi officials who have absolutely no idea that everything they say inside the brothel is recorded and reported to Wallenberg.

Eventually, one of the new girls, Margherita (Teresa Ann Savoy, Private Vices, Public Pleasures, Caligula), falls madly in love with a client, Hans Reiter (Bekim Fehmiu, The Adventurers, The Executioner), a disillusioned Nazi officer. They start seeing each other outside of the brothel and begin making plans about the future. After Hans is killed, presumably because of his lack of faith in the Nazi cause, Margherita decides to avenge his death by exposing Wallenberg’s operation.

My take on the Naziexploitation genre has always been that it was a natural answer to the Italian neorealism and to a lesser extent the French Nouvelle Vague. In Italy, the genre gathered steam with the production of films that focused on the cultural impoverishment and moral degradation of the Italian society after WW2, as well as the rise of fascism - at least in the beginning, when some of the Naziexploitation directors were trying to imitate the films of Liliana Cavani (The Night Porter) and Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom). By the late 1970s, however, the kitsch and desire to shock many of the films championed had all but guaranteed the death of the Naziexploitation genre.

Tinto Brass’ Salon Kitty is one of a few Italian Naziexploitation films that are actually worth seeing. Based on a true story, the film boasts stunning sets by the legendary Ken Adam (Guy Hamilton’s Diamonds are Forever, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon) and impeccable costume designs by Jost Jacob (Franco Rossi’s Quo Vadis?).

While the production values are indeed very impressive, the film as a whole lacks the depth I assume it could have had (for a more meaningful exploration of the key themes in Salon Kitty, see Luchino Visconti’s The Damned). After a few interesting observations about Fascism, the film quickly disintegrates under the pressure of endless over-the-top orgy scenes that eventually tire the eye.

Note: The Argent Films Blu-ray release of Tinto Brass’ Salon Kitty contains the extended director’s cut of the film - with more than twenty minutes of previously unavailable footage (mostly explicit footage from the testing sessions and Wallenberg’s girls working inside the brothel).

Salon Kitty Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.86:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tinto Brass' Salon Kitty arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Argent Films.

The high-definition transfer Argent Films have used for their Blu-ray release of Salon Kitty appears practically identical to the one used by Blue Underground - which is great news. I did a number of comparisons with my R1 LE SDVD (# 616) and the difference in quality between the two releases is enormous. Everywhere, during the indoor and outdoor footage, detail is dramatically improved. During the testing footage, for instance, the standard definition transfer literally breaks up at times - when projected, the film looks incredibly shaky, and massive amounts of macroblocking can be seen practically everywhere. Furthermore, the standard definition transfer has a thick layer of machine noise that makes everything look smeary and heavily processed; on the high-definition transfer the machine noise is replaced mostly with a layer of fine light grain. The rampant edge-enhancement that can be seen on the R1 SDVD release also isn't a serious issue of concern on the Blu-ray. Color reproduction is also a lot more convincing, with the indoor scenes from the brothel looking particularly good. Finally, various stabilizations have been performed and scratches, debris, cuts, and stains removed. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is not PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Salon Kitty Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are five audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and English Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Argent Films have provided optional (yellow) English subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, which is the "original" audio track - a number of the actors actually redubbed themselves after shooting of the film was completed, so there are minor sync issues that are indeed inherited - has a limited dynamic amplitude, but the upgrade in quality when compared to the English Mono track from the SDVD is huge. On the SDVD, the audio is consistently anemic. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, however, has plenty of depth and fluidity that enhance the music scenes quite well. The dialog is stable, clean, and easy to follow. The yellow English subtitles, however, do not accurately reflect the actors' redubbed lines (this was also the case with the yellow subtitles included on the Blue Underground's R1 SDVD release of the film).

Salon Kitty Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are perfectly playable on North American PS3s and SAs.

• Interview with Tinto Brass - this is the same long, very informative interview with the Italian director which was included on the R1 SDVD release of Salon Kitty. Tinto Brass discusses the true story that inspired Salon Kitty and Peter Norden's book, the main characters in the film, how some of the most controversial scenes were filmed, etc. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 480/60i).

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Salon Kitty. In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080p).

• Argent Films Trailer Park - trailers for other Argent Films releases (available mostly on SDVD).

Salon Kitty Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tinto Brass' Salon Kitty is a truly bizarre film, a product of its time. It is definitely not for everyone, but like Liliana Cavani's The Night Porter and Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom, it is certainly worth seeing at least once. The Argent Films Blu-ray release of Salon Kitty represents a massive upgrade in terms of quality over the old Blue Underground R1 LE SDVD release of the film. The Blu-ray release is also Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.